A federal judge has ruled that former Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. is liable for nonjudicial conduct that deprived juveniles of their right to an impartial tribunal.

In a 23-page opinion issued Thursday in Wallace v. Powell, U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo of the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted the unopposed motion for partial summary judgment filed by a class of youths who were locked up in the Luzerne County “kids-for-cash” scandal.