It is day two of a special commission looking into the breakdown of the juvenile justice system in Luzerne County.
The commission is looking into how two former judges allegedly made money from sending children to a privately-run juvenile detention facility.
Former Luzerne County district attorney and current judge David Lupas spent two hours testifying Tuesday morning, trying to explain how juvenile court judge Mark Ciavarella abused the system for years and no one complained.
Lupas was the district attorney while Ciavarella committed his alleged crimes. Investigators said those crimes included sending youthful offenders away to juvenile detention centers in exchange for cash. Lupas told the commissioner he never heard a complaint about Ciavarella during his term as district attorney. No assistant district attorneys who appeared before Judge Ciavarella spoke out. Lupas also said it was a widely accepted fact that Ciavarella favored detention for young criminals.
When asked about the alleged criminal enterprise that apparently went on for years without the district attorney's office knowing about it or anyone complaining about it, Lupas said, "Well you'd probably have to talk to the people who were present in the courtroom. I think what happened was, I don't know how many years it took the FBI to uncover this situation, so I think it wasn't as if people were pulling out wallets and handing the judge money in open court."
Lupas said the FBI contacted him late in his term as district attorney to tell him they were investigating the goings-on in Luzerne County court.
The testimony continued Tuesday afternoon. Current Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll testified before the commission.
She said prosecutors in Ciavarella's courtroom were perhaps too afraid to speak up about what they saw, but none of them did anything criminal.
"If there was any wrongdoing whatsoever they would be arrested, there is no question," said Carroll.
Carroll told the panel she has made changes as district attorney by improving juvenile record keeping and hiring more juvenile court assistant district attorneys. She also said perhaps no one could have stopped what Ciavarella was doing.
"A man disregarded the law and he used the justice system to make money. No one could ever expect that anything like that would ever happen," Carroll added.
The head of the Luzerne County Public Defender's Office and a juvenile probation official also answered questions Tueday,
When the hearing is over the panel will try to come up with a way to fix the juvenile justice system in Luzerne County and across the state.
The commission is looking into how two former judges allegedly made money from sending children to a privately-run juvenile detention facility.
Former Luzerne County district attorney and current judge David Lupas spent two hours testifying Tuesday morning, trying to explain how juvenile court judge Mark Ciavarella abused the system for years and no one complained.
Lupas was the district attorney while Ciavarella committed his alleged crimes. Investigators said those crimes included sending youthful offenders away to juvenile detention centers in exchange for cash. Lupas told the commissioner he never heard a complaint about Ciavarella during his term as district attorney. No assistant district attorneys who appeared before Judge Ciavarella spoke out. Lupas also said it was a widely accepted fact that Ciavarella favored detention for young criminals.
When asked about the alleged criminal enterprise that apparently went on for years without the district attorney's office knowing about it or anyone complaining about it, Lupas said, "Well you'd probably have to talk to the people who were present in the courtroom. I think what happened was, I don't know how many years it took the FBI to uncover this situation, so I think it wasn't as if people were pulling out wallets and handing the judge money in open court."
Lupas said the FBI contacted him late in his term as district attorney to tell him they were investigating the goings-on in Luzerne County court.
The testimony continued Tuesday afternoon. Current Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll testified before the commission.
She said prosecutors in Ciavarella's courtroom were perhaps too afraid to speak up about what they saw, but none of them did anything criminal.
"If there was any wrongdoing whatsoever they would be arrested, there is no question," said Carroll.
Carroll told the panel she has made changes as district attorney by improving juvenile record keeping and hiring more juvenile court assistant district attorneys. She also said perhaps no one could have stopped what Ciavarella was doing.
"A man disregarded the law and he used the justice system to make money. No one could ever expect that anything like that would ever happen," Carroll added.
The head of the Luzerne County Public Defender's Office and a juvenile probation official also answered questions Tueday,
When the hearing is over the panel will try to come up with a way to fix the juvenile justice system in Luzerne County and across the state.
