I took a trip back to March of this year to review one of our best examples of outsourcing. The New York Times provided an in-depth story about juvenile justice in Pennsylvania. Once upon a time a personal injury skank attorney approached his buddy Conahan, a district court judge with an idea. He wanted to build his own juvie hall. Kind of like a private residential facility for naughty boys and naughty girls.

And coincidentally, Conahan's other best friend more or less ran his own juvenile court. Now they had a real triumvirate, truth, justice and the American way. But unlike the first Roman triumvirate where the third leg--Crassus--came up with the initial funding, these three mouseketeers were going to get their economic fix right from the government.

First, Judge Ciavarella put Mr. Powell in touch with a developer who also happened to be an old friend, Robert K. Mericle, to start work on finding a site. Then, in January 2002 -- the month Judge Conahan became president judge, giving him control of the courthouse budget -- he signed a secret deal with Mr. Powell, agreeing that the court would pay $1.3 million in annual rent, on top of the tens of millions of dollars that the county and the state would pay to house the delinquent juveniles. And by the end of that year, Judge Conahan had gotten rid of the competition by eliminating financing for the county detention center.

One whistleblower....Judge Chester B. Muroski, who sent a letter to county commissioners raising concerns about detention costs, only to be transferred days later to another court by Judge Conahan. "I knew something was wrong, but they silenced all dissent."

And the NYT added this:

When the county controller, Steve Flood, leaked a state audit that described the state's lease of the center as a "bad deal," the center's owner filed a "trade secrets" lawsuit against Mr. Flood, and Judge Conahan sealed the suit to limit other documents' getting out. His decision was later overturned.

Well the fix was in and the government contract came through and the trio was off and running. EVEN THOUGH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HAD BEEN WARNED.

Not only would they establish their own private jail, but cut off funding for their only real competition, the country run juvenile facilities. And this being the Country of Opportunity, especially under the greatest opportunists of all time--the 2002 Republican Government--the judges would be paid BASED UPON PRODUCTION. How much more American can you get?

The more naughty boys and girls sent to this fascist penal institution the more monies  these pricks would pocket. And the longer the sentences imposed, the bigger the bonuses.  So what kind of court did this President Judge (by the way, do you not love this term?) run anyway?

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers, relates Dick the Butcher in Henry the IV, Part Two. Well they could not kill the lawyers, but they could keep the little cherubs from getting one.

Cleveland.com reports that:

Under Pennsylvania law, a juvenile may not waive his right to an attorney unless the decision is made "knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily." The judge must also formally question defendants to make sure they understand their rights, something Ciavarella routinely did not do.

People, ask yourself this question: How in the hell can a thirteen year old boy, most often from the poorer classes knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive his right to trial?  How in the hell can that ever be the case?

Anybody who catches a Law & Order episode, understands how the system works.  The cop tells the 'detainee', hey you can get a lawyer. It's a free country is it not? Of course, you get an attorney and all deals are off the table. 

There are so many ways you can intimidate a suspect  But a thirteen year old arrested for being a look-out in a shoplifting scheme perpetrated against a local Walmart is an easy mark. And when the President Judge breaks the law by not giving the cherub his rights in open court, well...there is no chance that attorneys will screw up the process. Under Pennsylvania law, a juvenile may not waive his right to an attorney unless the decision is made "knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily." The judge must also formally question defendants to make sure they understand their rights, something Ciavarella routinely did not do.

Youths were routinely brought before Ciavarella without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent to detention for offenses as minor as stealing change from cars and writing prank notes.(Cleveland.com)

What a machine was put in place. And the judges pocketed 2.6 million big ones, tax free. The idiots hid the money. But it is not that easy to hide this kind of money. So they took a tip from Randy 'Duke' Cunningham and got themselves a boat for $750,000.00.

Now like Capone, this dynamic duo plead guilty to tax evasion.  They will end up with prison sentences of around 7 years. See how important it is to get a gooooood lawyer?  Hell a crack addict in Pennsylvania on his third gig can get life.  THESE PEOPLE RUINED THE LIVES OF CHILDREN!!!! Seven fricking years. What the hell is the difference between these judges and white slavers?

The NYT in their March 26^th report stated:

"The judge's whim is all that mattered in that courtroom," said Marsha Levick, the legal director of the Juvenile Law Center, a child advocacy organization in Philadelphia, which began raising concerns about the court to state authorities in 1999. "The law was basically irrelevant."

Oh, and the PI attorney. He is claiming he made the payments under duress. He claims the judges WERE EXTORTING HIM.  Hahahhahhahaha. He got a good lawyer.

There are people throughout the system who are under investigation or indictment. The ABA Journal of March, 2009 reports:

Even now, the newspaper writes, as an ongoing federal investigation of Luzerne County continues, those with whom the Times spoke are still intimidated. "Virtually all former colleagues and courthouse workers would not allow themselves to be identified because the federal investigation into the kickback scheme was ongoing, and they feared for their jobs if they alienated former allies of the judges."

All these people got some good lawyers too. And the attorneys said: SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS.

So what is the State of Pennsylvania left with as a result of this stunning example of out-sourcing?

Between 2003  and 2008, 2500 juveniles were sent to this private prison. It is estimated that 1200 of these kids never should have been sent to detention at all.

A Special Master was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to come up with a plan. Naturally, some of the children have become adults. Expungement, or erasure of the juvenile record may be put into place. Naturally those in custody, the less violent offenders as they say, will be set free and their files closed.  This will all take time.

So what is the point of this post?  Maybe you can help me with it. It is difficult to make any point here clearly. But I will try.

If you or yours are ever accused of something, GET A GODDAMN LAWYER!!! The more goddamnable the better. (blesses himself twice)

OUTSOURCING OF PENAL SENTENCES SUCKS.

Learn something about your own local juvenile justice system. If the citizenry does not care about its juvenile justice system, THERE CAN BE NO JUSTICE.

Timesleader.Com http://www.timesleader.com/news/Juvenile_records_to_be_erased_03-27-2009.html

ABA Journal, http://www.timesleader.com/news/Juvenile_records_to_be_erased_03-27-2009.html

New York Times,  March 27, 2009 By IAN URBINA

Cleveland.com, March 26, 2009

Court Documents from Pennsylvania, tax evasion and wire fraud

Court Order http://www.pacourts.us/OpPosting/Supreme/out/81mm2008pco3.pdf