Pa. Justices Expunge ‘Tainted’ Juvenile Cases

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued a sweeping order vacating nearly all of the records for juveniles who appeared before a former Luzerne County judge, criticizing former Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. for running a courtroom with "a disturbing lack of fundamental process, inimical to any system of justice." Ciavarella and another judge have been charged with taking $2.8 million in kickbacks from a former owner and the builder of two juvenile detention centers to which Ciavarella had sentenced children.