Viewing Harrisburg: Change sought in juvenile justice system

Published: September 5, 2010

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HARRISBURG - The wheels of justice grind slowly with the prosecution and disposition of major public corruption cases often taking years to complete. The political response to major events like the Luzerne County Courthouse scandal can take just as long especially if amendments to the state Constitution are involved.

That is the prospect facing the state Judicial Conduct Board which has come under criticism for mishandling a complaint against two Luzerne County judges later charged by federal prosecutors with taking bribes for jailing juveniles in for-profit prisons.

The conduct board received 40 complaints against former judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. during their careers and fond that none of the complaints warranted disciplinary action, Times-Shamrock Newspapers reported last month.

In its report on the breakdown on the juvenile justice system in Luzerne County, a special state commission concludes that changes need to be made in the way the conduct board operates. The Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice said the conduct board needs greater oversight, but existing confidentiality rules governing the board's investigations make achieving that difficult.

Since the conduct board was created through a 1993 constitutional amendment, making fundamental changes to the board by necessity requires another constitutional amendment.

The genesis of the conduct board lies in a 1988 report by a Governor's Judicial Reform Commission dealing with an earlier scandal involving the judicial discipline system.

The interbranch commission has recommended that a similar group undertake a full-scale constitutional review of the conduct board, with an emphasis on the board's power and duties, its confidentiality rules, creating a review process of decisions to dismiss complaints against judges and placing an outside administrator in a watchdog role.

House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-116, Hazleton, has sponsored a resolution to create a Judicial Reform Task Force to handle this review and make recommendations for constitutional amendments. The House plans to vote on this resolution this fall and the Senate will need to concur.

This task force would have appointees representing the three branches of state government and a mandate to hold public hearings and issue subpoenas to carry out its work. It would have a 10-month timetable to issue a report. Taking a direct approach, Rep. Curt Schroder, R-155, Exton, has already introduced a constitutional amendment to create a non-judicial majority on the conduct board and ease the confidentiality rules.

Amending the constitution is a slow and laborious process. It is designed that way. An amendment must win approval in two consecutive legislative sessions and be adopted by statewide voters.

If all goes smoothly, the earliest Mr. Schroder's amendment could be adopted is 2013. A public notice requirement prevents legislative approval of any constitutional amendments this fall. Any amendment must be published in newspapers across the state three months prior to the Nov. 2 election. This is done so that voters have notice about an amendment and their lawmakers' view on it before they go to the polls.

ROBERT SWIFT is Harrisburg bureau chief for Times-Shamrock Communications newspapers, of which The Daily/Sunday Review is a part. E-mail: rswift@timesshamrock.com.

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