Attorneys supporting Cosgrove

WILKES-BARRE – The Luzerne County bench tainted by disgraced ex-judge Mark Ciavarella could regain its integrity if constitutional law expert and attorney Joe Cosgrove dons a judge’s robe, local legal experts said.

Cosgrove, 52, was nominated by Gov. Ed Rendell Friday to fill Ciavarella’s term until it expires in January 2012. Cosgrove now must be approved by the state Senate after confirmation hearings.

Al Flora, who represents Ciavarella and has worked on cases with Cosgrove, believes Cosgrove’s appointment could help reverse the damage at the scandal-ridden courthouse.

Flora, who also serves as a first assistant public defender for Luzerne County, said Cosgrove is the best choice for the post because he is a staunch supporter and defender of the Constitution who will make sure everyone is treated fairly in the corridors of justice.

“When a judge takes an oath of office, one of the things he swears to is that he will defend the Constitution and he will apply the rule of law. With Joe Cosgrove, he takes those words to heart … He is an individual who has dedicated his life to the law and applying the law in a fair and impartial manner on behalf of his clients,” he said.

Cosgrove, also an adjunct law professor at King’s College, has worked with Flora on numerous high-profile cases in the past two decades, including the 1989 Cottam case, in which a Nuangola couple was convicted of starving their teenage son to death.

Cosgrove, whose office is in Forty Fort, also assisted Flora in representing convicted murder George Banks before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 as they attempted to spare Banks from the death penalty. Cosgrove wrote the brief that was presented to the nine justices and helped brief Flora on death-penalty cases.

Luzerne County Chief Public Defender Basil Russin was Cosgrove’s boss early in his career in the 1980s, when Cosgrove served as an assistant in the public defender office.

The Norte Dame graduate and former Leprechaun mascot was a diligent attorney who researched his cases extensively by throwing himself into his work to develop unique strategies to help his clients, Russin recalled.

For example, he said Cosgrove questioned Nobel Prize recipient Mother Teresa as a character witness via the phone in the June 1991 trial of Steven Dunn, who was found guilty of killing his girlfriend’s 16-month-old son.

Mother Teresa did not personally know the defendant, but the Calcutta-based nun testified that Dunn’s life should be spared because God would do that. Dunn was given a life sentence.

Cosgrove, in an interview Friday night, said he and Mother Teresa became friends and spoke about once a month.

Just as jurors are instructed to set aside personal opinions and biases to apply the law, judges need to do the same to ensure constitutional principles are upheld, Cosgrove said.

“If we can get that message across to the public . .. I know the other judges will follow the law. I know we will restore justice in short order to the bench,” he said.

Russin said Cosgrove has an impeccable character that no amount of money can influence.

“He does what he believes is right in how he interprets the law and how he lives his life. No one will be able to buy Joe Cosgrove. Plus, he is a very modest person. He doesn’t require much to live. He enjoys a couple of things, but he is not a high-roller,” Russin said.

Cosgrove is a steadfast opponent of the death penalty and outspoken peace advocate.

The Golden Globe winner recalled he and Cosgrove met in 1986 when both were arrested in New York City for protesting President Reagan’s Star Wars initiative. Reagan’s defense plan would have put weapons in space to destroy missiles. In a phone interview from his home in California, Sheen told the story of how Cosgrove went around the police station gathering summons from the other protesters agreeing to defend them in court because he felt so strongly about the peace movement.

Cosgrove now is Sheen’s personal attorney and has defended him in every case since, except one, Sheen said.

The two speak often, as Sheen says Cosgrove is “more like a brother” than just a friend.

Sheen, a peace advocate who has been arrested several times, said the judicial system needs people who are compassionate as well as skilled in the law.