2 Judges to Plead in Jailing Juveniles for Profit Case, But What About the Kids?

Public outrage and potential litigation are being sparked by news that two longtime Pennsylvania judges have accepted a plea that includes prison time in a case alleging that they incarcerated juvenile defendants for their own personal profit.

After news of the plea by Luzerne County's president judge, Mark Ciavarella Jr., 58, and Michael Conahan, 56, a retired senior judge who still has been hearing cases, the Juvenile Law Center, which earlier had unsuccessfully petitioned the state supreme court concerning hundreds of youths allegedly put into detention without being told they had a right to an attorney, may do so again. It may also file a civil lawsuit over the situation, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A Luzerne County lawyer involved in operating a juvenile detention facility is reportedly one of the two people who allegedly paid the judges some $2.6 million in exchange for incarcerating youths. The lawyer has not been charged, and the two judges, even though they have agreed to plead, are not admitting to all of the allegations against them, according to an attorney representing one of the jurists.

Under the plea bargain, the two judges are to resign from office and receive 87-month federal prison sentences.

Additional coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "2 Pa. Judges to Resign & Serve Time in $2.6M Juvenile Detention Kickbacks Case"

Legal Intelligencer: "Judges to Serve More Than Seven Years in Prison After Pleading Guilty in Kickbacks Probe"

MSNBC: "No Shortage of Reaction to Charges Against Judges"