Court won’t reconsider ‘kids for cash’ conviction

Court won’t reconsider ‘kids for cash’ conviction

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court says it won’t reconsider a decision upholding a former northeastern Pennsylvania judge’s conviction and 28-year prison sentence in a “kids for cash” scandal involving for-profit juvenile detention facilities.

A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in May that former Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. received a “fair and impartial” trial despite his claims to the contrary. On Wednesday, the court said it would not reconsider that decision.

Ciavarella’s attorneys had asked them asked the court to reconsider the ruling.

A jury convicted Ciavarella on 12 of 27 counts, including racketeering and conspiracy, for pocketing a portion of more than $2.8 million in kickbacks. His former colleague Michael T. Conahan pleaded guilty in July 2010 to a racketeering charge.