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Parents whose children were detained at PA Child Care centers because of rulings by Ciavarella explore possibilities.
The number of people considering civil rights lawsuits because their children were detained at PA Child Care centers under orders from Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella may be growing.
One area law firm formed a task force to handle inquiries.
On Wednesday, Cefalo & Associates, of West Pittston, issued a press release announcing the formation of a “special internal task force” because of the “overwhelming” number of telephone calls concerning children placed in the detention centers in Pittston Township and western Pennsylvania.
Barry Dyller, a Wilkes-Barre attorney who specializes in civil rights cases, said on Tuesday that his phone was “ringing off the hook” with calls from parents after it was reported that Ciavarella and Judge Michael Conahan were charged with tax evasion and wire fraud in connection with PA Child Care juvenile detention centers.
The task force created by Michael Cefalo’s firm will “evaluate individual circumstances of the kids placed in the detention centers as a result of the misconduct identified in the federal criminal information,” the release states.
U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson on Monday charged that Ciavarella, in his capacity as a juvenile judge, began directing youthful offenders be sent to the Pittston Township center in 2003 and that he and Conahan then began receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars for their past and future official actions relating to the detention centers.
“When people in power abuse that power to the detriment of children, someone needs to act on their behalf,” Cefalo attorney James Albert said.
Cefalo said his staff is investigating the merits of each individual case to determine whether a class action or individual actions would be best to pursue.
“It’s going to take an army of people and a lot of time and effort to decide,” he said.
Cefalo said his firm received a couple dozen calls on the matter; six employees are working on it.
Representatives from several other area firms that advertise the handling of civil rights cases either declined comment, did not return messages or said they did not receive any inquiries related to the detention centers.