FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. John Yudichak D-Luzerne www.pahouse.com/Yudichak

Lawmakers support reforming state's juvenile court system

Call for bill to strengthen Pa.'s Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Law

HARRISBURG, April 2 – State Reps. John Yudichak, D-Luzerne, and Craig Dally, R-Northampton, participated in a news conference in Harrisburg Wednesday, hosted by state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20^th District, on legislative efforts to address corruption in the Luzerne County Juvenile Court that affected thousands of minor children and their families.

"We are deeply sorry that these families were forced to endure this level of public corruption," Yudichak said. "We are acting aggressively to remedy this situation to bring justice to these corrupt judges and to restore public confidence in our courts."

Former Luzerne County judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan pleaded guilty to accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks for helping two private juvenile detention centers secure $30 million in county contracts.

"Pennsylvanians were outraged when federal prosecutors announced that former county judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan had pleaded guilty to tax evasion and honest services fraud," Dally said. "The charges were brought after an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI."

Yudichak said that he will be the prime co-sponsor of a bill being crafted in the House that would eliminate the ability for a juvenile, parent, guardian or custodian to waive legal representation in juvenile delinquency and truancy proceedings. Baker is also preparing legislation to introduce in the Senate.

According to the Juvenile Law Center, parents were often told they did not need an attorney for the minor charges their children were facing. Since 2005, more than half of the juveniles appearing in Luzerne County Juvenile Court did so without benefit of an attorney – nearly 10 times the state average. And of those youth who did not have attorneys, 60 percent were placed in court-ordered facilities.

"We need to not only fix the juvenile system so such corruption does not happen again, but we need to punish these judges," Yudichak said. "And that should begin with the forfeiture of their pension."

Ciavarella has applied to receive a $6,800 monthly pension, even though he has admitted to wrong doing. Conahan has been collecting an $8,073 monthly pension benefit from the state since he retired in January 2008.

Yudichak and Dally are sponsoring H.B. 632 which would allow for the forfeiture of pension rights at the time a public official pleads guilty, rather than waiting until sentencing as is the case under current state law. The bill is before the House Finance Committee.