In one of the worst judicial scandals in US history, two former Pennsylvania judges who orchestrated a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks were ordered to pay more than NZ$320 million (US$200 million) to hundreds of victims.
In a long-running civil suit against the judges, US District Judge Christopher Conner awarded nearly 300 people NZ$169 million (US$106 million) in compensatory damages and NZ$160 million (US$100 million) in punitive damages, writing that the plaintiffs are the tragic human casualties of an epic proportions.
Mark Ciavarella and another judge, Michael Conahan, shut down a county-run juvenile detention centre and accepted NZ$4.5 million (US$2.8 million) in illegal payments from the builder and co-owner of two for-profit lockups in what became known as the kids-for-cash scandal. Ciavarella, who presided over juvenile court, advocated for a zero-tolerance policy that ensured a large number of children were sent to PA Child Care and its sister facility, Western PA Child Care.
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Ciavarella detained children as young as eight years old, many of whom were first-time offenders charged with petty theft, jaywalking, truancy, smoking on school grounds, and other minor infractions. The judge frequently ordered delinquent youths to be shackled, handcuffed, and taken away without giving them a chance to defend themselves or even say goodbye to their families.
Ciavarella and Conahan abandoned their oath and breached the public trust, Conner wrote in his explanation of the judgement on Tuesday (local time).
Their heinous and despicable actions targeted a vulnerable population of young people, many of whom were dealing with emotional issues and mental health issues.
Following the discovery of the scheme, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned 4,000 juvenile convictions involving over 2,300 children.
The now-adult victims are unlikely to receive even a fraction of the staggering damages award, but a lawyer for the plaintiffs said it is a recognition of the magnitude of the disgraced judges’ crimes.
It’s a huge victory, Marsha Levick, co-founder and chief counsel of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia and a plaintiffs’ lawyer, said on Wednesday. Whether or not the money is paid, having an order from a federal court that recognises the gravity of what the judges did to these children in the midst of some of the most critical years of their childhood and development matters enormously.
Sol Weiss, another plaintiffs’ attorney, said he would look into the judges’ assets but did not believe they had enough money to pay the judgement.
Ciavarella, 72, is incarcerated in Kentucky for 28 years. His anticipated release date is 2035.
Conahan, 70, was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, he was released to home confinement in 2020, with six years remaining on his sentence.
Conner made his decision after hearing emotional testimony from 282 people who appeared in Luzerne County juvenile court between 2003 and 2008 — 79 of whom were under the age of 13 when Ciavarella sentenced them to juvenile detention — and 32 parents last year.
They described his harsh and arbitrary nature, contempt for due process, extraordinary abruptness, and cavalier and boorish behaviour in court, Conner wrote.
According to Conner’s ruling, one unnamed child victim testified that Ciavarella ruined my life and just didn’t let me get to my future.
I feel like I was just sold out for no reason, said another plaintiff. As if everyone was just waiting to be sold.
Another victim described how he shook uncontrollably during a routine traffic stop — a consequence of the traumatising impact of his childhood detention — and had to show his mental health records in court to “explain why my behaviour was so erratic.”
Conner stated that several of the childhood victims who were involved in the lawsuit when it began in 2009 have since died from overdoses or suicide.
To determine compensatory damages, the judge determined that each plaintiff was entitled to a base rate of NZ$1,600 (US$1,000) for each day of wrongful detention, and that amount was adjusted based on the facts of each case. Conner wrote that significant punitive damages were warranted because the disgraced judges inflicted unspeakable physical and emotional trauma on children and adolescents.
The award of damages only applies to plaintiffs who chose to participate in the process.
Other major players in the case were settled years ago, including the builder and owner of the private lockups, as well as their companies, for approximately NZ$40 million (US$25 million).
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