'Kids for Cash' Judges Hit w/$200M Judgment

[@MichaelClark-uw7ex]

This is a perfect example of why we need to reinstitute public floggings for officials who betray the public trust.

[@Metal_Auditor]

We need the pillory. Let the victims show up and throw eggs at them.

[@FoolishFrost]

@@Metal_Auditor "Get yer white painted rocks here! White painted rock! Get 'em while they're hot!"

[@TacDyne]

We need to adopt Turkey's method of dealing with corrupt politicians. They r^pe them to death, publicly.

[@stevejette2329]

Michael - I like that !!

[@volvo09]

yep, this is disgusting. any public official caught working for themselves deserves the utmost in public backlash with no help. you are working for US. the corruption is sickening.

[@kenmelrac]

Each judge should serve the total sentences for all those they confined, every day of the sentence should be served with no good behavior or early release.

[@unsearchablethings8167]

They should also use random things, such as the roll of a die, or how many blades of grass are in a handful to give them extra time every so often…for no good reason, just because.

[@litigioussociety4249]

That's not enough, some kids killed themselves due to the impact it had on their life. The judges deserve to die. This country is too weak when it comes to capital punishment; especially, in regard to people working for government. Technically, it could be interpreted as a form of treason to fail to uphold the law of the land under oath, so they should receive capital punishment.

[@franklyanogre00000]

Before every meal, they should be forced roll a die and be whipped that many times.

[@Goatcha_M]

Plus 10additional years for each child because they were children.

[@Goatcha_M]

Actually could be argued its child abuse, in which case they should be sentenced to death IMO.

[@MK-lk7nc]

why are the kids forced to recover damages from the judges? Shouldn't they be able to sue the state itself for failing to oversee (adequately) the judges they employed?

[@NyangoStarAmerica]

Yup

[@BrianSmith-lo3mj]

Yes Sir ... and they should.

[@peterdarr383]

Well then the "kids" would actually get PAID !!

[@MrTeff999]

It’s a good question for an attorney to answer if we could only find one. Generally, speaking, employers are responsible for the actions of their employees when their employees are acting in the course and scope of their employment. Employers are not responsible for employees who act outside the course and scope of their employment, which might be the case here.

[@georgenichols7718]

As someone who grew up in the area, got in trouble in the area and went before Ciavarella, the county did pay the victims. Most received between $40-80K. That judge was a complete asshole. Right before he went to jail I ran into him at a bank of America. He was doing house painting jobs. I had the biggest smile on my face.

[@funlightfactory6031]

The damage these corrupt judges have done to these young minds is incalculable.

[@TomJakobW]

Honestly, I am just as much appalled by the fact that there seems to even remotely be a legal basis for their decisions. Children shouldn’t ever go to jail for any of the mentioned offenses in this video. ANY. This is crazy! It won’t do any good. Truancy? petty theft? Vandalism? JAIL???? And then people wonder how when these people come out of jail petty theft becomes grand larceny!

[@timdowney6721]

Add the people offering the kickbacks to this dreadful mess. They’re every bit as much to blame. They should also do hard time and be w/o a penny for the rest of their lives.

[@gomahklawm4446]

I'm surprised that anyone is surprised by this. It's the US way...

[@Ginger-g8j]

An irreversible damage is done these children will be adults and they’ll never be the same

[@Ginger-g8j]

And this is what you get when you have a prison system for profit

[@atsylor5549]

I was disgusted when this case first came into the spotlight. And I was almost as equally disgusted when one judge does only 5 years and then he’s allowed home because of Covid. If the kids couldn’t get home confinement for jaywalking why should this judge who was basically a flesh peddler

[@kenvalentine5341]

The perpetrators were convicted in 2011 and the civil suit was filed almost immediately following conviction, but the judgment wasn't published until this week. The excessive delay is yet another travesty.

[@Pfsif]

Justice delayed is justice denied.

[@BrianSmith-lo3mj]

@@PfsifFACTS ^ ... and that's why they do it. The "injustice system" of America actually has a real term for that, and it's called "Slow Walking it" ... SMH

[@truckercarlson9081]

Why aren't we hearing about criminal charges for the executives at the prisons for paying these people?

[@luca.652]

if I remember correctly they pleaded guilty already, so they got their charges way earlier

[@franklyanogre00000]

@@luca.652 bingo. Judges have immunity that must be pierced first.

[@alanmcentee3035]

@@franklyanogre00000 As I recall, the PA Supreme Court denied them absolute immunity. They failed to declare their conflict of interest so were sitting on these cases illegally. That was in the lead-up to their criminal charges in 2008 or 2009. That was very shortly after this came to light.

[@rodh1404]

They plead guilty to failure to report a felony. They were sentenced in 2011, former attorney Robert Powell received an 18 month sentence, while Mericle received 1 year. They were ordered to pay $25 million in a civil case.

[@contra1124]

@@rodh1404 way too low

[@bobmazzi7435]

One of the abuses in this case was that many of these kids were told they did not need a lawyer. So, they were not represented at all.

[@alli3219]

Oh my God. May the tortured souls of "those little ones" cry out to their Father for justice 😢

[@alli3219]

Perversion of justice

[@GeorgeMonet]

This is just so incredibly despicable and it has to go much further than just the judges and those running the facilities. There is no way that there weren't lawyers and school administrators, law enforcement who knew this was going on and could have brought light to this much earlier. I wonder how this isn't considered child trafficking considering they were depriving these children of their freedom by essentially selling them to the detention centers.

[@reginaschellhaas1395]

Good point about the trafficking angle.

[@KneelB4Bacon]

This. Were there no lawyers, court stenographers or bailiffs present in the courtroom while all this nonsense was going on? Did not a SINGLE ONE of them say, "Hey. Wait a minute. This doesn't sound like it could possibly be legal" and report it? There's plenty of blame to go around, here.

[@wulfschlueter2112]

The corporations that paid the judges should be sued to make up the the difference of the 200m they came up with the scheme

[@willlawson6126]

​@KneelB4Bacon literally everyone involved knew. They know the system is corrupt and felt its safer to play the game and not be targeted as a whistle blower.....because they know the lengths their corrupt government will go to, to bury anyone

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

Agree.

[@PankuHunter]

How are any of these kids going to trust the judicial system ever again.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

They shouldn't, no one should. Only a complete fool would.

[@tina-mariecrocker5687]

Why would anyone trust them???

[@lynchkid003]

Here's an important question: what about the facilities and the owners of the facilities that were giving these judges a cash bounty? Are they not going to be shut down? Are they going to have to pay a large fine? You can't just treat the symptoms. You have to find the actual sickness and fix it. Second question, where the hell was the child's advocate?

[@sb5838]

Funny how they would run down the drug supply chains with vigor.

[@mythbuster7538]

They also went to jail and the facility was shutdown.

[@SaltyBallzz]

@@mythbuster7538 lmfao 🤣 wtf 😬!

[@apotheosis21]

As I understand, the families settled with the facilities. As far as the advocates, these judges would tell them to shut up, ignore anything they said, refuse to let kids lawyer up, and start court without lawyers present. If the kids had lawyers before the sham “trial” started, they were far, far less likely to get locked up.

[@pgiatrakis]

As a citizen of WB I feel we the citizens of the county should have been aware of this travesty. I had no idea and I think local news dropped the ball and legal aid as well. I even think the teachers should have help but the only stories I hear are about teachers that helped facilitate the lock ups. We are all culpable locally. At some level

[@apexapinkpanda8064]

I once had a friend that always said, "Some people are alive simply because it's illegal to kill them."

[@heathertrombley7045]

I lived in Kingston in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania when this happened. In fact I lived just over the bridge and could see the court house from my window. I knew people who had children caught up in this. It destroyed many families in my town and surrounding towns. This area is not wealthy and many parents never had attorney's because the charges weren't serious. They were trampled on and couldn't get their kids out of the system once these judges had their claws in them. It was horrible. They were living a life of luxury in their fine homes that they had in Florida all on the backs of these families. These judges and supporting staff should never be in any area where they have authority over anyone ever again.

[@johnwesley256]

This should be the top comment. Thank you for sharing!

[@gmrjinx27]

What about the ones in charge of the detention centers kicking the money back? Anything happen with them?

[@jhoughjr1]

But look at all the money they made! Obviously these people are our betters and NEED to rule over us.

[@robertaylor9218]

@@gmrjinx27 slap on the wrist, as of now.

[@heathertrombley7045]

@@gmrjinx27 the money came from PA Child Care contractor Robert Mericle and co-owner and attorney Robert Powell. I believe that one had an 18 month sentence and the other 1 year. So basically no jail time at all. They did get hit with a 25 million dollar fine though. I just hate how they never seem to go to jail. I've seen people do time for minor offenses that far exceeds the sentences they were given.

[@erictaylor5462]

We should also send whoever had the idea to privatize jails to prison as well.

[@alli3219]

So much so. But that's the murican way of the "free" market, that apparently self-regulates so well...

[@Probablyacowtbh]

I remember this from years ago, how many lives were destroyed. Abuse of authority should carry additional charges, doubly so in cases of personal enrichment.

[@briangarrow448]

This was an obscene violation of basic human rights! I would approve the death penalty for these culprits.

[@solutionsforabrightfuture3579]

no release them in general population street justice.

[@truckercarlson9081]

Not that! It is an escape from punishment. Put them in jail to rot for their entire life.

[@copper4441]

Me to but they won't spend one hour in jail

[@DiffEQ]

Oh, YOU would approve it, huh? But you're not going to do anything for the victims. THAT would actually be something other than you flapping your gums about never-going-to-happen sh1t in KZbin comments. SMH

[@DiffEQ]

@@solutionsforabrightfuture3579 WTF is "street justice" you effing tool? You want mobs to skirt the law because others skirted the law? You're insane. Go watch some more movies where reality doesn't matter.

[@The_Rock_Princess]

I was a child of abuse. TTI’s (troubled teen industries) can be very destructive to the kids they’re supposed to help. The corruption is rampant. I’m glad someone is doing something to address this issue! Thank you Lehto :)

[@josephfrechette9916]

Some of these companies even have allegations of mistreating workers. For example one group home allegedly was letting people teach stuff like art as volunteers. Then they were reporting those "volunteers" were getting paid as employees. Seeing these judges getting kickbacks makes me believe the other allegations

[@robotbuster1487]

I heard that one juvenile girl was detained over a year, because she threw a pork chop at her step dad. Dont call the police on your daughter over a pork chop.

[@GrantOakes]

Pigs got called over a pork chop, how ironic!

[@unsearchablethings8167]

Never call the police unless it is absolutely undeniably necessary. When seconds matter, they are many minutes away, and you may also end up going to jail instead of the person you are calling them on. I know a handful of people that ended up in jail when they called the police on someone else.

[@unsearchablethings8167]

@@GrantOakes lol, right!

[@jeanettecrossley5335]

My son was one of those children he was 11 and got in an argument with his grandmother and he got a year

[@unsearchablethings8167]

@@jeanettecrossley5335that’s horrific. 😞

[@mperlatti]

That it took so long to stop these criminal judges is beyond terrifying…. Don’t judges have to answer to anyone ever? Why are there not charges against their superiors?

[@roderickcalvin]

"If you liquidate all their assets, it would come out to a penny and a dollar for the victims." I need my penny and a dollar please

[@duckshot]

And the county which allowed this court to run should foot the rest of the judegment.

[@montybrown5410]

Penny's ON THE dollar - a term often heard in money talks. It's used to describe a situation where you're getting something for significantly less than its original price.

[@WhiskeyNixon]

he said, 'penny on the dollar', not 'and the dollar', not 'pennies on the dollar'. 2 million of 200 million is a penny on the dollar, also known as 1%.

[@montybrown5410]

@@WhiskeyNixon Sure, 2 million is 1% of 200 million, which would be a penny on the dollar. But where are you getting 2 million from? The judges made millions, not 2 exactly, so believe what you want, but I'm choosing to believe Steve is referencing the popular saying.

[@montybrown5410]

@@WhiskeyNixon Nor is there any reason to think the judges would be able to pay exactly 2 of the 200 million.

[@otm646]

That there is so little oversight in the judicial system at 4000 plus of these cases actually went through is the bigger issue here.

[@valentinius62]

Judges get away with a LOT. If they hadn't been so greedy, nothing would have happened.

[@no_peace]

Yep. It shouldn't have happened once. If it happened once it should have been addressed and repaired. Totally broken system

[@P_RO_]

@@no_peace Our entire government needs to be tossed out- that's the only solution that will work.

[@patrickday4206]

Our judicial system is 3 or 4 times worse in achieving correction involving juvenile cases. I've had experience in this system because the kids can't do anything about their own cases while the parents just want their children to accept responsibility and children once grown aren't likely to reopen those cases not much gets corrected. The defense attorneys and prosecutors think it not a serious and excuse due process violations along with judges. One interesting fact a sealed juvenile record involving a felony like shoplifting can be viewed by financial institutions when the amount involved is greater than 100,000 dollars so yeah you want a mortgage they get to charge a higher rate and they never even know!

[@daverobson3084]

Its actually amazing that none of these judges have woken up in the middle of the night to one of these , now grown, children, standing at the foot of their bed with a baseball bat.

[@jabba0975]

Sleepers movie?

[@nunya3163]

Do that to my kid, and I will make certain that they wake up to far worse, if they wake up at all.

[@esecallum]

@@nunya3163 They MUST wake up and suffer. death is too good for these corrupt people

[@clytemnestra]

there's still time, we can only hope

[@MicahThomason]

On the one hand, It ain't over til it's over. On the other hand, as big of low lifes as these two guys are, they are of a protected class and will not see the same part of the prison that you or I would. Make no mistake; These guys are treated like rock stars by the prison officials.

[@Bob-Lob-Law]

I know a lady that owns a " Drug counseling center " and she's a buddy with the courts. Time and again the Judges sentence offenders to attend " counseling ." The sentenced must go for as long as it takes to be deemed cured and must also pay the weekly fee or be found in contempt. It's not cheap to be free. The courts do not own the service but there is some back scratching going on.

[@gmamagillmore4812]

Go ahead, names names.

[@Bob-Lob-Law]

Clermont county

[@jhoughjr1]

Everyone knows in recovery, it only works when mandated by the court. I know someone also who runs something l ike that. Basically a fruitless endeavor because the ppl want out, not clean.

[@roflchopter11]

@@jhoughjr1 there's still a massive throbbing conflict of interest for the facility to make the call on if the "customer" is allowed to to stop paying them.

[@kirkyorg7654]

the whole system is corrupt from top to bottom

[@cobracommander9138]

The fact that one Judge now has house arrest and hasn't been attacked at his home shows the kids and their families are good people.

[@Iansco1]

Just no one thought to call Tony a d his boys over from Jersey.

[@mikemumper881]

These judges shouldn't be on house arrest. They should be in jail in general population.

[@AprilJMoon]

What about non payment of fines and compensation???? They should be serving life for the amount of money not paid to the courts

[@philipgulliversr3884]

I believe one of the judges were related to someone that was involved in running the detention center. Steve asked how long did it take for people to notice something was wrong. Not very long. There were dozens of complaints for families, attorneys, even probation officers who couldn't believe what was going on. I believe they said that slot they wouldn't even let attorneys in with the kids. It was so despicable.

[@richardross7219]

The home confined judge should be back in prison and all assets of the judges should be confiscated. They should not have anything if they get out of prison. Good Luck, Rick

[@yaqbulyakkerbat4190]

I know right? "I'm sooooooo sorry for all the lives I've ruined" said while sipping Mai-Tai's by his pool.

[@P_RO_]

The home confined judge's address should be doxxed (and doxxed again if they move) until the coroner has to be called. It's this simple people, and it will quickly bring responsibility back to every facet of our government. "Yeah, I was there in that crowd of people but I didn't see anything. Did you?"

[@bbbbbbb51]

@@P_RO_ nah. We just need to return to gallows, stockades, and open executions.

[@beardymcbeardface69]

@@P_RO_ I didn't see anything. 👍

[@Fcknlala]

Call me Stevie wonder I ain’t see shit

[@Chuck.S.]

Hi Steve. I am from the area that these "judges" presided over. I know parents who had their kids sentenced under these fools. This has done irreparable damage to these young folks and to their families. Even in their trial, to which they were convicted by a jury of their piers, they were defiant and egotistical. You are right, this was a disgusting display of greed and carelessness for the welfare of the children that appeared before them.

[@PeaceLoveMusic75]

I was listening to a podcast about this that went into the crooked part of Pennsylvania this happened in. One Judge had money from his wife’s side and had powerful friends, the other was in a similar position but without the family money. There was a big discussion on how no one wanted to rock the boat, no one wanted to take on these judges; even the FBI said no at first! Money and power runs this country no one should ever ever think any different. They got by with it because of where it happened and the “little people” who have no power. Does that sound right? Why they got by with this horrible scandal? They also had cops involved telling parents “your kid won’t get time if they don’t get a lawyer” and then they tuned around and sent the kid away. The school was feeding them too! Multi level corruption.

[@thomasbest8599]

@@PeaceLoveMusic75never give up your guns.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

I bet the guy who got house arrest was a freemason. People don't know what a problem the freemason brotherhood is, and how pervasive it is.

[@GrantOakes]

How could these wicked judges carry out these despicable sentences for 5 YEARS! If my kid took someones Hersey bar and was sent to a juvenile detention center I'd be all over the media about this and expose the judge so badly he wouldn't have been able to show his face ANYWHERE in his home town!

[@jukahri]

What's crazy to me is how blatant they were about it. What must be your state of mind, your expectation that you're above the law, that you can do all that openly?

[@DiffEQ]

Yeah... you're the best and only caring father on the planet. Shut up. You know nothing about it and you're just an Internet cowboy flapping his gums.

[@michaeljay6349]

Part of it is that they know better than to do it with your kid. Unfortunately, it isn't difficult to discern which children do not have parents with the influence and resources to expose the judge.

[@TheChapelx]

There were complaints. Parents complained and complained and so did other members of the local court system. The problem is that the one was a top judge and the other was popular due to his zero tolerance policies. Specifically, the schools loves him cause they used him to deal with any issues. The local juvie center being old as hell and not in the best condition already

[@alanmcentee3035]

If you were afraid that any noise would only make things worse for your kid, you wouldn't. The thing was, these kids were getting relatively minor sentences. Yes, six months or eleven months seems like a long time But they are not the years that adults get. Even in an appeal, the sentence would be up before the appeal court heard it. From what I read, lawyers were even prevented from talking in their courts. Why they did nothing baffles me. They know the ropes and who to contact. Many who appear regularly in that court would keep quiet. But the higher courts did eventually hear about this and stopped it. Mind you, I too would be as upset as you are.

[@philliplewis3754]

I saw it on American Greed as well. Thanks for the update! Those two Judges were so smug and acted like they didn't have to answer to anyone.

[@robertaylor9218]

It is a testament to the restraint of that community and those families that these two men are standing trial in good health.

[@makefitdepartment8621]

When a Judge behaves this badly, I think it is a good idea to explain how this person became a judge, did someone appoint them or were they elected.

[@julesmasseffectmusic]

But electing judges stops corruption because campaign donations are great at ensuring honesty. Also voting for sheriff's judges and prosecutors makes sure that you don't have just lawyers and judges selecting your judges it's who has hired the best marketing firm. And voting every 6 months when it take an entire day of lining waiting just encourages more people to participate, in donating.

[@arinerm1331]

When the judge's ruling is paid for before the proceedings begin, it's manifestly an unfair trial, and a most egregious violation of the U.S. Constitution. These judges should face at least as much incarceration as they ordered.

[@rylian21]

They caused the deaths of children. They deserve to face a gallows.

[@snowmama9030]

strip them of everything. houses, cars, investments, retirement accounts, their ceste que trusts... everything

[@tenchraven]

If it was a private, contracted facility, they are paid per head. That money comes from the state, oversite is an audit of (as set of) the books and a one day inspection so long no one is going to the ER or the morgue. So the judges got a cut. Feed the kids less, and throw crisco into everything to keep them from looking starved. Imagine Orwell and Dickens cowriting a book, and Kafka edits it- that would give you the private prison system, much less the little kids side of it.

[@jhoughjr1]

the govt doesnt care about the constitution, they have been breaking it for years.

[@patrickday4206]

This is Seditious Conspiracy against the United States people

[@jamesodell3064]

The judgement should have also been against the county. Someone in the county government should have noticed these absurd penalties. The county had a duty of oversight of the courts which they failed at. They also failed to provide attorneys as required by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. If a child can be locked up they have a right to an attorney. I bet the kids with lawyers were not treated the same way as the ones without an attorney. The attorneys who represented kids also failed. They had to notice how these kids were being sentenced and failed to do anything about it. I will bet people who worked in that court room talked among themselves about these absurd sentences.

[@sunshineflyer]

Exactly? Where were the accountants who go after kids with school lunch debt with such vigour? Surely several hundred a day in lock-up costs for jay-walking would raise some eyebrows? How many other people were receiving kick-backs to look the other way?

[@Lucifar66]

Steve I want to personally thank you for saying these Judges were "Evil". Often I see law being seperated from "morality". I understand Good and Bad often do not equate to legal and illegal. But in this case, it certainly has to.

[@chunkdaddy4733]

They should take everything from them. Leave them with nothing. That’s exactly what they deserve. Absolutely disgusting.

[@FHL-Devils]

For-Profit prisons. Like seriously, sometimes there's nothing more that needs to be said, and the absurdity writes itself.

[@TabbyLavalamp]

Yup. The mistake made here was not spending the money to lobby for harsher sentencing like the rest of the for-profit prison industry does. (Private prisons are such a friggin' abomination.)

[@patrickday4206]

It is literally a form of modern day debtors prison might not have started out that way but it's the result and private prisons have a crazy rate of increasing sentence time for new crimes like fighting.

[@microcolonel]

The public prisons have the same problem a different way, but it is harder to prosecute. There is no substitute for vigilance.

[@mikepalmer1971]

People have been trying to talk about this for a long time now. Most people don’t care if it does not effect them. The so called justice system especially the part that deals with minors is so freaking corrupt.

[@jwenting]

@@patrickday4206 yup, or the "good old" workhouses for the poor. It's modern day slavery, using the criminal justice system to enslave people. Which is identical to what the Germans did in WW2, the Soviets did from the 1920s into the 1980s, China does to this date.

[@mkendallpk4321]

Lock these corrupt judges and throw away the key! Take all their money away too. And close the private detention center forever and fine the owners to death.

[@jp6234]

Fine the owners goes without saying - however they should also face jail time for bribing crooked public officials.

[@eddiehuff7366]

Lord have mercy! This sounds like stories out of eastern Europe in the 1930's right here in the USA. Those children got huge sentences for things adults would have walked away with a fine for doing. Those 2 judges need to rot in prison 20 or so years at the very least and for sure take away ALL their assetts cash and property to be distributed as much as possible to these children.

[@jram7047]

The district attorney that kept bringing cases forward .. knowing the disproportionate sentencing. The police arresting kids for such small offences. The facility that paid. The fact that the state didn't sentence them all to the max is outrageous

[@johnblair8146]

Those judges and all executives of the private facilities should be exempt from Eighth Amendment protections,

[@jcolt84]

I can't understand why the court system that these judges were employed by aren't also being held responsible. There is no way that the prosecutors and even the bailiffs should be excused for being held responsible. How the hell? They play a part in this, or even sit back and witness it as it was happening? It shouldn't take a genius to recognize this kind of corruption. Especially when it what's happening for over the course of many years.

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

So you are a bailiff in a particular county's juvenile justice system. How are you going to be aware that the judges are being paid to send kids to these private detention facilities? You might be aware that these judges seem tougher than average, but what can you do about that?

[@eugenetswong]

I agree about the baliffs. They shouldn't be following orders.

[@no_peace]

@@TheRealScooterGuy "pick a sports team"

[@BrokebutCreative]

@@TheRealScooterGuy the fact that kids were going to jail over jaywalking is a good tipoff that a judge is up to something, multiple judges definitely would start raising eyebrows. The simple answer is these people were probably benefiting too and it hasn't made it down the pipeline yet.

[@vokin]

They were held responsible (at least a bit). There were lawsuits against a lot of people/entities, including the state, etc. All the other parties settled with these victims years ago (not a lot, but some money at least), but the two judges refused to settle, so this was the final end of their case.

[@dragbikedemon]

Shouldn’t there be more people involved than just the judges? How did they end up in court for the petty stuff? The district attorney?

[@redred222]

the owner got 12 years in prison and all his centers where closed

[@mikezupancic2182]

Exactly, which is why this should be a civil rights case against the government

[@TheChapelx]

Conahan, the one currently under house arrest, was the President Judge at the time. He was the one that made the decision to close the county's juvenile detention center, citing its age and condition which admittedly were very poor.

[@P_RO_]

@@TheChapelx The government should be forced to perform it's duties to the public directly and on their own; there should not be ANY 'farming out' of anything. Had they maintained the facilities properly as they were legally bound to, there could not have been any possibility of something like this occurring.

[@bluekitty3731]

Steve from what I can remember about this story was the parents who were of low income and education were pressured and intimidated into not! Getting a lawyer, told that if they got a lawyer it would go even worse for their children. You're right Steve it was evil!

[@Mark73]

When they were arrested, the judges made public apologies to their "friends, families and colleagues", but not one word for the families that they destroyed.

[@johnallen6945]

I'm a 71 year old veteran and I was at the Veteran's Hospital in my area yesterday. A doctor there would not give me any medicine for terrible pains in my stomach. He said I was a junkie who just wanted pain medicine. I told him I hadn't even been to a doctor in more than a year. When I mentioned that the VA was there specifically for veterans he said, "Oh, are you going to get on your high horse and tell me what a war hero you were." I was in shock and I left for the lobby to wait for my wife to come get me. That's when I was jacked up by three cops who searched me and my backpack. I was put in handcuffs. They said I had "threatened" the doctor. I don't make threats. I feel it only gives the other person time to prepare. I act. Civil Asset Forfeiture has always been against the "American Dream." We don't do things without a person being able to redress his grievances with the government. It's in the Constitution.

[@calebfielding6352]

One of the problems is that juvenile court doesn't allow jury trials. Law needs to change.

[@kenyattaclay7666]

Jury trials I would argue are even worse if a judge is deciding. I've seen far too many examples of juries completely ignoring evidence & making up their minds before the trial is even over. While there are a lot of bad judges out there most of them will tend to follow the law & not ignore evidence. If I were ever in that situation, which I hope I'm never in, I'd opt for a bench trial over a jury any day.

[@DiffEQ]

So what have you done to effect that change? Right... nothing. Everyone who knows how to fix things or run the government... isn't. Gum flappers.

[@mqb3gofjzkko7nzx38]

@@DiffEQ He convinced 27 other people of his viewpoint, as indicated by the number of likes on his comment. You need to convince a lot of people first before you can make any changes.

[@orppranator5230]

@@kenyattaclay7666 Take the child who got sentenced for stealing a candy bar. Find me a jury that would give a child prison for that, and I will agree with you. But until then, the choice of a jury or bench trial rarely results in the bench trial being better in scenarios like this. Perhaps if someone is a pedo, then they might want a bench trial…

[@kenyattaclay7666]

@@orppranator5230 if the child is black or Hispanic that child would get convicted by a jury in a heartbeat & sorry but the empirical data shows EXACTLY that. There is also WAY too much empirical evidence that shows juries get it wrong ALL THE TIME. I can point out the number of people that were convicted of crimes they didn’t commit & most of the time they just flat out ignored evidence because of their biases.

[@markharrisllb]

I’ve seen this story elsewhere in the last few days but I can’t remember where. There were over 300 kids involved, some with manufactured charges. Some have taken their own lives, many have a life long sentence of extreme PTSD, others have taken to self medicating and then there’s those that were labelled and subsequently lived up to that label. $200m for 300 children or their surviving next of kin is a pittance. I hope they are forced to sell all their property to cover the costs. Their supervisor whoever it is should also have some culpability, as well as the staff who said nothing and the guy who owns the institution they were sentenced to. Then the institution burnt down. They often denied the children any legal representation.

[@patty4349]

I knew of a kid in the 1980s who was on probation. He had an argument with his dad and went to a friend's house for the night. At school the next day a teacher overheard him talking to someone about what happened and she called the police. Staying at someone else's house without permission was apparently a violation of his probation so he was arrested at school and taken to detention. I don't remember how long he was in detention but it was not just overnight. He dropped out of school shortly afterwards and joined the military. His original "crime" was a suicide attempt. His parents' insurance did not cover psychiatric care and they were advised that if he was in the juvenile justice system he could get professional help. I think they regretted their decision for the rest of their lives. On the good side he eventually recovered (more kudos to the US military than the juvenile system) and has had a very successful adulthood.

[@no_peace]

Teachers are an important part of the school to prison pipeline

[@frankney8284]

Yeah, he gets to choose the nursing home his parent will go to. Hope it's full of Nurse Ratchets.

[@minealsomine9663]

That is insane, this is why children should not go through the legal system

[@joesmoe7569]

Something much deeper is going on with the government and our children. We need everyone to protect the future of humanity.

[@gingercat7925]

Apparently there were several instances where these Judges had no problem proceeding with the cases if the kids did not have legal representation.

[@TheChapelx]

Not several. The majority of cases. And some hearings lasted less than 5 minutes

[@simplywonderful449]

I'm no lawyer, but I've heard from a cop that kids don't have many rights in our legal system. They're NOT entitled to legal representation, a phone call after arrest, and so on. This may not be true, but remember, our Constitution was written over 200 years ago, and back then parents CARED for their children themselves.

[@jhoughjr1]

@@simplywonderful449 hmm idk I think that cop is wrong. Nothing sets an age limit on any of our rights. Other than entering a binding contract.

[@trollerrollerrollercoaster8391]

@@jhoughjr1 unfortunately having been grinded in the machine as a juvenile. I can tell you kids don't have the same rights.

[@TheChapelx]

Friends and even my younger brother were victims of these two and the rest of their accomplices. Some of the ways they were able to get away with it for so long were because the at the time county juvenile detention center was extremely old and in poor shape, the one judge was the President Judge in the county and the other was ETREMELY popular amongst the local school districts and communities due to his "zero tolerance" policies. They were able to just hand off any "problem" kids. A lot of the kids didn't even HAVE legal representation. Some attorneys and members of the probation system and such did complain but they weren't enough till I believe another judge, who herself ended up disbarred shortly before the news broke due to her own misconduct, complained to the state. The county was also heaviy corrupt as multiple cases kind of springboarded off this. By the end, I believe the county controller, another judge unrelated to the two in the story, 2 of the 3 county commissioners and I think a district justice ended up getting nailed

[@patrickmiller4691]

At what point should the community foot the bill for the crimes that where committed?

[@jar407]

im from philly area left in 76 to burbs left to fl in 95. but i saw this story. no my cousins kid got in trouble in bucks. he was guilty over 18 but bucks trys to keep young adults in county jail rather that sen them to state prison so sadly justice is not always even in the state btw hes staied out of trouble since. but i wonder in the election theres 1 county the caught 12+ - stuffing ballots in the dark half were identified half still unknown the DA will not press charges on the half who are identified. becaus his words it would not be fair to charge the ones we caught since we cannot charge unknown. wtf kind of justice is that. i ill say it demacrats have destroied the state

[@The_Rock_Princess]

I’m still battling PTSD 40 yrs later. I got locked dwn for for my “ attitude“. Never actually did anything wrong but my mouth got me put away. So sorry you guy’s had to go through this! And So glad someone is dealing with these “hole of A’s”!!!

[@TheChapelx]

@@The_Rock_Princess my brother was one of the lucky ones. He was in and out of trouble and ended up getting sent to a rehab center when he turned 18 by a different judge. He's been clean ever since, has a family now and good job. A lot of the other kids weren't so lucky. The bastards ruined almost an entire generation of kids

[@jupitercyclops6521]

I was sure there had to be more guilty than the 2 judges. & what about the facility ceo who bribed the judged?

[@cliftonmcnalley8469]

This is a very large part of why I detest privatization of our public services. Somebody's buddy is getting wealthy when they get awarded the contract and kickbacks are so commonplace. Even if the kickbacks don't happen - privatization is never an improvement. Look at Florida, where the state recently privatized parts of its foster care system and children were actually living in the offices of the private company. Then there are the billions of dollars being stolen from our Healthcare system on behalf of Medicare replacement policies.

[@walterarrit5511]

In Adelanto California a private prison for profit ram amuck. Prisoners were granted or denied privileged based on attending religious services. When there was a riot the prison was turned back to governmental control.

[@tomboyd7109]

It's things like this that erode public trust in the judicial system including judges and lawyers in general.

[@mikerouch416]

This kind of responsibility should come with death sentence for violating that responsibility.

[@danmurnan4509]

I think it's time for the judge in "Home confinement" to go back to prison.

[@truckercarlson9081]

It's infuriating that one of the two is allowed to stay at home!

[@aaroneverett296]

I saw this covered a few weeks ago. I'm sure Steve will do a great job of telling the story. But if you want to be truly disgusted by this, look it up. It's horrendous.

[@dougtripp2431]

This is also the big problem with juvenile courts not requiring trials by juries under the guise of protecting the kids' privacy. That has much more to do with a judges and prosecutors keeping their abuse of kids secret from public pervue.

[@kellyhowell5728]

What's sickening, the judges will not pay. They should have to pay back every cent on top of what they owe these children.

[@enrgz]

Did they get to keep their pensions? The support staff had to know, clerks recorder attorneys etc... they should all lose their jobs and forfeit their pensions.

[@jamesodell3064]

Their pension money should go to the victims.

[@deconteesawyer5758]

@@jamesodell3064 every penny

[@heydeereman1040]

Once had my car towed in Colorado because I was missing a couple lug nuts and horn was broken. Later it was found out that police were getting kickback from the towing company for each car impounded. Judge in my case threw out the charge since it was ridiculous, but I still had to pay the towing and storage fees.

[@torqueson]

What is scary is thinking about how much of this type of malfeasance is still ongoing. What policies are in place to keep this from happening again. I am willing to bet it is not a damned thing.

[@BrokebutCreative]

Judges need to be held to a higher standard. Mandatory 5 year audits of judges sounds nice.

[@sporty196071]

The children who were victims in this have to grow up and go through their lives with the system that did this. Do you think they will ever trust and believe in our justice system? How will they act when they have to deal with cops as they get older?

[@sb5838]

Oh. So in addition to gross violation of their "Constitutionally protected" rights.. most will not be made whole. Re-establish justice.

[@tanucci733]

They did this to my brother at 12 y's.o. It destroyed his life. The violence you Know happens in adult prisons happens in these "juvenile detention centers", or kiddie prisons, as I refer to them.

[@deconteesawyer5758]

Make no mistake. there is a definite legitimate need for "children's prisons". We have true monsters amongst us that happen to be underage. Cold blooded premeditated malice with no remorse that the public needs to be protected from.. These kids were far from that classification.

[@Pollutical]

I sincerely hope these men are forced to spend their lives in protective custody. It's fitting that the actual justice would come at the hands of those who have been judged themselves.

[@DiffEQ]

Protective custody? WTF are you talking about? Are you really that ignorant?

[@LeviathantheMighty]

They deserve the electric chair.

[@joshuagibson2520]

Nah. Put them in general population.

[@frankney8284]

@@joshuagibson2520 GenPop with a naked woman tattooed on their backs.

[@mariannorton4161]

I remember when that happened and there is no prison sentence that's long enough for those judges. There was a judge in Salmon Idaho some years back that I think was doing the same sort of thing.

[@codyprine1140]

The court should add up all of the years they took away from these kids, put them in jail for double that time, and add voluntary manslaughter charges to them for each death they directly caused.

[@niyablake]

Pennsylvania's Judicial Conduct Board received four complaints about Michael Conahan between 2004 and 2008, but later admitted it failed to investigate any of them, nor had it sought documentation regarding the cases involved.

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

Only four? WTF is wrong with all the adults who witnessed these sentences smdh

[@niyablake]

@@jerseyshoredroneservices225 It's only four that they admit to I'm sure there was more but hell they didn't even bother with the four .

[@niyablake]

@@jerseyshoredroneservices225 they had no intentions to go after these judges but the feds arrested them

[@jeromethiel4323]

On a side note, this is as much a condemnation of the public educational system as it is these morally bankrupt judges. Why the hell is the court involved in a child writing on a window with a marker?!?

[@jeromethiel4323]

@Gretchen K. exactly. Kids are going to kid. It's the adults responsibility to guide them and socialize them. Getting the law involved is doing them a grave disservice.

[@jeremydale4548]

EXACTLY! Whoever the school officials were that called Law Enforcement NEED to be fired and banned from the school system FOR LIFE!

[@JohnSmith-ug5ci]

Thumbs up on the prison sentences. The judges should have gotten life.

[@chrisbudesa]

Life plus 100.

[@matthewwinans3068]

Those bastards should have gotten DEATH!

[@kennethnevel3263]

NO , Death in the center of the city .

[@Mercurio-Morat-Goes-Bughunting]

No. Court Martial. Cigarette. Firing Squad. What any government official does is, in fact, a form of national service and should be classified as such; under military jurisdiction with military penalties.

[@Endless_Jaguar]

I want to be 100% clear. I work with at risk kids. Every single one that went into juvenile detention, has never recovered.

[@Censoredagain7881]

Why can't they sue the state, and the private prison??

[@justin522]

I don't know how much this plays into them getting away with it for so long, because there were definitely some lawyers mentioned, but some of the complaints were that kids were being denied representation. I remember one in particular where the kid claimed that they pled not guilty without a lawyer and having the judge put it down as a guilty plea.

[@azmax623]

My favorite copyright attorney, @leonardjfrench, went through the judge's ruling, including reading the responses from the people sentenced. It was heart wrenching to listen to. I really hope these judges meet the worst of the worst in jail.

[@Money4Nothing]

I listened to this Leonard's video right before bed and had a hard time sleeping.

[@dynodon9182]

Shouldn't the state be liable?

[@shekharmoona544]

Especially due to being agents of the state.

[@pgiatrakis]

Yes ! The State and where was Federal oversight. This was a complete travesty

[@williamkey4338]

Judges protecting judges. Cops protecting judges. Lawyers protecting judges. I'll bet it was brought up many times before anyone looked in to it. END qualified immunity for all law enforcement officals and government agents.

[@ehrgeiz0]

House arrest in a house that he bought with blood money. Probably has no Internet or TV restrictions and full visitation. How's that punishment?

[@stigmaoftherose]

The judges were employed by the state, the state should pay the money. Edit: I'm not saying that the judges shouldn't lose everything to cover as much of the cost as they can. But how is this any different from any other wrongful imprisonment case where the state pays out to innocent people thrown in jail for years.

[@Vaportrail70]

Exactly.

[@DiffEQ]

They do it for cops... which is sickening. Tax payers paying for bad behavior while the cop gets the patently fabricated "qualified immunity" from their actions. The judiciary is a government entity and they should definitely pay the damages done by THIER EMPLOYEES.

[@SeanBZA]

State gets the money from the citizens. Judges should lose all pensions, all benefits, and spend the combined time of all the convicted people they put in there, you can be kind and allow half to be concurrent as well.

[@lastalive7403]

Don't hold the judges accountable? Really???

[@sarajuanaict]

If you wanna hear further exactly how bad it was for these little kids watch the Leonard French video, he will read the court documents

[@pizzaivlife]

Steve tells you the facts in a streamlined way. Leonard makes you process them on a much deeper level

[@sarajuanaict]

@@pizzaivlife it's true! I love them both in their own way

[@MrGlen6911]

Thanks for bringing this to light I had not heard of this and think it needs to be more well known. These Judges should be given life as they have damaged these kids for life

[@DiffEQ]

He didn't bring it to light. In fact, he's a bit late in the game. Did you not listen to Steve? He reference and entire documentary on this matter. SMH

[@MrGlen6911]

He did for me hence the “I had not heard of this” comment I didn’t say thanks for breaking this story. I did hear that he referenced an entire documentary and because Steve brought this to light to me I will search and watch said documentary. Sounds like retirement has made you Bored but thanks for the comment that makes no sense and is counter to what I said. Maybe take up knitting?

[@anderwmarcell9503]

Many lives were ruined. These judges and the owners of the private prisons should be jailed and forced to pay restitution.

[@jeremydale4548]

Also, Clearly some TEACHERS are also at fault for calling law enforcement over writing on the wall. Seriously, Law enforcement has NO business being called for offenses that ONLY an explusion at WORST!

[@thisiscompletelyreta]

It does not surprise me at all it took so long. Judges from what I’ve Seen have absolute authority and it takes many years for anyone that has authority even makes an issue

[@jhoughjr1]

The crime ppl I knew's holy grail was knowing a judge, once they had that they were golden.

[@GrnEyez64]

It would be impossible to measure the damage done by those evil men. That kind of damage can not be undone only survived. For me, it also highlights the all but certain corruption that accompany private prisons.

[@no_peace]

The corruption is part of state prisons as well. The vast majority of prisons are state prisons and the people in charge of state prisons broker deals with private companies to sell overpriced garbage to incarcerated people and exploit their forced labor to benefit the same and other companies. Incarcerated people also produce equipment for the military and other government services. Incarcerated people in public prisons are also pushed into state and other jobs paying almost nothing that would otherwise likely be filled by a (union) employee with normal wages and benefits It's absolutely not just private prisons. Look at Angola

[@GrnEyez64]

@@no_peace Oh I'm not saying state prisons are immune from the rot of corruption. Just that private prisons seem to be a recipe for it.

[@JS-po8oc]

@@no_peace Yeah but we can abolish private prisons and only good will come from jt.

[@ninja1antelope]

Ironic as there are “financial incentives” at every level of the American justice system. Starting with cops meeting “quotas”….

[@samrapheal1828]

"Money doesn't talk, it swears." - Bob Dylan

[@jeremydale4548]

Quotas should be A FEDERAL CRIME! It incentivizes shit like this!

[@lukek8357]

So I don't understand how the state or federal government (not 100% clear on who employs judges) aren't responsible for the amount of money that was awarded. I imagine like all professionals judges need either personal liability insurance or to be covered by their employers insurance while working for them. If this was a doctor doing the wrong thing then I'd expect their insurance and the insurance of the hospital to be paying the damages from the case.

[@peterantoniazzi1]

Hi Steve why can’t they go after the employer of these judges such as the county or state?

[@brucelytle1144]

Such a good story about useful juvenile justice. Sometimes it works, sadly, most times it doesn't! You are a good person, Steve!

[@pault4513]

My wifes superior court judge friend who used to be a family law judge used to make kids read books and do a book report before doing anything harsh to them

[@unsearchablethings8167]

Thar sounds a lot more reasonable, Paul.

[@davidh9638]

So now, reading books is punishment

[@DavidK-il6ks]

@@davidh9638 Why does it have to be a punishment? Maybe the subject of the books were directly related to their offense, and making them write a report ensured that they read and understood the material. Seems much more reasonable than sending them off to a for-profit detention facility.

[@pault4513]

@@davidh9638 think about how most people spend their time while in prison

[@davidh9638]

"Why does it have to be a punishment?" My thought exactly. That's something they should already be doing, regularly, as part of their schoolwork. Not imposed by a court, thus making it part of the punishment for something they did.

[@ewetoobblowzdogg8410]

I'm finding it even more shocking that people are actually shocked by all this. Most have watched all this going on for decadesband just turned our heads. Much of this is on us as well.

[@brucerobinson1284]

There are some private prisons that have a low limit. If they are not provided with enough inmates the city/state/Government have to pay a fee .

[@viking956]

Let's just take a moment to appreciate that the plaintiffs were able to actually sue these two animals. Judicial immunity is an incredible bar to overcome in order to hold a corrupt judge accountable.

[@jonnsmusich]

These judges worked for someone. THEY should be held liable for not policing their judges. These victims do need compensation.

[@Ginger-g8j]

It’s the justice department who is supposed to oversee and make sure this kind of shit doesn’t happen go to their website it won’t last five minutes it’s designed to drive you away from making a complaint

[@BattlePope]

Ciavarella used to go to the schools in my area and talk about a zero tolerance policy. So if you got in a fight with someone, regardless of who started it, both would be getting sent away to camp Adams. Two for the price of one

[@DiffEQ]

Huh? Shut up until you can formulate entire thoughts.

[@charlesdoyle3630]

@@DiffEQ Pretty straight forward. So either get new glasses or have eye surgery.

[@RasputinReview]

I think this shows how many adults treat kids, and what happens when you have power over people who can't fight back

[@linlouwho123]

This was one of the grossest crimes committed by an American judge against children. Several of the kids committed suicide. Judges were lucky the parents didn’t tear them apart.

[@MishaMishaSoprano]

Grateful they are facing real consequences. I wish Judge Amanda Williams had faced the same consequences, instead of getting away with it.