Background
Former Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan pleaded guilty on February 12, 2009, to charges they accepted more than $2.6 million in kickbacks in exchange for rulings that benefited the owners and builder of PA Child Care in Pittston Township and Western PA Child Care in Butler County.
The Office of U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Martin Carlson, his office has launched a Web site for the public to stay updated on the ongoing investigation of corruption in the county judiciary system.
Following the public corruption charges filed on January 26, 2009, authorities have met with several local attorneys to review past arbitration in the Luzerne County court system.
If you wish to find information about candidates seeking a seat in Luzerne County Court in the upcoming primary election, please see our Judge Elections hot topics page.
Primary Author
Terrie Morgan-Besecker
tmorgan@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Judges
Latest Headlines
November 4, 2009
A former Luzerne County Juvenile Probation official who pleaded guilty to illegally altering a juvenile's record is among the witnesses scheduled to testify next week before a commission formed to investigate failings within the county's juvenile justice system.
November 3, 2009
WILKES-BARRE – In light of Thursday’s state Supreme Court ruling that vacated the convictions of thousands of juveniles, Luzerne County officials are debating how to go about identifying adult offenders who might be eligible for a reduced sentence.
November 1, 2009

WHITE HAVEN – Laurene Transue thought the teenagers were kidding.
October 31, 2009
WILKES-BARRE – Tipped off that a county judge was improperly incarcerating juveniles for minor offenses, attorneys for the Juvenile Law Center knew there was just one way to get to the truth:
October 30, 2009
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.
October 30, 2009

HARRISBURG – Seeking to remedy what it deemed a “travesty of justice,” the state Supreme Court on Thursday vacated the convictions of all juveniles who appeared before former Judge Mark Ciavarella from 2003 to 2008 and barred retrials in all but a small portion of those cases.
October 29, 2009
The state Supreme Court today vacated the convictions of all juveniles who appeared before former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella from Jan. 1, 2003 to May 31, 2008 and barred the retrial of all but a handful of those cases.
October 29, 2009
WILKES-BARRE – Attorney Dan Segal couldn’t help but think of what might have been.
October 29, 2009

WILKES-BARRE – Who should be held responsible for the actions of two former county judges that allegedly led to the wholesale deprivation of constitutional rights of juveniles in Luzerne County Court?
October 28, 2009

WILKES-BARRE - Attorneys appeared before a federal judge today to argue whether former judges Michael Conahan, Mark Ciavarella and certain other defendants are immune from liability in a lawsuit that alleges juveniles were improperly incarcerated.
October 22, 2009
SCRANTON – An attorney who formerly worked in attorney Robert Powell’s law office is seeking to withdraw from defending the firm in lawsuits filed by juveniles who allege they were improperly detained in juvenile facilities once co-owned by Powell.
October 18, 2009

Several of the disgraced judge's business connections, financial interests went undisclosed.
October 16, 2009
MARK CIAVARELLA, of Kingston, the former president judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, was accused on Jan. 26 of accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks from private individuals in exchange for rulings that benefited the PA Child Care juvenile detention center in Pittston Township. He pleaded guilty, but the plea agreement was recently rejected by a federal judge.
October 15, 2009

HARRISBURG – What did they know and when did they know it? It’s the question at the heart of the investigation into failings within the Luzerne County juvenile justice system.
October 14, 2009

Testifying before a state juvenile commission this morning, Luzerne County President Judge Chester Muroski spent the bulk of his time explaining and defending why he and other county judges failed to detect that something was amiss in the county’s juvenile court system under former judge Mark Ciavarella.
October 14, 2009
PCN TV is offering streaming video of this morning's Juvenile Justice Commission hearings at the PA Judicial Center.
October 13, 2009

As varied as the property deals were that Michael T. Conahan handled as an attorney, a familiar name often appeared with his on the paperwork.
October 11, 2009
Spending on juvenile incarcerations expected to be $11.8M less than during tenure of judges now under indictment.
October 11, 2009

While he was a district justice and when he became a Luzerne County judge, Michael T. Conahan held a $300,000 mortgage on The Golden Slipper Lounge outside Philadelphia.
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