Luzerne County Judges

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter
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HARRISBURG – An official with the state Judicial Conduct Board said he intends to file a petition seeking the immediate suspension of Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan if the state Supreme Court does not take the action first.

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Joseph Massa Jr., chief counsel for the JCB, said the Supreme Court has the authority to suspend any judge who has been charged with a felony.

Massa said he expects the court will issue that order soon. If the court does not file the order by the end of the week, he said he would file a petition with the Court of Judicial Discipline, asking it to issue an interim suspension pending the resolution of the criminal case against the judges.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Monday charged Ciavarella and Conahan with accepting more than $2.6 million in kickbacks from private individuals in exchange for judicial rulings that benefited the PA Child Care juvenile detention center.

The judges have agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion and to devising a scheme to defraud the public of its honest services. The plea deal calls for Ciavarella and Conahan to each serve 87 months in prison and to resign from office within 10 days after they enter the plea in court.

By seeking an interim suspension, the JCB would ensure that neither Ciavarella nor Conahan would hear any cases pending their resignations. Luzerne County Judge Chester Muroski, who is serving as acting president judge, has already said they would not be assigned cases.

Ciavarella and Conahan remain free pending the scheduling of their plea hearing. Their case was assigned Tuesday to Senior U.S. District Judge Edwin M. Kosik.