Fed. Judge Approves $17.75 Mil. 'Kids-for-Cash' Settlement
The Legal Intelligencer
December 26, 2012
U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo of the Middle District of Pennsylvania has approved the $17.75 million settlement that Robert K. Mericle, the builder of two juvenile detention facilities who allegedly paid millions in "finder's fees" to former Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., agreed to last December in a civil suit brought by a class of juvenile plaintiffs. Full Text
High Court Changes Rules to Speed Review of Juvenile Cases
The Legal Intelligencer
December 18, 2012
The state Supreme Court announced changes designed to speed the appellate review of cases where child offenders are placed outside their homes in court delinquency matters. Full Text
3rd Circuit Weighs Judicial Bias Claim In Kids-for-Cash Case
The Legal Intelligencer
November 15, 2012
Former Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. is arguing that his convictions related to the bribes he took to place youthful offenders in a privately owned juvenile detention center in the "kids-for-cash" scandal should be set aside because U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, who presided over his trial, had shown bias against him. Full Text
Defendants Can't Revisit Cases of 'Kids-for-Cash' Youths
The Legal Intelligencer
November 7, 2012
The detention facilities that housed juveniles in the Luzerne County "kids-for-cash" scandal won't be able to get the teens' criminal records during discovery in a civil action brought by dozens of the teens who were put away, a federal judge has ruled. Full Text
Insurers Need Not Cover Powell in 'Kids-for-Cash' Suits
The Legal Intelligencer
June 25, 2012
The second in a pair of opinions in as many days from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that insurers are not responsible for defending or indemnifying a juvenile-detention center operator who was involved in the "kids-for-cash" scandal in Luzerne County. Full Text
Claims of Malicious Prosecution Over 'Kids-for-Cash' Dashed
The Legal Intelligencer
June 22, 2012
The state Superior Court said in an unpublished decision issued Thursday that a business partner in the juvenile detention facilities at the center of the Luzerne County judicial scandal cannot sustain his malicious prosecution claims against the Juvenile Law Center and the law firm of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller. Full Text
'Kids-for-Cash' Developer Not Covered by Insurance
The Legal Intelligencer
June 22, 2012
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America is not obligated to defend or indemnify Robert Mericle in suits stemming from the "kids-for-cash" scandal in Luzerne County. Mericle's construction company built juvenile facilities that housed youths sent there by two former Luzerne County judges who were getting kickbacks for filling the detention centers. Full Text
After Convictions, Ciavarella and Orie Suspended From Bar
The Legal Intelligencer Blog
May 8, 2012
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued two orders today placing former Luzerne County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and state Senator Jane C. Orie on temporary suspension from the Pennsylvania bar because of their criminal convictions. Full Text
High Court Denies Appeal in Luzerne County Prothonotary Case
The Legal Intelligencer
May 3, 2012
The state Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a Luzerne County prothonotary who sued when the county decided to dissolve the elected office and create an appointed system for overseeing judicial records. Full Text
Judge Refuses to Open Juvenile Records in 'Kids-for-Cash' Civil Suit
The Legal Intelligencer
April 12, 2012
The original court records for juveniles who were sent to Luzerne County detention facilities in the "kids-for-cash" scandal will stay closed, a federal judge ruled this week. Full Text
Luzerne Co. Public Defender Sues County for Underfunding
The Legal Intelligencer
April 11, 2012
Luzerne County Chief Public Defender Albert J. Flora Jr., along with three indigent adult criminal defendants, has filed a class action suit against the county and County Manager Robert C. Lawton for what they allege is "deliberate indifference to the funding needs" of the Adult Unit of the Luzerne County Public Defender's Office. The suit claims the office's ability to represent adult defendants has suffered while its juvenile representation has seen marked improvement because of grant funding following the county's "kids-for-cash" scandal. Full Text
Judge Allows Additional Defendants in 'Kids-for-Cash' Civil Suit
The Legal Intelligencer
March 22, 2012
A federal judge hearing arguments in the wake of the kids-for-cash scandal has allowed 45 new plaintiffs to enter the suit. Full Text
Letter: Assertion Regarding Lokuta Is Wrong
The Legal Intelligencer
March 21, 2012
The article appearing in The Legal Intelligencer on March 6 ("When Are Men Going to Put an End to the Boys' Club?" by Editor-in-Chief Hank Grezlak) contains the following assertion:...Full Text
Fed. Judge Approves $17.75 Mil. Settlement Of 'Kids-for-Cash' Suit
The Legal Intelligencer
March 6, 2012
A federal judge has preliminarily approved the $17.75 million settlement Robert K. Mericle, the builder of two juvenile detention facilities who allegedly paid millions in "finder's fees" to former Luzerne County Judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., agreed to in December in a civil suit brought by a class of juvenile plaintiffs. Full Text
When Are Men Going to Put an End to the Boys' Club?
The Legal Intelligencer
March 6, 2012
If you ask me Sandra Fluke, the 30-year-old Georgetown law school student who argued in favor of health care plans covering contraceptives before Congress, has more balls than Rush Limbaugh, the rotund radio host who smeared her. Full Text
RICO Claim Survives Early Motion in 'Kids-for-Cash' Suit
The Legal Intelligencer
February 28, 2012
A federal judge has allowed the mother of a juvenile who was incarcerated during the Luzerne County judicial scandal to move forward with a RICO claim against the facility where her son was imprisoned. Full Text
Ciavarella Has Judicial Immunity From Some Civil Claims
The Legal Intelligencer
February 6, 2012
Echoing his earlier ruling in the civil class action brought by juveniles against former Luzerne County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., a federal judge has ruled in a separate suit that Ciavarella is shielded by judicial immunity from some, but not all, of the allegations. Full Text
January 6, 2012
Following a state Supreme Court order Thursday, the Luzerne County Common Pleas Court has regained complete control over adjudicating and disposing of the county's juvenile cases. Full Text
Mericle Settles 'Kids-for-Cash' Civil Lawsuits
The Legal Intelligencer
December 27, 2011
Robert K. Mericle, the builder of two juvenile detention facilities who allegedly paid millions in "finder's fees" to Ciavarella and former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan, has agreed to settle his portion of a civil suit brought by a class of juvenile plaintiffs for $17.75 million, with the possibility of an additional $1.75 million. Full Text
Bulk of Mericle Settlement Reserved For Juveniles Who Were Harmed
The Legal Intelligencer
December 20, 2011
The largest single portion of the $17.75 million settlement developer Robert K. Mericle agreed to on Dec. 16 will be reserved for juvenile victims who suffered physical or psychological harm as the result of being sent to detention centers by former Luzerne County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. Full Text
Mericle Settles 'Kids-for-Cash' Suit for $17.75 Mil.
The Legal Intelligencer
December 19, 2011
Robert K. Mericle, the builder of two juvenile detention facilities who allegedly paid millions in "finder's fees" to former Luzerne County Judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., has agreed to settle his portion of a civil suit brought by a class of juvenile plaintiffs for $17.75 million. Full Text
Judge Sides With Luzerne County Newspaper in Defamation Suit
December 14, 2011
After a decade of litigation and a second trial in the case, a Luzerne County judge has ruled that The Scranton Times, which owns and publishes the Citizens' Voice newspaper, did not defame Luzerne County businessman Thomas A. Joseph Sr.
Luzerne Co. Officially Out as 'Kids-for-Cash' Civil Defendant
December 2, 2011
A federal judge has dismissed Luzerne County, the county department of juvenile probation and three former county officials from a civil suit filed by a class of plaintiffs alleging their rights were violated in the Luzerne County "kids-for-cash" judicial scandal. Full Text
November 11, 2011
Judicial Discipline Seen as Consistent in Pennsylvania
November 8, 2011
Lawyer in Luzerne County Scandal Gets 18 Months
The Legal Intelligencer
November 7, 2011
Zappala's Malicious Prosecution Claims Over Luzerne Co. Lawsuits Dismissed
The Legal Intelligencer
October 13, 2011
A Philadelphia judge has dismissed the five malicious prosecution lawsuits that a person tied to the juvenile detention facilities at the center of the Luzerne County judicial scandal brought against at least nine law firms representing the youths sentenced to serve time at the facility. Full Text
Legal Observers Say Conahan's Sentence Fair, Starting Point for Healing
The Legal Intelligencer
October 4, 2011
In the week following the 17.5-year federal prison sentence handed down to former Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Conahan, several judicial watchers told the Law Weekly they were far from surprised by the high number, which fell just two-and-a-half years shy of the maximum sentence the disgraced judge faced. Full Text
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Lokuta's Case
The Legal Intelligencer
October 3, 2011
Former Luzerne County Judge Ann H. Lokuta will not be able to plead her case before the U.S. Supreme Court now that the high court has refused to hear her appeal, seemingly ending a drawn-out saga involving allegations of prejudice, selective prosecution and judicial conflicts of interest. Full Text
Conahan Sentenced to 17.5 Years
The Legal Intelligencer
Sept. 23, 2011
Before a packed courtroom, former Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Conahan was sentenced to 210 months -- 17.5 years -- in federal prison for his role in the Luzerne County judicial scandal. Full Text
The Legal Intelligencer
August 30, 2011
Now that former Luzerne County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark A. Ciavarella is serving a nearly three-decade term in federal prison for his part in the county's judicial scandal, all eyes have turned to his alleged co-conspirator and fellow former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan, whose sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 23. Full Text.
The Legal Intelligencer
August 24, 2011
Former Luzerne County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael T. Conahan's sentencing has been scheduled for Friday, Sept. 23, in Scranton. Full Text
August 24, 2011
Former Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarella has filed an application asking the court to declare him indigent. Full Text
Ciavarella Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison
The Legal Intelligencer
August 11, 2011
The Legal Intelligencer
August 11, 2011
The state Supreme Court has approved about $65,000 in restitution for the victims of juvenile offenders whose convictions were tossed out following the Luzerne County "kids-for-cash" scandal. But juvenile rights advocates say the focus should be on compensating the juveniles themselves. Full Text
Supreme Court Posts Amounts Paid to Luzerne County Victims
The Legal Intelligencer
July 28, 2011
July 12, 2011
An American Bar Association report on Pennsylvania's judicial conduct system provided a number of helpful recommendations on ways to improve the system and did so without being overly critical, particularly of the Judicial Conduct Board.
ABA Report Reveals Inner Workings of State's JCB
The Legal Intelligencer
July 5, 2011
Dissolution of Luzerne Prothonotary's Office Upheld
The Legal Intelligencer
June 28, 2011
The Commonwealth Court has upheld the dissolution of Luzerne County's elected prothonotary's office and the creation in its place of a Division of Judicial Services and Records appointed by the County Council. Full Text
June 7, 2011
Former Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. has joined his co-defendant, former Judge Michael T. Conahan, in awaiting sentencing after a federal judge denied his post-trial motions late last month.
Ciavarella's Post-Trial Motions Denied
May 27, 2011
U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Edwin M. Kosik has denied former Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr.'s post-trial motions to be granted a new trial or to have his racketeering and honest services fraud convictions overturned. Full Text
The Legal Intelligencer
May 3, 2011
The federal judge who is presiding over the civil rights suits filed in the wake of the "kids-for-cash" scandal in Luzerne County has rejected the plaintiffs' bid to add allegations that a former county commissioner participated in the conspiracy to incarcerate juveniles in return for bribes. Full Text
Letters of Support Played Role in Toole's Sentencing
The Legal Intelligencer
April 11, 2011
The real Michael T. Toole, who was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison Friday, was not simply the former Luzerne County Common Pleas Court judge who agreed to plead guilty for selling his judicial seat for the use of a beach house in New Jersey, they said. He was not just the man who failed to report an attorney's referral fee on his taxes. Full Text
No Coverage Duty in 'Kids-for-Cash' Cases, Judge Suggests
The Legal Intelligencer
April 7, 2011
The federal judge who is overseeing the civil rights suits filed in the wake of the "kids-for-cash" judicial corruption scandal in Luzerne County has handed down a pair of opinions in favor of insurers who are refusing to provide any coverage for the cases. Full Text
