• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

White supremacy is terrorism.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

Let’s finish the job.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

American History and Black History can not be separated.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

No one could have predicted…

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

Bark louder, little dog.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

“Look, it’s not against the rules anywhere, but a black woman with power was dating and there has to be something wrong with that.”

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2024 Elections
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Updated Update: Judge Ciavarella Found Guilty

Updated Update: Judge Ciavarella Found Guilty

by Anne Laurie|  February 19, 20119:25 pm| 47 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Shitty Cops, Assholes, Decline and Fall, Outrage

FacebookTweetEmail

Since Kay is busy organizing in Ohio (Ohio residents, check that post!), she graciously gave me permission to post another update on the Pennsylvania judge caught using hapless local teenagers as a profit center:

SCRANTON, Pa. – A former juvenile court judge was convicted Friday of racketeering in a case that accused him of sending youth offenders to for-profit detention centers in exchange for millions of dollars in illicit payments from the builder and owner of the lockups.
__
Luzerne County ex-Judge Mark Ciavarella, 61, left the bench in disgrace two years ago after prosecutors charged him with engineering one of the biggest courtroom frauds in U.S. history by using juvenile delinquents as pawns in a plot to get rich…
__
Ciavarella was expressionless as the verdicts were being read. Prosecutors called him a flight risk and asked that he be held pending sentencing, but he was allowed to remain free. He is likely to get a prison sentence of more than 12 years, according to prosecutors…
__
The judge, known for his harsh and autocratic courtroom demeanor, filled the beds of the private lockups with children as young as 10. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed thousands of juvenile convictions issued by Ciavarella, saying he ran his courtroom with “complete disregard for the constitutional rights of the juveniles,” including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea.
__
His rough treatment of youths — whom he often had handcuffed and shackled — did not figure into his corruption trial, which focused on the payments from Mericle and Powell. But prosecutor Gordon Zubrod told jurors in his closing argument that Luzerne County’s juveniles were indeed victimized by Ciavarella — that he had used them as “pawns in a scheme to enrich himself.”…
__
Taking the stand in his own defense, the former judge acknowledged to jurors that he failed to report the payments on his tax returns and hid them from the public, but he denied any plot to take kickbacks or extort money. Ciavarella told jurors that he thought he was legally entitled to Mericle’s money, calling it a “finder’s fee” for introducing Mericle to Powell…

Read the article, and if you missed Kay’s original post, her commentary is important. I should probably point out that, despite all odds, the kids exploited by Ciavarella and his co-conspirators were apparently white, genuine Heartland Americans(tm) who turned out to be just as vulnerable as any off-color possibly-non-citizen denizens of the hated urban enclaves. The antics of Ciavarella and his chums would make a great Carl Hiaasen novel, if only there were alligators in Pennsylvania to help dispose of the evidence.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Sunday’s European League Games
Next Post: Female Journalists Who Have Been Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault May No Longer Be Invisible, Thanks to Lara Logan »

Reader Interactions

47Comments

  1. 1.

    Nemo_N

    February 19, 2011 at 9:29 pm

    I should probably point out that, despite all odds, the kids exploited by Ciavarella and his co-conspirators were apparently white, genuine Heartland Americans™

    Oh crap.

    I just imagined what the commentaries would have been if he had targeted only brownish-looking kids (“There is the distinct possibility that those kids did actually do something wrong…”).

  2. 2.

    The Dangerman

    February 19, 2011 at 9:30 pm

    So, when we bust the Teachers Union and privatize the schools, who is getting their palms greased? Throw the book at this fucking Judge.

  3. 3.

    kdaug

    February 19, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    For-profit prisons, business-written laws, and unlimited anonymous corporate campaign contributions.

    What could go wrong?

  4. 4.

    D. Mason

    February 19, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    I should probably point out that, despite all odds, the kids exploited by Ciavarella and his co-conspirators were apparently white, genuine Heartland Americans™ who turned out to be just as vulnerable as any off-color possibly-non-citizen denizens of the hated urban enclaves.

    I actually don’t know what to make of this part. What’s the value of injecting race here?

  5. 5.

    Ruckus

    February 19, 2011 at 9:41 pm

    @D. Mason:
    It was injected in the original post in the comments.

  6. 6.

    kdaug

    February 19, 2011 at 9:41 pm

    Wait, wait, forgot one crucial facet: a government-sanctioned “War on X” which you just happen to be equipped to deal with.

    For a long time.

    Maybe forever.

  7. 7.

    El Cid

    February 19, 2011 at 9:43 pm

    Look forward, not back?

  8. 8.

    D. Mason

    February 19, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    @Ruckus: Makes sense.

  9. 9.

    James Hare

    February 19, 2011 at 9:49 pm

    One thing I’ll give Sully — he realizes that these fuckers were a special sort of evil that is not easily described.

    I’m not sure what penalty is appropriate for ruining children for your own enrichment. That is a kind of evil I have thankfully not been exposed to before this nonsense.

    I cannot support the death penalty, but whatever penalty these folks endure will be too short and too lenient.

  10. 10.

    El Cid

    February 19, 2011 at 9:56 pm

    @James Hare: Really? That sort of insight — destroying children’s lives for profit — is sufficient to get a conservative writer kudos? Jeesh, here I thought that was pretty obvious the moment I saw the first news report about the situation.

  11. 11.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 19, 2011 at 9:57 pm

    OT, but also an update on that Ohio post below

    Kasich Cancels Appearance To Explain JobsOhio Tuesday
    David Potts – Posted on 19 February 2011
    Just a little item of note. It seems Governor Kasich may be trying to clear his schedule for Tuesday, when massive protests are expected over SB 5. He’s cancelled a scheduled appearance at a special luncheon of the St. Clairsville Chamber of Commerce, where he was supposed to explain his JobsOhio plan.

  12. 12.

    Lesley

    February 19, 2011 at 9:59 pm

    I guess there is no chance this scumbag will be placed into the general prison population. Pity.

    A fitting punishment would be to lock him up in a cage at the local zoo, apart from the innocent animals, with the story of his crimes on a plaque for all the public to see.

  13. 13.

    James Hare

    February 19, 2011 at 10:08 pm

    @El Cid:
    Lately it seems that’s the best he can do. The rest is whining that folks aren’t understanding enough of his illness or willing to excuse his ugly politics.

  14. 14.

    Mr Furious

    February 19, 2011 at 10:12 pm

    The max for his convictions is 157 years. Sounds about right to me.

    Unfortunately sentencing guidelines call for 12-15. This asshole deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

  15. 15.

    JGabriel

    February 19, 2011 at 10:13 pm

    Anne Laurie @ Top:

    The antics of Ciavarella and his chums would make a great Carl Hiaasen novel, if only there were alligators in Pennsylvania to help dispose of the evidence.

    Given all the gun love out there (I know the area well), I’m surprised no one has shot the son of a bitch dead yet.

    .

  16. 16.

    JGabriel

    February 19, 2011 at 10:16 pm

    @Mr Furious:

    Unfortunately sentencing guidelines call for 12-15. This asshole deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

    The judge can exceed the sentencing guidelines, and, given the extraordinary nature of the crimes, would be entirely justified in doing so.

    .

  17. 17.

    Citizen_X

    February 19, 2011 at 10:16 pm

    @Mr Furious: He’s 61. There’s a good chance it will be the rest of his life.

    Fine by me. Payback’s a bitch, “Judge.”

  18. 18.

    D. Mason

    February 19, 2011 at 10:16 pm

    @Mr Furious: If this judge sees the inside of a prison cell I will be dumbstruck.

  19. 19.

    M. Bouffant

    February 19, 2011 at 10:18 pm

    The mother of young man committed to one of these for-profit institutions (for possession of drug paraphernalia) who later killed himself gives the criminal judge a piece of her mind.

  20. 20.

    El Cid

    February 19, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    Do you know how you can bring together Hugo Chavez and his rabidly bitter, vehement opponents?

    Have the GOP head of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee in the House of Representatives Connie Mack at CPAC threaten a US embargo against Venezuela and get the country listed on the US’ terrorist-supporting nation list because Mack’s a tough guy with Hugo Chavez.

    Republican Congressman Connie Mack of Florida, who has been very critical of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, on the weekend once again called for Washington to place Venezuela on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and to impose a “full-scale economic embargo” on Caracas.

    The united opposition response?

    From El Universal, anti-Chavez daily Venezuelan newspaper [my translation]:
    __
    Far-ranging dialogue between delegations of the opposition and of the majority party in the center of the Venezuelan section of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) yesterday had a convincing demonstration yesterday when it unanimously approved a resolution condemning statements by US Congressman Connie Mack.
    __
    The parliamentary condemnation of Mack’s proposal that the US government apply an economic blockade against Venezuela and moreover include the country in the list of nations who support terrorism. [Note: Venezuela doesn’t, and there isn’t evidence that it does.]
    __
    …[T]he leader of the opposition delegation, Delsa Solorzano, spoke to clarify:
    __
    “This has nothing to do with a resolution in support of or against Chavez. We are clear that there are distinct positions [between us], but in this sense, this has to do with supporting the Venezuelan people.
    __
    “He has offended our country and our people, and not the current President.”

    You see? The Republicans really can bring us all together.

  21. 21.

    JGabriel

    February 19, 2011 at 10:24 pm

    @James Hare:

    I’m not sure what penalty is appropriate for ruining children for your own enrichment. That is a kind of evil I have thankfully not been exposed to before this nonsense.

    Sure you have. You’re exposed to it every time someone mass-markets a new fattening, non-nutritious, food to kids — and every time a politician votes to cut education spending to fund a tax break for his rich buddies. And every time the GOP votes to cut WIC funds, as the House did recently.

    Enriching yourself at the cost of childrens’s well-being and future is a common path to riches in this country. They’re an easily manipulated and weakly defended target.

    .

  22. 22.

    El Cid

    February 19, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    @James Hare: Hey, I take a strong stand against smothering orphans in carbon monoxide for TV reality shows.

    Can I get some respect as a conservative blogger now?

  23. 23.

    Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen

    February 19, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    Is it wrong to hope an administrative error results in this dirtbag sharing a cell with one of his former victims?

  24. 24.

    El Cid

    February 19, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    @JGabriel: Young bucks, T-bone steaks, Cadillacs, etc.

  25. 25.

    El Cid

    February 19, 2011 at 10:30 pm

    For anyone who can read Spanish, the unanimous condemnation of Connie Mack by the entire Venezuelan delegation to Parlatino is pretty bad-ass. (A PDF of the entire conjointly signed statement is available here.)

  26. 26.

    General Stuck

    February 19, 2011 at 10:34 pm

    They should put him alone in a room with the mother whose son committed suicide in Juvy over a minor violation, from CNN vid I posted last thread. There wouldn’t be much left of this creep. Poor woman, raw pain and rage, and righteous. I hope she finds an outlet to some day temper that rage from the evil that was visited onto her family from this miscreant judge et al. It will eat her alive and leave yet another victim.

  27. 27.

    AnotherBruce

    February 19, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    @El Cid:

    I get your point but the bar has been set very low for conservative bloggers, somewhere south of hell. I’ll bet right now, there’s a wingnut blogger or radio host defending this judge and ranting about how this is the fault of the liberals and their unruly kids.

    Still, I don’t get the fascination with Sullivan. He’s not a good enough writer for me to want to wade through his sewage just so I can find something I like.

  28. 28.

    Little Boots

    February 19, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    @M. Bouffant:

    Damn that was painful to see. Good for her.

  29. 29.

    El Cid

    February 19, 2011 at 10:48 pm

    @AnotherBruce: I’d guess that the right wouldn’t at all side with the judge, but I agree on the blaming of libruls, but not so much their own kids but some sort of liberal policies which allowed or encouraged this judge to do it and which are responsible for all these troubled kids in the first place.

    Or maybe that these troublemakers should just be sent to regular jail anyway.

  30. 30.

    Little Boots

    February 19, 2011 at 10:49 pm

    @AnotherBruce:

    I have such mixed feelings there. I’m done with him, after his latest crap, but I’ve been done with him half a dozen times already, so I know that won’t last. He really is a compelling writer. He really is. And he’s the ultimate blogger, in that the Personal is the Political is his maxim, to the extreme. But he does have some incredibly stupid impulses for an intelligent man, and you just have to deal with that, at least if you want to.

  31. 31.

    M. Bouffant

    February 19, 2011 at 10:51 pm

    @General Stuck:

    Didn’t see you’d posted that last thread. The mother was interviewed on CNN later, & she was far from forgiving. As she said, he ruined her life, & she’s indeed being eaten alive.

  32. 32.

    stibbert

    February 19, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    iirc, this case had previously been plea-bargained to an agreed guilty-plea & sentence of 87 months, but the judge rejected the plea-bargain terms as inadequate in view of the crimes committed, and req’d that the case go to trial. in view of his attitude, i wouldn’t be surprised (& would be pleased!) if he decides on a sentence substantially greater than the ‘sentencing guidelines’ of 12-15 years.

  33. 33.

    Dennis SGMM

    February 19, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    @AnotherBruce:

    I’ll bet right now, there’s a wingnut blogger or radio host defending this judge and ranting about how this is the fault of the liberals and their unruly kids.

    Witch hunt! Witch hunt! Law and order judge brought down by liberal scofflaws!

  34. 34.

    Felanius Kootea (formerly Salt and freshly ground black people)

    February 19, 2011 at 11:00 pm

    What sucks is that he’ll only get 12 years and no one can give those kids the time they lost.

  35. 35.

    General Stuck

    February 19, 2011 at 11:08 pm

    @M. Bouffant:

    I can’t remember the last time I watched a video that affected me like that one. You just want to reach into the monitor and do something to offer some comfort.

  36. 36.

    asiangrrlMN

    February 19, 2011 at 11:12 pm

    @Felanius Kootea (formerly Salt and freshly ground black people): If he’s in jail for the full twelve,I’ll take it. Yeah, sad commentary on our system, but so be it.

    He truly is a special brand of evil.

  37. 37.

    Little Boots

    February 19, 2011 at 11:19 pm

    12 years in jail would really suck. I think he’d feel it. He’s a scumbag, but he’s totally not used to be held accountable ever. I think 12 years would do it.

  38. 38.

    MikeJ

    February 19, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    It’s a pity that scum like this never kill themselves to show a little guilt. My guess is he doesn’t feel any.

  39. 39.

    gwangung

    February 19, 2011 at 11:48 pm

    The antics of Ciavarella and his chums would make a great Carl Hiaasen novel, if only there were alligators in Pennsylvania to help dispose of the evidence.

    Um, this DID make a good Leverage episode.

    One of my favorite moments concerning 301 was when we were screening the episode, and I was sitting next to a very conservative friend. (Yes, I have those.) When the corporate prison pay-for-prisoners scam was explained in the episode, he threw a sidelong glance at me. I shrugged. “We didn’t change that much from the real case, sadly.”
    __
    A beat. “Wait, that really happened?”
    __
    “A little tweaked, but yeah.”

  40. 40.

    d0n camillo

    February 20, 2011 at 12:40 am

    Privatized prisons are a special evil. We have created a situation where companies have a financial incentive to imprison people. In this case it was children, but in other cases it has been innocent adults. Let’s hear it for the invisible hand.

  41. 41.

    Anne Laurie

    February 20, 2011 at 12:51 am

    @gwangung: Something for me to look forward to! We don’t have cable, so we’re only up to Season 2 on the Leverage DVDs.

  42. 42.

    Mike G

    February 20, 2011 at 12:52 am

    Authoritarian law and order, capricious harsh punishments for “juvenile delinquents”, generating profit for a private prison and himself — I’m surprised this guy isn’t another Repuke hero-criminal like Oliver North or Gordon Liddy.

  43. 43.

    rikyrah

    February 20, 2011 at 12:57 am

    hope he’s thrown in a maximum security prison with a roommate named Tiny.

    hope he gets his ass beat every fucking week.

  44. 44.

    Chris Wolf

    February 20, 2011 at 2:21 am

    C’mon now, Skink woulda had this guy skinned WAAAAY before the Feds even started an investigation.

  45. 45.

    Arclite

    February 20, 2011 at 3:28 am

    Wow, talk about incentivizing locking kids up. Judge impartiality be damned. What a fucking asshole.

  46. 46.

    Plantsmantx

    February 20, 2011 at 11:08 am

    “the kids exploited by Ciavarella and his co-conspirators were apparently white, genuine Heartland Americans™ who turned out to be just as vulnerable as any off-color possibly-non-citizen denizens of the hated urban enclaves”

    Uh huh. I saw a CNN interview with the woman who confronted the judge outside the courthouse after he was convicted, and screamed about her son being driven to suicide after getting caught up in the juvenile detention system because of the judge. She talked about her son being sent to a boot camp full of “inner-city” people, including “murderers”. I immediately switched the channel. There was a time when hearing her say that wouldn’t have caused me to be less sympathetic toward her. That time is gone.

  47. 47.

    Jado

    February 23, 2011 at 1:32 pm

    Ciavrella is claiming victory because he was acquited of bribery and extortion charges – “See, i never traded kids for cash. It was just a coincidence that every time I sent some first-offender up on hard juvy time, I got another box of cash.”

    At least the other (supervising) judge had the decency to plead guilty, even if it was a plea bargain. Ciavarella is a self-deluded power junkie, and he still believes he did nothing wrong. Those kids shouldn’t have done that graffiti in the first place.

    I’m just surprised he didn’t cite anything other than his own authority in his justification – I was expecting the standard True-Patriot-Founding-Father-God-and-Country BS for his justifications. I guess he is too arrogant to ascribe his actions to anyone or anything else.

    I hope he gets shunned in prison – that would be the true punishment for a guy like this.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Kay on Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Fading Neom Dreams (Apr 17, 2024 @ 7:56am)
  • schrodingers_cat on Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Fading Neom Dreams (Apr 17, 2024 @ 7:55am)
  • New Deal democrat on COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: April 17, 2024 (Apr 17, 2024 @ 7:54am)
  • hueyplong on Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Fading Neom Dreams (Apr 17, 2024 @ 7:53am)
  • schrodingers_cat on On The Road – BillinGlendaleCA – The Milky Way Reimagined. (Apr 17, 2024 @ 7:50am)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning
Proposed BJ meetups list from frosty

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
Virginia House Races
Four Directions – Montana
Worker Power AZ
Four Directions – Arizona
Four Directions – Nevada

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
Positive Climate News
War in Ukraine
Cole’s “Stories from the Road”
Classified Documents Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Political Action 2024

Postcard Writing Information

Balloon Juice for Four Directions AZ

Donate

Balloon Juice for Four Directions NV

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!