For allegedly accepting a total of $2.6 million in kickbacks, these judges tried young people without representation, and sentenced them to private detention facilities for even very minor offenses.

There is very little good in this sickening story.

Maybe one bright spot is that the cases are relatively recent, and not from the distant past. They date only as far back as 2003, and include those up to 2008. Still, six years is only slightly less than half a lifetime for many of the kids who came before the court.

Another bright spot: Philadelphia's Juvenile Law Center, a public-interest law center for children's rights. It was first to bring the Luzerne County courts to wider attention. Unfortunately, the first place it tried is the state Supreme Court, which initially rejected JLC's application for relief. It was only when news broke of what the two judges were involved in did the Supreme Court agree to take the situation seriously. One especially disturbing aspect to all this: how long it took for anyone to pay attention to the fact that something was very wrong in those courtrooms. Where was the personnel in the courts, from stenographers and security guards to legal and judicial staff, in speaking out that something terrible was going on? The judges can provoke outrage, but this apparent conspiracy of silence is far more frightening.

The JLC deserves wide support for its work, especially Project Clean Slate, a new program to help youth expunge their records. Check out www.jlc.org for more. *