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New Luzerne County coroner sought

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CASA announces NEPA Sings finalists

<p>A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit set a March 7 deadline for filing briefs in the appeal of former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella.</p><p>A notice filed Monday by the Philadelphia-based court said there will be no oral arguments and that panel will be made up of judges Thomas L. Ambro, L. Felipe Restrepo and Morton I. Greenberg.</p><p>Some of Ciavarella&#8217;s convictions in his 2011 &#8220;Kids for Cash&#8221; trial were overturned last year by a federal judge. Ciavarella argued he had ineffective counsel and was granted a new trial on racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to launder money. The retrial has been put on hold to allow for the appeal.</p><p>The U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office contested the ruling. Ciavarella&#8217;s attorney Jennifer Wilson also sought dismissal of his conviction on honest services mail fraud charges, arguing the jury&#8217;s verdict was based on conduct the U.S. Supreme Court later determined did not constitute an &#8220;official act.&#8221;</p><p>Along with former county judge Michael Conahan, Ciavarella was charged in 2009 with taking part in a $2.8 million kickback scheme involving the construction of two, for-profit juvenile detention centers and the placement of youths in the facilities in Pittston Township and Butler County.</p><p>Ciavarella, 68, was sentenced to 28 years in prison. He is serving his sentence at the low-security federal correctional institution in Ashland, Ky., and, pending his appeal, has a release date of Dec. 30, 2035.</p><p>Conahan, 66, pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced to 17&#189; years in prison. He is an inmate at the low-security federal correctional institution in Miami, Fla., with a release date of Dec. 18, 2026.</p>
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<div class="neCaption">Ciavarella </div></div><div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Mark-Ciavarella-2011.jpgCiavarella </div></div>
<div class="metaInfo">3rd Circuit Court will not hold hearing</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>

Filing date set in Ciavarella appeal, no hearing before 3rd Circuit Court