A judge from Berks County is recommending that all the juvenile rulings that former Luzerne County judge Mark Ciavarella made during a five-year period should be voided.
Ciavarella is one of two judges who pleaded guilty to charges of taking kickbacks in return for keeping a private juvenile detention center open.
A judge appointed to investigate the way juvenile cases were handled in Luzerne County made his recommendation Wednesday: Thousands of juvenile court cases overseen by former judge Mark Ciavarella should be cleared.
In his lengthy recommendation, Judge Arthur Grim said former Luzerne Ciavarella had "a tangible financial incentive to send juveniles to PA Child Care."
Ciavarella pleaded guilty to taking money for keeping that juvenile center up and running.
Because of that and because Judge Grim said Ciavarella did not inform juveniles of their legal right to lawyers, Grim is recommending that thousands of juvenile cases be vacated.
Those are all the cases Ciavarella heard from January 1, 2003 until May 31, 2008 and Grim said those juveniles cannot and should not be retried.
Ciavarella was head of the juvenile court system in Luzerne County for years. He and former judge Michael Conahan pleaded guilty to taking millions in kickbacks in connection with PA Child Care.
Judge Grim's recommendation now goes to the state supreme court which will have the final say on what happens to those Ciavarella juvenile cases.
Ciavarella is one of two judges who pleaded guilty to charges of taking kickbacks in return for keeping a private juvenile detention center open.
A judge appointed to investigate the way juvenile cases were handled in Luzerne County made his recommendation Wednesday: Thousands of juvenile court cases overseen by former judge Mark Ciavarella should be cleared.
In his lengthy recommendation, Judge Arthur Grim said former Luzerne Ciavarella had "a tangible financial incentive to send juveniles to PA Child Care."
Ciavarella pleaded guilty to taking money for keeping that juvenile center up and running.
Because of that and because Judge Grim said Ciavarella did not inform juveniles of their legal right to lawyers, Grim is recommending that thousands of juvenile cases be vacated.
Those are all the cases Ciavarella heard from January 1, 2003 until May 31, 2008 and Grim said those juveniles cannot and should not be retried.
Ciavarella was head of the juvenile court system in Luzerne County for years. He and former judge Michael Conahan pleaded guilty to taking millions in kickbacks in connection with PA Child Care.
Judge Grim's recommendation now goes to the state supreme court which will have the final say on what happens to those Ciavarella juvenile cases.
