New Phila. Inquirer Analysis of Luzerne Judges "Kids for Cash" Scandal

[JPZenger]

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20091025_Luzerne_s_youth-court_scandal__How_Why_.html

Excerpts:

There were bright red flags all over the city ... The Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader published articles in 2004 raising serious and disturbing concerns about juvenile cases. Robert Schwartz, the Juvenile Law Center's executive director, said in an interview that detention-center workers had been told in advance - before the hearings in Ciavarella's courtroom - how many new child inmates to expect at the end of each day.

...Muroski said Conahan and Ciavarella had packed the courthouse with relatives. Conahan's cousin was the court administrator, a brother-in-law was jury management supervisor, and another brother-in-law was paid $1.1 million in public funds for court-ordered psychological evaluations. According to Muroski, other court-related workers knew they were "there at Conahan's pleasure." "When I bucked them in 2005, they reassigned me," he added. "That was a message to everyone: Keep your mouth shut."

According to the Juvenile Law Center, Ciavarella routinely pressured probation officers to recommend detention even when it was not appropriate. Often probation officers advised juvenile defendants to appear before Ciavarella without legal counsel. Sometimes, the center said, he pressured them to change their more lenient recommendations to detention. The center cited the case of a 14-year-old boy arrested for stealing loose change from unlocked cars. Police told his mother that he would receive probation because it was a minor offense. Just before entering Ciavarella's courtroom, his mother was asked to sign a waiver of counsel. She said she wanted her son to have a lawyer, but could not afford to pay one... after a three-minute hearing he was sent to a detention center for a year.

To further the kickback scheme, the center said, Conahan shut down Luzerne County's juvenile detention facility in 2002, contending it was unsafe. Then he persuaded the county commissioners to enter a 20-year, $58 million agreement with PA Child Care L.L.C. to lease the new private facility. Soon Ciavarella was filling the prison beds with delinquents, allegedly in exchange for kickbacks."