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Parents of two juveniles who were sent away to detention centers by former Judge Mark Ciavarella say they are elated with Thursday’s court ruling.

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• All Ciavarella juvie convictions vacated

The state Supreme Court vacated the convictions of all juveniles who appeared before Ciavarella between Jan. 1, 2003 and May 21, 2008.

Susan Mishanski, of Hanover Township, had just arrived home from work after hearing about the ruling, which will impact her son’s and about 6,500 other cases. Only a handful of those cases will be allowed to be retried.

“I’ve been behind all of this the whole stretch,” said Mishanski, 47.

Mishanski’s son, Kevin Williamson, now 18, was sentenced to three months at a juvenile facility after appearing before Ciavarella last year.

“I told my son, ‘You were one of his victims for something so simple to have been put through that,’ ” Mishanski said. “And, he kind of wants to put it behind him.”

“Being on the outside and hearing all the stories as a parent, you never want your children to go through that,” she said.

Federal prosecutors charged Ciavarella and former judge Michael Conahan in January with accepting more than $2.8 million in exchange for rulings that impacted the operation and construction of two juvenile centers. They later withdrew their pleas and were indicted in September on 48 charges, including racketeering, bribery and wire fraud. Their trial is pending.

For Kimberly Bryk, the state high court ruling would clear her daughter, Jamie, who at the age of 14 was put away in juvenile detention facilities for a fist fight with another girl in 2005.

It was Jamie’s first offense, said Bryk, 37.

Jamie was placed in PA Child Care for 1 1/2 months for the minor offense. She was next sent to Vision Quest, where she was held for nine months after she started to self mutilate by cutting herself.

Bryk, of Exeter Township, hired an attorney who was able to get her daughter into a treatment facility.

“It seemed like it took so long,” Bryk said. “The whole time she was put away, I thought it was just wrong. How could she be put away for a fight? It feels like everything I was saying before is true.”

Bryk said she was elated after hearing the news on a radio station at work Thursday.

“We’re happy. We’re good now,” she said.

Jamie, now 18, has moved on with her life. Bryk said her daughter graduated from high school, has a full-time job and is living in her own apartment. Jamie is thinking about going to college in the spring.

“She’s doing great,” Bryk said.

Jen Marckini, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7210.