"Kids For Cash" Former Judge Mark Ciavarella Appeal Funded by Taxpayers UPDATED Bittersweet Justice

Taxpayers will foot the bill for a former Pennsylvania judge‘s appeal of his conviction in a bribery scandal dubbed “kids for cash” because he is now impoverished, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Taxpayers footing “Kids for Cash” judge’s appeal
[Reuters 1/10/12 by Terry Baynes]

Wikipedia has the history of the trial at Mark Ciavarella. In part, “Ciavarella pleaded guilty on February 13, 2009, pursuant to a plea agreement, to federal charges of honest services fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion in connection with receiving $2.6 million in kickbacks from Robert Powell and Robert Mericle, the co-owner and builder respectively, of two private, for-profit juvenile facilities. More specifically, the crimes charged were: conspiracy to deprive the public of the “intangible right of honest services”, or corruption, and conspiracy to defraud the United States by failing to report income to the Internal Revenue Service.^[6] Ciavarella tendered his resignation to Governor Ed Rendell on January 23, 2009, prior to official publication of the charges.^[2]

The plea agreement^[7] called for Ciavarella to serve up to seven years in prison, pay fines and restitution, and accept responsibility for the crimes.^[8] However, Ciavarella has denied that there was a connection between the juvenile sentences he rendered and the kickbacks he received.^[9][10] In part because of this denial, on July 30, 2009, Judge Edwin M. Kosik of Federal District Court in Scranton, Pennsylvania rejected the plea agreement. He ruled that Ciavarella had continued to deny that there was a ‘quid pro quo’ between his receipt of money and his jailing of juveniles, instead characterizing the money as a “finder’s fee” despite what Judge Kosik felt was the weight of the government’s evidence.^[11] Attorneys for the two judges brought a motion requesting reconsideration of the judge’s rejection of the plea agreement.^[12] The motion was denied on August 24, and Ciavarella and Conahan withdrew their guilty pleas, an action that could result in a jury trial or additional charges against the former judges.^[13]

On September 9, 2009, a federal grand jury in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania returned a 48 count indictment against Ciavarella and Conahan,^[14] which includes racketeering, fraud, money laundering, extortion, bribery, and federal tax violations. Both judges were arraigned on the charges on September 15, 2009.^[15][16] Ciavarella and Conahan entered pleas of not guilty to the 48 count indictment and remained free on one million dollar bail, despite federal prosecutors contentions that their bail should be raised since they now faced the possibility of substantially more prison time and that there was evidence of their attempts to shield assets.^[17]

On February 18, 2011, a jury in federal court found Ciavarella guilty of racketeering. This charge stemmed from Ciavarella accepting $997,000 in illegal payments from Robert Mericle, the real estate developer of PA Child Care, and attorney Robert Powell, a co-owner of the facility. Ciavarella is also on trial for 38 other counts including accepting numerous payments from Mericle and Powell as well as tax evasion.^[18]

On August 11, 2011 Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison. With good behavior, he could be released in less than 24 years, when he would be 85.^[19]

Civil lawsuits

Ciavarella is a defendant in a class action lawsuit filed by the Juvenile Law Center on behalf of the juveniles who were adjudicated delinquent by him despite not being represented by counsel or advised of their rights.^[20][21] He has moved to dismiss this lawsuit as it pertains to him based on judicial immunity.^[22] He is also named as a defendant in three other lawsuits, however, all four lawsuits have been consolidated into one master class action lawsuit which was filed in June and then amended in late August.^[23][24]

The plaintiffs, in a 75-page court filing on September 9, argued that the actions of Ciavarella and Conahan should not be “fully shielded by absolutely judicial immunity or legislative immunity”, because their actions went beyond their judicial and administrative duties.”

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Finders fees in the juvenile justice system and adoption system need to be reformed.

Update:“Former Pennsylvania judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan must pay a total of $206 million to roughly 300 people following a “cash-for-kids” scandal in which the pair sent children to for-profit prisons in exchange for financial compensation.

The victims received an award of $106 million in compensatory damages and another $100 million in punitive damages, per the Associated Press. U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner called the affair “a scandal of epic proportions.”

“Ciavarella and Conahan abandoned their oath and breached the public trust,” Conner wrote. “Their cruel and despicable actions victimized a vulnerable population of young people, many of whom were suffering from emotional issues and mental health concerns.”

Children as young as 8 went to prison as part of the pair’s efforts. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out the convictions of over 2,300 children following the scheme, per the outlet.

Both men were sentenced to prison in 2011. Apart from the civil suit’s damages, Ciavarella received 28 years in prison while Conahan got 17 years but was released in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and confined to house arrest.”

Two former judges must pay $200 million after sending kids to prison for bribe money
[Just The News 8/17/22 by Ben Whedon]