Reply #18: New Front Page Article in Phila. Inquirer [View All]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20090308_A_corrupt_judge__a_damaged_life.html

Excerpts:

"Teen and his family still paying after Luzerne County sentencing. By John Sullivan

As Joanne Balasavage sat with her 16-year-old son, Charlie, outside the courtroom of Judge Ciavarella, she noticed a troubling trend. Only parents emerged from the courtroom, no children. They could hear shackles jangle across the floor in 2007 as one after another, juvenile defendants were taken away.

Then came Charlie's turn. ... he had never been in trouble before buying from a relative a scooter that turned out to have been stolen. Without a lawyer representing him, Charlie was quickly dispatched by the judge on a three-year odyssey through the state's juvenile-detention system... In "a wave of unprecedented lawlessness," the suit says, the judges failed to advise Charlie and other youths of their right to counsel, accepted their guilty pleas without explaining what they had been charged with, and garnisheed the wages of their parents to pay the costs of detention.

For Charlie, the nightmare continues. Nearly three years after his ordeal began, and despite little evidence he committed a crime, Charlie remains in a juvenile center, The Juvenile Law Center estimates that between 2003 and 2008, as many as 2,500 Luzerne County juveniles may have been affected by Ciavarella's rulings. In a two-year window examined by the Juvenile Law Center, more than half of those defendants had no attorney.. Meanwhile, the judges lived lavishly, vacationing at a Florida condominium and enjoying a boat slip rented with kickbacks they have admitted taking.

According to state guidelines, the recommended sentence for an adult convicted of the same offense is probation to one month in jail...On the first day at Camp Adams, Charlie met with a psychologist. After several hours of interviews, the psychologist said Charlie had an antisocial disorder, anxiety, depression, and a host of other maladies. The Balasavages wanted Charlie to see another doctor, one covered by their medical insurance. But the county said no. Charlie's parents and lawyers have discovered that the psychologist, Frank Vita, is Conahan's brother-in-law. In November, the state said it would take back $836,636 it had paid Vita for such exams. ...He had to appear before Ciavarella again. This time the judge was even harsher."You're a two-time loser, and you'll always be a loser," he said the judge had told him."