News

Interbranch Commission on Juvenile JusticeTo Hold Public Hearings in Wilkes-Barre

November 04, 2009

HARRISBURG, November 5, 2009 - The Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice which is investigating failures in the juvenile justice system in Luzerne County will hold hearings on Monday and Tuesday, November 9 and 10, in Wilkes-Barre. Senior Judge Arthur E. Grim, the special master assigned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review all juvenile cases handled by former Judge Mark A. Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008, is scheduled as the first witness, to testify at 1 p.m. on Monday. The hearings are to be held at the Best Western East Mountain Inn at 2400 East End Blvd., Wilkes-Barre. Beginning at 1 p.m. Monday, they are to continue through the afternoon and into the evening that day and to resume at 9 a.m. and continue into the afternoon on Tuesday. An agenda is attached. TV and radio stations can pick up a live feed of the hearings transmitted to an audio/video mult box from pool cameras provided by PCN. Still photography of the hearings is permitted without the use of a flash. Other scheduled witnesses include Sandra Brulo, a former chief county juvenile probation officer; Luzerne County Judge and former District Attorney David W. Lupas; Jacqueline Musto Carroll, the current district attorney; Basil G. Russin, the county public defender; John Johnson, chief of the county Juvenile Probation Department, and Joseph A. Massa, chief counsel of the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board. The Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice is conducting a noncriminal investigation into the circumstances that led to corruption of the juvenile justice system in Luzerne County. Its purpose is to determine the causes of the failures, to restore public confidence in the administration of justice and to make recommendations to prevent a recurrence of a similar situation in Luzerne County or elsewhere. Superior Court Judge John M. Cleland, chairman of the commission, will be available to the media to answer questions during breaks and at the conclusion of the hearings. Transcripts of the commission's proceedings and other information about the commission are available at: http://www.pacourts.us/Links/Public/InterbranchCommissionJuvenileJustice.htm