Luzerne County Judges

December 29, 2009

Ciavarella decision sparks new lawsuit

A family claims a son’s constitutional rights were violated by the ex-judge.

A White Haven man and his parents believe he, too, was sentenced unjustly as a youth several years ago in the alleged “kids for cash” scandal. They filed on Monday a lawsuit against a slew of familiar defendants.

Raul Clark, now 21, was a 14-year-old Coughlin High School freshman in 2002 when he was arrested on misdemeanor charges of violating curfew and drug-paraphernalia possession. He was sentenced by former county Judge Mark Ciavarella to six months’ detention and was forced to face several other hardships of the legal system unjustly, the lawsuit contends.

The lawsuit contends Clark’s rights under the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated and seeks an unspecified amount of punitive and compensatory damages along with interest, court costs and attorney’s fees.

Among others, the defendants in the case are: Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, former county judges at the heart of the scandal; Sandra Brulo and the county probation department by which she used to be employed; Robert Powell, Greg Zappala and the two Child Care detention centers they owned mutually; Robert Mericle and Mericle Construction Inc.; Barbara Conahan; Cindy Ciavarella; and the Pinnacle Group of Jupiter of which the judges’ wives were the owners.

According to the lawsuit, Ciavarella wrongly stated that Clark had been charged with public intoxication and marijuana possession and failed to follow legal conventions, such as having Clark enter a formal plea. He instead, according to the suit, simply asked if Clark “did it.”

The lawsuit then suggests that Clark’s sentence of six months in detention was based on the number of birds that were sitting outside the court’s window.

The lawsuit alleges that Clark was transferred several times without explanation or alerting his parents, who are deaf.

Seven months after his initial hearing, Clark was released and put on probation. He then missed curfew once, for which he was placed for three days at PA Child Care in Pittston Township, one of the detention centers involved in the scandal.

He then returned to the center after he was told he tested positive in a school drug test for methamphetamines and PCP, though the lawsuit alleges urine samples were switched.

Clark was among the former defendants whose juvenile records were expunged earlier this year.

Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.

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