Berks judge submits findings in Luzerne scandal

Relief may soon be on the way for some juveniles caught in the maw of a judicial kickback scheme in Luzerne County.

Berks County Senior Judge Arthur Grim, appointed by the state Supreme Court to review thousands of juvenile cases in the county, submitted his initial recommendations to the justices today, according to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

While neither Grim nor the high court would divulge details of the review, it is likely to deal with the most pressing cases in which a clear violation of civil rights occured.

Lawyers from the Philadlephia-based Juvenile Law Center asked the Supreme Court to conduct the review in February after it found juveniles had appeared before two Luzerne County Judges, Mark Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan, without an attorney, did not understand the consequences of the court proceedings, and were not made aware of Ciavarella's conflicts with two youth detnetion facilities to which he was incarcerating youths.

More reviews are sure to follow as Grim sorts through thousands of juvenile cases dating back to 2003.

The Supreme Court must now decide what action to take, which could include throwing out convictions and expunging records.

Ciavarella and Conahan have pleaded guilty to charges they received $2.6 million in payments from two individuals, a former owner and a developer, associated with the two detention facilities. The judges helped both centers secure more than $30 million in county contracts. Ciavarella also frequently sentenced juveniles to the centers, PA Child Care L.L.C. and Western PA Child Care L.L.C.

Both Ciavarella and Conahan are set to spend 87 months in prison if a federal judge accepts the plea agreement.