Posted: Friday, 30 May 2008 11:17AM
Object To Disorder In The Court
Steve Corbett Reporting
Friday, May 30, 2008
Who judges the judges?
Good question.
Current concerns about Luzerne County judges make the question all the more relevant.
That’s why judicial complaints can and should be filed on a regular basis. The formal complaint process is essentially the only checks and balances that exist to keep jurists walking the straight and narrow.
And we need to guarantee that jurists walk the straight and narrow. We must hold our county judges to the absolute highest standard.
I’m not getting into personalities here. I’m talking about every county judge on the bench in every county in the Commonwealth. I’m talking about a state with a national reputation for political corruption. And, no matter what the judges say to the contrary, they are as political as any officeholders in Pennsylvania.
So if you have a question about a judge’s behavior that begs to be answered, file a complaint.
File two, they’re cheap.
Actually, they’re free for the taking.
The state Judicial Conduct Board provides us an avenue to lodge a complaint against any county judge we choose. That’s assuming that conduct unbecoming a judge raises legitimate questions in the complainant’s mind.
Of course the complaint must be legitimate and grounded in fact. The website for the state board warns us that false complaints can result in the complainant being charged with a crime.
And nobody wants to tarnish the reputation of a good, honest judge. We need all the good men and women we can find to take the bench and render sound legal rulings.
But, short of a federal indictment – and at least one living former Luzerne County judge during my time as a county resident has solid experience in that process - few avenues of grievance exist for law-abiding taxpayers who believe that something is rotten in the courthouse.
The process can be scary.
I know one woman who filed a serious complaint years ago and went through terrible times in the process. Her complaint worked its way through the system and eventually went away without the public even knowing about it. I’m not sure if she withdrew the complaint or the system found it to be unworthy of action.
The judge remains on the bench.
Other Luzerne County judges with ethical questions hanging over their heads also remain on the bench.
President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. is the subject of an outside investigation into his decision-making and whether he violated the constitutional rights of juvenile defendants. Ciavarella denies violating anyone’s rights. Other questions have recently surfaced about his financial ties to a lawyer who benefits from county business.
Former President Judge Michael Conahan, who retired and now serves as a part-time senior judge, also has questions to answer about his financial business ties to the same lawyer.
The fact that the two judges’ wives share an interest in a condo in Florida also raises questions.
Clear, concise answers might clear all the parties. But unless a formal inquiry is launched, we just don’t know. And if we don’t know, we wonder.
Whom do we trust?
We trust ourselves. And we trust the system, as difficult and frustrating as that can be.
Want to file a complaint?
Write or call for a form.
Here’s the address: Judicial Conduct Board, Pennsylvania Place, Suite 403, 301 Chestnut Street, Harrisburg, Pa., 17101.
Judicial ethics are not too much to ask.
So complain.
Then complain again and again and again.
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Corbett
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