Criminal Justice For Juveniles

   By drodriguez  Mar 30, 2009
20

In this day and age it is sadly not shocking to hear of people in positions of authority acting in direct conflict to their sworn public duties.  Last month two judges in Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy for taking more than $2.6 million in kickbacks from a private juvenile detention center.  But what makes this case so incredible is that these two judges were taking millions in return for sentencing children to the two detention centers doling out the cash. 

The more young people the judges sent to jail, the more money they saw.  Thousands of kids, many of whom were first time offenders, were sent up river between 2002 and 2008.  Eric Stefanski recently talked about his wrongful incarceration to ABC's 20/20.  Eric was just 12 years old with no prior offenses when Judge Mark Ciaravella sentenced him to two years in prison for taking his mother's car on a joyride.  Eric's mother had only filed the police report because she needed her insurance company to pay for the minor damage Eric caused to her car. 

Deputy director of the Juvenile Law Center, Marsha Levick, reported about some of the other children who were sent to jail in Ciaravella's courtroom.  She said, "A child who shoplifted a $4 bottle of nutmeg, a child who was charged with conspiracy to shoplift because he was present when his friend was shoplifting.  A child who put up a MySpace page, taunting her school administrator." 

Ciaravella's sentencing was not only harsh but hasty as well.  It is being reported that many of the children that went before him were only given 2 minutes to present their case.

Pennsylvania juvenile judge, Arthur Grim, reviewed Ciavarella's cases.  He told ABC, "I'm seeing cases which seem to take in the neighborhood of a minute and a half to three minutes...That simply is not the way to do business." 

The courts are now in the process of overturning hundreds of the juvenile convictions.  But this will not undo the damage done to many of the children who were wrongfully jailed during their most formative years.  Since pleading guilty, Judge Ciaravella may be looking at 7 years in a federal prison for the crimes he committed.

What do you think of the way Judge Ciaravella conducted himself in his courtroom?

Do you think 7 years in prison is a suitable punishment for his crimes?
 

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largemarge1022 by largemarge1022 | Hazleton, PA
Apr 01, 2009

today i read that judge chivarella is claiming judicial immunity for his despicable disregard of the rights of the children he sent away without legal advice. plus he is claiming his pension before sentencing. where is the justice in our court? how can this person get away with this. he has contributed to the destruction of young people's lives. i know people were questioning the court system in this area and appeals to a higher court went unanswered. people looked the other way. as a democratic country, we just cannot stand idle. we must stand up for our rights and protect our children and the people who cannot defend themselves.

am_i_lost by am_i_lost | Centralia, IL
Mar 31, 2009

Terrible!! Why isn't everybody watched more carefully? How is it that this went on for so long unnoticed? How can we teach our children to do the right thing if the leaders in the country are so corrupt? I'm sure the "Good Judge" got a fair trial unlike anyone that stood before him. It's an out rage!! He should have gotten one of his own sentences handed down to him!!!!

emach12 by emach12 | Waterford, CT
Mar 30, 2009

The very sad thing is; this story is only a drop in the bucket. Our judicial system is so corrupt, and until there are more people whom are willing to take stand and report these abuses, this will remain a problem. Anyone who works in any aspect of the judicial system will tell you about the systematic abuse of our system. Unfortunatly, the coward quotes, 'we should not complain, it is the best system in the world..' Our judicial system is broken, and we have all had a part in breaking it.

DKSantos5 by DKSantos5 | Napa, CA
Mar 30, 2009

That is definately ann abuse of power. Our children today face enough challenges and many get in enough trouble on their own and do not need an Authority Figure abusing their power and taking it out on them. Seven years is sufficient but please make sure they are unable to get positions like this again.

tigpooh1516 by tigpooh1516 | GREENWOOD, IN
Mar 30, 2009

That is horrible! Those poor children were victims of this man. He took advantage of his position to better his wallet. Obviously the things that the children did were wrong, but that is an extremely harsh punishment for first-time offenders. He should get much more than 7 years in prison for these crimes....think of what he doen to those children's lives!