No victims yet show to talk to court panel

WILKES-BARRE – State Superior Court Judge John M. Cleland said the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice came to town Monday to start the healing process, but it appears the panel will be doing it without victims.

He said he was hoping to hear from “lots and lots of kids” during the two days of public hearings on the Luzerne County juvenile justice system.

Cleland said invitations were extended to the two former judges at the center of the corruption scandal – Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan – but neither responded.

“We did invite – through their lawyers – Ciavarella and Conahan to testify, but we did not receive a response from either,” Cleland said. “Nor have we heard from any of the victims and their families.”

The 11-member Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice opened its hearings in Luzerne County on Monday to look into the failure of the juvenile justice system, taking the initial steps to restore public confidence in the system.

Cleland, 61, of McKean County, met with The Times Leader Editorial Board Monday prior to the hearings at the East Mountain Inn, Plains Township. Cleland requested the meeting because he said the paper was the first to break the story of corruption initially five and a half years ago.

“I’ve re-read those stories and it’s remarkable what’s in them,” Cleland said of the paper’s coverage.

Cleland, a state Superior Court judge and commission chairman, said the panel is not going to point any fingers or attach blame; he said the criminal investigation has that responsibility. The judge said the panel’s main task is to start moving the county juvenile system forward.

The Interbranch Commission was formed in August to analyze what went wrong in the county’s juvenile system and provide recommendations to ensure those problems are not repeated here or elsewhere. The commission held its first hearing in Harrisburg on Oct. 14 and made it clear that it would be asking tough questions of prosecutors and defense attorneys who took part in juvenile hearings, but failed to alert anyone to concerns about how former judge Mark Ciavarella was allegedly handling juvenile cases.

Ciavarella and fellow former judge Michael T. Conahan are under indictment and facing a federal trial for their alleged roles in a cash for kids scheme.

The first round of hearings will wrap up today and two more will be held in December. Cleland said he didn’t know if additional hearings will be held after the first of the year and said the commission’s report is due back to the state Legislature, governor and Supreme Court by May 31.

The commission is conducting a non-criminal investigation into the failure of the juvenile justice system designed to restore public confidence and to arrive at recommendations to avoid a recurrence of the system breakdown.

Cleland said the panel could recommend changes be made in the juvenile rules of procedure and in juvenile law. He said changes could come to the disciplinary rules for judges and lawyers and the panel could suggest legislative changes to enhance public confidence in the juvenile judicial system.

The witnesses appearing before the commission will offer sworn testimony, Cleland said.

Cleland said when he first heard of the corruption scandal in Luzerne County he was shocked and found it to be unbelievable.

“The judge in me was saying this just can’t be true,” he said. “This is not what we expect from our juvenile judges.”

When asked about Ciavarella’s “zero tolerance” policy on juvenile offenders that was embraced by many in Luzerne County, Cleland said, “I have zero tolerance for zero tolerance.”

Cleland said the panel members have been brought up to speed on the juvenile justice system. He said some of the members had little knowledge of the system before being appointed. He said in preparing for the hearings the panel members have worked well together.

“They aren’t afraid to ask the tough questions,” Cleland said. “I don’t sense any hesitation on their part. There’s something about harming kids that brings out people’s best interests.”

Cleland said there are a lot of questions to be answered – What went on in the courtroom? What were the circumstances that children waived their rights to legal representation? Did parents and their children understand?

“Yes, we would like to hear from some of these kids,” Cleland said. “I’m sure they aren’t appearing because of some sort of legal strategy. But we really did anticipate hearing from lots and lots of kids.”

Cleland said the testimony of victims and their families is not a requirement for the commission to do its job. He said if any of them decide to come forward, they will be welcome.

“We need to understand what happened,” Cleland said. “We can’t do it in an accusatory manner; we have to proceed in the spirit of moving forward to make it better and see that some good comes out of all of this.”

Cleland said the commission wants to know the answers to questions that have been asked by many for months since the scandal broke – who knew what, when they knew it and why, if they knew, they didn’t act?

“What we don’t know … is what it would have taken to encourage people to act,” Cleland said. “We know people in this community did not consciously choose to stand on the side of injustice at the expense of children. But what was it that made it so hard to do the right thing? Were people afraid? And if so, afraid of what? What repercussions? What retributions? Were they intimidated? By whom? And how?”

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Luzerne County Judges

A group convenes to study the Luzerne County juvenile justice system.

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Luzerne County Judges

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