Background
Former Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan pleaded guilty on February 12, 2009, to charges they accepted more than $2.6 million in kickbacks in exchange for rulings that benefited the owners and builder of PA Child Care in Pittston Township and Western PA Child Care in Butler County.
The Office of U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Martin Carlson, his office has launched a Web site for the public to stay updated on the ongoing investigation of corruption in the county judiciary system.
Following the public corruption charges filed on January 26, 2009, authorities have met with several local attorneys to review past arbitration in the Luzerne County court system.
If you wish to find information about candidates seeking a seat in Luzerne County Court in the upcoming primary election, please see our Judge Elections hot topics page.
Primary Author
Terrie Morgan-Besecker
tmorgan@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Judges
Latest Headlines
March 6, 2010
WILKES-BARRE – Heading into the November general election, Luzerne County Judge Thomas Burke was concerned about whether the voters would give him another 10-year term.
March 6, 2010
WILKES-BARRE – Less than two months after former judge Mark A. Ciavarella obtained a loan from Miners Bank, the lender obtained a judgment against him for defaulting on the $56,153 note.
March 6, 2010
WILKES-BARRE – Perhaps there never has been a better time to apply the old saying, “Hit the ground running,” than in 2010 when talking about the three new Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas judges.
March 2, 2010
SCRANTON – Attorneys for former judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella launched their defense with a blistering attack Monday, filing dozens of pre-trial motions that include allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and bias by the trial judge.
February 24, 2010
SCRANTON – Former Luzerne County judge Michael Conahan has filed a motion to dismiss the latest of several federal lawsuits filed against him that allege he conspired to falsely incarcerate juvenile offenders.
February 23, 2010
SCRANTON – A federal judge has postponed the sentencing for former Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole after being advised that the federal probation department needs more time to complete its pre-sentence investigation.
February 19, 2010
HARRISBURG – A state agency’s decision to deny former Luzerne County judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella their pensions was based on a flawed interpretation of the law and should be overruled, attorneys for the ex-jurists say in an amended appeal.
February 10, 2010
HARRISBURG – Gov. Ed Rendell has nominated two longtime Luzerne County attorneys with decades of legal experience to fill vacant positions on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.
February 4, 2010
WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Luzerne County Senior Judge Chester Muroski on Tuesday pleaded guilty and paid a fine for citations related to a traffic accident in January on state Route 115 in Bear Creek Township.
February 3, 2010
HARRISBURG – Advocates lined up in the morning to call the state Judicial Conduct Board to task, with Pennsylvanians for Modern Justice Executive Director Lynn Marks telling the commission scrutinizing Luzerne County’s court corruption scandal that “there must be an accounting of the actions or inactions” of the board that had received complaints about the two judges years before corruption charges were filed.
February 2, 2010
HARRISBURG – The state’s Judicial Conduct Board must provide a misconduct complaint filed against former judge Michael Conahan to a commission investigating Luzerne County’s juvenile justice system, but the board does not have to release other documents related to its handling of the complaint, the state Supreme Court has ruled.
January 28, 2010
WILKES-BARRE – Luzerne County’s newest judge was sworn in Thursday to fill the seat of disgraced judge Mark Ciavarella.
January 28, 2010
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.
January 27, 2010
Senior Berks County Judge Arthur Grim said he expects some victims of crimes committed by juveniles may be upset by his order Monday that absolved the offenders from paying restitution, but he felt he was legally obligated to do so.
January 25, 2010
WILKES-BARRE – Declaring that juvenile justice in Luzerne County has been “balanced and restored,” Berks County Senior Judge Arthur Grim on Monday morning ordered the last of unsettled juvenile cases tainted by the judicial corruption scandal “dismissed with prejudice.”
January 25, 2010
Juveniles who still owe restitution and now have their cases dismissed because of the judge corruption scandal will not have to pay the remainder of what they owe, Senior Berks County Judge Arthur Grim said this morning. Grim said the court and attorneys will meet to work out other ways to fulfill restitution orders.
January 24, 2010
Laurene Transue is looking forward to the day when former Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan appear in court to face charges related to the juvenile justice scandal that ensnared her daughter and thousands of other youths.
January 23, 2010
HARRISBURG – Recommendations from professionals who are involved in or follow the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania were plenty on Friday.
January 22, 2010
HARRISBURG – Juvenile justice officials who testified before a commission investigating failings within Luzerne County’s juvenile system made several suggestions for changes they believe will help ensure problems to do not reoccur here or elsewhere.
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