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For poor, shutdown robs sense of safety

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<p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit set a tentative date of March 7 to hear the case of former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella who is serving a lengthy federal prison sentence for the Kids for Cash scandal.</p><p>A panel of judges in Philadelphia will convene for the hearing. The ruling last year by U.S. District Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner in Harrisburg set the stage for the appeal.</p><p>Conner, who was not the judge in the 2011 trial, overturned some of Ciavarella&#8217;s convictions and ordered a retrial on charges of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to launder money. Conner also ruled for Ciavarella on his claim of ineffective counsel.</p><p>Convictions on nine other charges stood, however. Conner stayed the retrial pending the appeal.</p><p>The U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Scranton, challenged Conner&#8217;s ruling in its appeal. Ciavarella&#8217;s attorney Jennifer Wilson also argued for dismissal of his convictions on honest services mail fraud. The jury convicted Ciavarella on conduct that the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 determined did not constitute an &#8220;official act,&#8221; Wilson maintained.</p><p>Ciavarella and another former county judge Michael Conahan were charged in 2009 with participating in a $2.8 million kickback scheme connected to the construction of two for-profit juvenile detention centers in Pittston Township and Butler County and the placement of youths in the facilities.</p><p>Conahan, 66, pleaded guilty to racketeering and has been serving a 17&#189;-year prison sentence at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, Fla. He has a release date of Dec. 18, 2026.</p><p>Ciavarella, 68, was sentenced to 28 years in prison. He has been held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Ky. Pending the appeal, his release date is Dec. 30, 2035.</p>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_markciavarella40-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia will hear the case of former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella, left, convicted in 2011 in the Kids for Cash scandal. Times Leader file photo</div></div><div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_markciavarella40-1.jpgThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia will hear the case of former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella, left, convicted in 2011 in the Kids for Cash scandal. Times Leader file photo</div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></div><div class="metaInfo"><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></div>

Appellate court to hear Ciavarella’s case