News

August 14, 2009

Four are appointed to look at scandal

Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice examining two judges’ actions.

By Bill O'Boyle boboyle@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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Four people have been appointed to the 11-member state commission investigating the Luzerne County Courthouse scandal.

House Bill 1648, sponsored by state Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Butler Township, and signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell last week, creates the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, with four members appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, four members appointed by the General Assembly, and three members appointed by the governor.

Eachus said he expects all members to be appointed by the end of next week.

The commission will hold monthly meetings and public hearings. It also will have subpoena power.

The bill sets out a 25-day timeline for appointing the commission’s members and a 45-day deadline for the commission’s first meeting. The commission must submit a report of its findings and recommendations by May 31.

The commission’s report will examine the actions by former Luzerne County judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan that led to juveniles being wrongly sentenced to a juvenile detention center.

Rendell has made his three appointments – a former Wyoming County commissioner and two western Pennsylvanians involved with juvenile justice issues were appointed Wednesday. They are Ronald P. Williams of Lake Winola, a Wyoming County commissioner from 1987 to 2003; Tod C. Allen, director of court advocacy, Crime Victim Center of Erie County; and Valerie Bender, research associate, National Center for Juvenile Justice in Pittsburgh.

York County Common Pleas Court Judge John C. Uhler has been picked by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati to serve on the commission charged with reviewing juvenile justice laws and procedures in the wake of extensive judicial corruption in Luzerne County.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, who called for reforms to the system after the guilty pleas entered by the two Luzerne County judges, has high praise for Uhler.

“Judge Uhler has earned wide respect for the quality of his work, his sense of ethics, and his commitment to excellence in juvenile justice,” Baker said in a release. “People in the legal system and my York County colleagues all believe he is the right person for this serious undertaking.”

Baker said even though Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system is highly regarded, Luzerne County “suffered from extensive and shocking corruption.” She said the commission has to consider ways to better safeguard the rights of juveniles and ways to exercise greater oversight so that any future corrupt practices are caught early.

“At the end of this process, I believe that legislators will have to make changes in state law, the courts will need to upgrade their procedural rules, and the bureaucracy will have to monitor the system more carefully,” Baker said.

A release from Rendell’s office said the governor’s appointments reflect a goal to have commission members with backgrounds in juvenile justice issues.

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7218.

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