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Mark A. Ciavarella, Jr.
Mark A. Ciavarella, Jr. was a judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania.[1]
Kids for cash scandal
2009
In February of 2009, Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan pleaded guilty before the Middle District of Pennsylvania federal bench on charges of wire fraud and income tax evasion for taking more than $2.6 million in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers run by Pennsylvania Child Care and a sister company, Western Pennsylvania Child Care.[2][3]
2011
Senior U.S. District Judge Edward M. Kosik rejected their plea deals and issued a ruling declaring that they had failed to accept responsibility for their actions. Ciavarella faced trial on Monday, February 7, 2011. Conahan has pleaded guily to a single federal racketeering charge.[4]
On February 18, 2011, Ciavarella was convicted on 12 counts of misconduct, including racketeering. He was acquitted on 27 counts, including extortion.[5]
- "Never took a dime to send a kid anywhere. If that was the case, that would have been in this trial. Never happened. Never, ever happened. This case was about extortions and kickbacks, not about 'kids for cash'".[5] - Mark Ciavarella
August
In August 2011, Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years in prison for his role in the "Kids for Cash" scandal.[6] As the cases based on the first few charges were litigated, separate interested parties continued to file numerous claims and suits.
2012
In 2012 Judge A. Richard Caputo refused to dismiss some of the remaining claims against Ciavarella, and held that they could be taken to trial.[7]
2013
In 2013, former state judge Ann H. Lokuta filed a suit claiming she was defamed and fired because she was an FBI informant in the case against the two judges.[7] Almost concurrently, plaintiffs in seven separate actions moved to certify two classes. Class A includes about 2,400 children, 1,855 of whom were not informed of their rights before waiving counsel and/or pleading guilty, and about 1,442 who were referred to and imprisoned in the privately ran detention centers that were allegedly giving kickbacks to the judges. Class B is composed of about 2,400 children and their parents who paid fees related to the detention sentences.[7] On May 21, 2013, Judge Caputo found that the plaintiffs met all the requirements for class certification, and granted the motion to certify the classes and proceed with the plaintiffs' claims.[7]
2013 appeal
In May 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit upheld Ciavarella's conviction and 28-year sentence. The former judge's attorneys had appealed the conviction, claiming that Judge Edwin Kosik showed bias in favor of the prosecution in statements made to media during the original trial. The three-judge panel of the Third Circuit found that Judge Kosik relied on information presented during the trial, upholding Ciavarella's conviction.[8]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
On October 29, 2009, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court erased all convictions that Judge Civarella heard from 2003 to 2008. In the decision, over 6,000 convictions were thrown out as the Supreme Court found that there was no way the cases conducted by the disgraced judge were fair or impartial. In most cases, juvenile offenders were not given the right to the attorney.[9]
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ The United Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "Common Pleas Judges," accessed August 6, 2015
- ↑ New York Times, "Judges plead guilty in a profit scheme," February 12, 2009
- ↑ Times-Leader, "Joan Orie Melvin Speaks out on Judicial Corruption," April 15. 2009
- ↑ Associated Press, "Former Pa. Judge To Go On Trial In Kickbacks Case," February 6, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Associate Press "Pa. Judge Guilty Of Racketeering In Kickback Case," NPR, February 18, 2011
- ↑ ABA Journal, "Former Pa. Judge Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison in Kids-for-Cash Scandal," August 11, 2011
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Courthouse News Service, "Court certifies class in 'kids for cash' case," May 21, 2013
- ↑ Citizensvoice.com, "Kids-for-cash judge's prison term stands," May 25, 2013
- ↑ New York Times, "Pennsylvania Overturns Many Youths’ Convictions," October 29, 2009
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania
State courts:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts
State resources:
Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
