Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH

options

DAVID KIDWELL / Associated Press

Mark A. Ciavarella , leaving court in Scranton in February. Only about 100 of his cases from 2003 to mid-2008 remain eligible to be retried after the state Supreme Court's action yesterday.

READER FEEDBACK

Pa. high court tosses 'tainted' juvenile cases

By John Sullivan and Robert Moran

Inquirer Staff Writers

In an unprecedented move, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday tossed out thousands of juvenile court cases that were "tainted" by an alleged kickback scheme involving a former Luzerne County judge.

The order affects an estimated 6,500 cases handled by then-Judge Mark A. Ciavarella from 2003 through mid-2008. Only about 100 remain eligible to be retried, and those final cases also could end up being thrown out if the Luzerne County district attorney decides not to proceed.

"The court's far-reaching order is an exceptional response to the most serious judicial scandal in the history of the United States," said Marsha Levick, legal director of the Juvenile Law Center, which led the fight to overturn the cases.

"It's fair to say this is unprecedented and a good day for justice in Pennsylvania."

Hillary Transue, 18, whose juvenile case triggered the legal action that went all the way to the Supreme Court, said she jumped and screamed when she heard the news.

"It's the most phenomenal experience in the entire world," said Transue, who now attends college. "I feel everyone was completely vindicated."

After a 2007 hearing that lasted less than a minute, Ciavarella ordered Transue to serve three months at a wilderness camp for lampooning a school administrator on MySpace. She returned home after a month when her mother contacted the Juvenile Law Center for help.

Her mother, Laurene Transue, said she was "elated."

"To know that justice has been served is incredible," she continued. "I think she's learned that you can trust authority . . . that there is justice and there is also evil in the world."

In Ciavarella's courtroom, juvenile justice was dispensed quickly, often within minutes and without benefit of counsel for the children.

Ciavarella and former Judge Michael T. Conahan are accused of collecting a total of $2.6 million over seven years from a former owner of two for-profit detention centers - one in Luzerne County and the other in Butler County - and their developer.

The ex-judges allegedly helped the detention centers obtain $58 million in contracts, suppressed a critical audit of one of the centers, and closed a competing county-run detention center.

The judges had entered into plea agreements with federal prosecutors, but a federal judge this summer rejected the deals. They withdrew their guilty pleas and were indicted again.

The state Supreme Court in February appointed Berks County Senior Judge Arthur Grim to review Ciavarella's cases.

Grim determined that all juvenile adjudications and consent decrees entered by Ciavarella between Jan. 1, 2003, and May 31, 2008, were "tainted," the Supreme Court said in its ruling.

In March, about 800 of those cases were overturned by the high court.

"Judge Grim refers to the 'pall' that was cast over all juvenile matters presided over by Ciavarella, given his financial interest, and his conduct in cases where juveniles proceeded without counsel," yesterday's ruling says.

"We fully agree that, given the nature and extent of the taint, this Court simply cannot have confidence that any juvenile matter adjudicated by Ciavarella during this period was tried in a fair and impartial manner."

Barry H. Dyller, one of the lawyers representing the juveniles - many now adults - said he hoped that the remaining cases also would be dropped.

Addressing the scope of the high court's ruling and the nature of the scandal, Dyller said: "I've never seen anything like this, and I hope to never see anything like this again."

Levick said the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center would participate in reviews of the remaining cases that could be subject to retrials. The center also has a pending civil case.

Hillary Transue said that Ciavarella was well-known in her small town and that people had told her it was hopeless to proceed against a powerful judge.

The Transue case led the Juvenile Law Center to Jessica Van Reeth, who also was ordered by Ciavarella to serve three months at a wilderness camp. Her father, Jack Van Reeth, said he was thrilled with the high court's action.

Jessica Van Reeth, of Mountain Top, was caught with a lighter and a marijuana pipe when she was 16. Her sentence came after a 90-second hearing, and despite the recommendation of a Juvenile Court officer, who recommended probation due to Jessica's good grades and lack of a prior record.

Jack Van Reeth said his daughter is now a sophomore at Luzerne County Community College. She is on the dean's list and planning a career in criminal justice.

Read the state Supreme Court's order via http://go.philly.

com/luzerne

Contact staff writer John Sullivan at 215-854-2473 or johnsullivan@phillynews.com.

CURRENTLY SHOWING ON PHILLY.COM

A Philly girl's love for Michael Vick

Philly Uncorked: Cooking and wine

Mob Scene: Bad Cop

SnapGlow.TV: Frame your face

The Gossip with Marnie Hall: El Cafeito

Comments

Posted 07:04 AM, 10/30/2009

psyrus

Neat. So a bunch of future offenders have been let go. They weren't wrongly tried, then were wrongly sentenced. The sentence should be reviewed not the conviction.

Posted 07:27 AM, 10/30/2009

Kitty_Carlyle

Something of an iron tail aren't we psyrus? The cases were tainted. Those young people were wrongly tried and wrongly sentenced for profit. That judge is a criminal and the Supreme Court decision is correct. Justice should be fair and swift. If not the cases should be thrown out. Good call by the State Supreme Court.

Posted 07:33 AM, 10/30/2009

Anne Arkey

This is great for the young kids in that area and for the Commonwealth judicial system. The two judges on the take should be under the jail, not in it.

Posted 08:13 AM, 10/30/2009

ratbag

Those judges should be sentenced per case. 6000 sentences (or more) for Ciavarella sounds about right. And he should be made to pay a fine commensurate with his "take." And the people who gave the bribes should lose their licenses to run those facilities. Where are THEIR names? Are they publicly held companies? They are also accountable. More info, please.

Posted 08:58 AM, 10/30/2009

BarbB

This is wonderful that the Supreme Court has taken action to start to restore the live of these juveniles. But it's hard to believe that this went on for about 5 years and the rest of the court employees weren't complicit in some way? It's obvious from the facts found by Judge Grim that the judges are guilty as sin, but there are a lot of other employees in this process who must have kept quiet. Why aren't we hearing as much about them? How could any court clerk sit there day after day and watch this injustice as part of their job?

Posted 09:07 AM, 10/30/2009

feudi

Ciavarella! The best judge money can buy.

Posted 09:08 AM, 10/30/2009

tiredoftheBS

All I want to know is WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO PUT THESE SERIAL CRIMINALS AWAY?

Posted 09:10 AM, 10/30/2009

Mommiekins

This is a wonderful day! I have been following this case for a long time. The story first appeared on a TV program quite a while ago. I was so upset for the kids. Finally, justice can hold its head up high, once again, in Pennsylvania. I hope that all of the youth involved will be fine. They need to get help to adjust to a better future. Not everyone is out to get them!

Posted 09:11 AM, 10/30/2009

tr88

2 Crooked Democratic Machine Judges letting young predators out on the street to prey upon innocent taxpayers for a big pay day. nice work1

Posted 09:13 AM, 10/30/2009

PGHMAN

Put the the judges in jail for years, make them pay the money they received back, and go after the operators of those two facilities.

Posted 09:15 AM, 10/30/2009

MomRea

Not wonderful is that this has been on the PA Supreme Court's radar long before the scandal broke. It's time to pay more attention to our judicial candidates, as well as calling to accountability the staff, agencies and judiciary who failed these children so miserably.

Posted 09:15 AM, 10/30/2009

Eva R. Priestley

There are bad apples in every profession, and this is sad. We are supposed to put our trust in the leaders, may they be of the judicial, governing, or spiritual sort, but, at some point, we have to face the fact that they are all human and prone to temptation. Still, they should all be held accountable for their failures and be made to pay. Their punishments should befit their crimes.

Posted 09:31 AM, 10/30/2009

jpcapone

to me, this is a clear example of why the death penalty should be illegal. a judge can do WHATEVER he or she chooses. how many lives were actually changed because of this. extrapolate that to more serious cases and you see my point. the system is not infallible and these people will never get the time back that they lost. imagine if it was their lives....

Posted 09:36 AM, 10/30/2009

Fitzy31

Those two sold the integrity of the justice system and they should both rot behind bars in a state penn. for the rest of their short lives.

Posted 09:57 AM, 10/30/2009

Tkat

There are bad apples. There are also institutional checks on corruption that simply don't work at all. Combine the two and you the taxpayer foot the bill for a couple of thousand children who were to different degrees screwed by greedy judges and prison business people while a slew of attorneys (some DA's) and court and county employees looked on, collected their paychecks, and, for the most part, kept their mouths shut until now. They'd call it "justice". I think most people see it as an unthinkable disgrace. Wonder what type of sentence and restitution orders the judges get here from the system of which they were a part.