Luzerne County Judges

January 28, 2010

Cosgrove joins county court today

Times Leader staff

WILKES-BARRE – Attorney Joseph Cosgrove of Forty Fort will be sworn in as a Luzerne County judge at 3 p.m. today at the county courthouse.

Gov. Ed Rendell nominated Cosgrove in December to fill the seat of former Judge Mark Ciavarella, who resigned last year after being hit with corruption charges.

The state Senate confirmed Cosgrove for the seat by a 50-0 vote on Monday.

Cosgrove, 52, has been in private practice since 1982 and previously served as a state Superior Court law clerk and assistant public defender in Luzerne County.

“I look forward to the opportunity to serve the people of Luzerne County and to sit on the bench with my soon-to-be colleagues,” Cosgrove said Wednesday.

Cosgrove’s addition to the bench has been eagerly awaited as the county continues to struggle to handle caseloads due to the departure, voluntary and involuntary, of six county judges within the past two years.

Even with his addition, the court remains three judges shy of a full complement as no one has been named to replace Judge Michael Toole, who resigned in December after being charged with honest services fraud and tax evasion.

The seats of former Judge Ann Lokuta, who was removed from office by the Judicial Conduct Board in 2008, and Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr., who lost his bid for retention, also remain open.

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