Wrong Medicine Killed Husband, Woman Claims In Lawsuit

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By MICHAEL McNARNEY mmcnarney@leader.net
 Saturday, January 06, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 7A 





WILKES-BARRE - The Pennsylvania Superior Court has overturned a Luzerne
County judge's decision that put a juvenile behind bars without the child's
attorney present during the ruling. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Superior Court ruled that Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark A.
Ciavarella was wrong to find a 13-year-old boy delinquent on Aug. 19, 1999
after the boy admitted he engaged in indecent acts with his 3-year-old sister. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A finding of delinquency in juvenile court is similar to a finding of guilt
in adult court. The boy is not identified in court papers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to the Superior Court decision filed Jan. 3, the boy's mother
told Ciavarella that the boy's attorney could not appear at the hearing. She
also asked for the hearing to be postponed so the attorney could be present. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ciavarella did not entertain the mother's request, according to court
papers, and committed the boy to the Northwestern Intermediate Secured Unit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Superior Court's decision said the boy should have had an attorney
present, and Ciavarella had a constitutional and statutory duty to inform the
boy of his right to have an attorney present. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Superior Court voided Ciavarella's order finding the boy delinquent and
sent the case back to the Court of Common Pleas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In an interview, Ciavarella said he thinks the boy's family filed an appeal
simply because they were unhappy with his ruling. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I can't understand why they (the parents) thought they needed a lawyer
when they were the ones who brought the charges in the first place,''
Ciavarella said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I'll never do it again,'' Ciavarella said of allowing a defendant to
proceed without a lawyer. ``They obviously have a right to a lawyer, and even
if they come in and tell me that don't want a lawyer, they're going to have
one.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Superior Court Overturns Ruling In Child's Case Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Should Not Have Found A Boy Delinquent In A 1999 Case, The Court Says.