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October 30, 2009

Penn. Court Tosses Thousands of Juvenile Cases Tried by Bribed Judge
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And in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has thrown out
thousands of juvenile convictions handed down by one of the two corrupt
judges who took bribes in return for placing the youths in privately
owned jails. Judge Mark Ciavarella and another judge are said to have
received $2.6 million for ensuring that juvenile suspects were sent to
private prisons. Some of the young people were jailed over the
objections of their probation officers. The judges pleaded guilty to
fraud earlier this year and face up to seven years in prison. On
Thursday, the Pennsylvania court dismissed all of Ciavarella’s estimated
6,500 cases and said only a small number are eligible to be reheard.



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