Luzerne County has been hit hard by corruption scandals this year and two current county judges are hoping to separate themselves from all that and keep their jobs.
Luzerne County Judge Thomas Burke, Jr. and Peter Paul Olszewski, Jr. are running for retention, trying to overcome a major corruption scandal involving two former collegues, judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella.
"Regrettably, the corruption scandal seems to be ongoing and I believe it's incumbent on everyone involved in the justice system from the Court of Common Pleas down to the district justice magisterial offices to realize they have to go beyond what is normally satisfactory," said Judge Burke.
"The past ten months have been extremely stressful. It has been very discouraging to see what's happened to some members of this bench, but the public knows there were bad judges and there are good judges," said Judge Olszewski.
On election day, voters will chose whether or not to allow Judges Burke and Olszewski to keep their jobs for the next decade.
The two said they know the stain of corruption has gone deep and people may be distrustful of the judicial system, but they promise to turn things around.
"The effort that this court has made has to be long, sustained and continuous, the public has a right to have lost confidence in the court, and healthy skepticism is a good thing," said Olszewski.
"It is going take some time, this is a work in progress," added Judge Burke.
There are also three candidates vying for two open judicial seats in Luzerne County this election.
Election Day is November 3.
Luzerne County Judge Thomas Burke, Jr. and Peter Paul Olszewski, Jr. are running for retention, trying to overcome a major corruption scandal involving two former collegues, judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella.
"Regrettably, the corruption scandal seems to be ongoing and I believe it's incumbent on everyone involved in the justice system from the Court of Common Pleas down to the district justice magisterial offices to realize they have to go beyond what is normally satisfactory," said Judge Burke.
"The past ten months have been extremely stressful. It has been very discouraging to see what's happened to some members of this bench, but the public knows there were bad judges and there are good judges," said Judge Olszewski.
On election day, voters will chose whether or not to allow Judges Burke and Olszewski to keep their jobs for the next decade.
The two said they know the stain of corruption has gone deep and people may be distrustful of the judicial system, but they promise to turn things around.
"The effort that this court has made has to be long, sustained and continuous, the public has a right to have lost confidence in the court, and healthy skepticism is a good thing," said Olszewski.
"It is going take some time, this is a work in progress," added Judge Burke.
There are also three candidates vying for two open judicial seats in Luzerne County this election.
Election Day is November 3.
