Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Temple Law Review

Abstract

In this Article, we will use one of JLC’s many victories, the case of the so-called “kids for cash” scandal of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in 2008–2009, to look at the current state of juvenile justice and to look back at how we got here. This was a case so bizarre and shocking that it is still difficult to believe it could have happened, let alone that it could have taken place in the modern era. Over the course of roughly a decade, two judges in the western part of Pennsylvania made millions of dollars by wrongfully imprisoning more than 1,800 children in a private juvenile prison that kicked money back to the judges. Section I of this Article recounts the story. It is a tale with a hero (JLC, which came to the rescue of the kids, as it has in so many other cases), a couple of villains (the judges, of course), and a large backup cast of prosecutors, defenders, probation officers, and others who apparently turned a blind eye to flagrant abuses that occurred regularly over the span of many years. Section II of this Article tackles the big, broad questions that inevitably leap to mind: How could something like this have happened? Why didn’t any of the many lawyers or caseworkers involved in the Luzerne County juvenile justice system step in to stop the abuses and protect the children? In a system that is governed by a rule of law, what happened to all of the procedural safeguards that should have prevented an abuse of this type and magnitude? In the course of addressing these questions, we look back at the caselaw and developments in the juvenile justice field to try to identify factors that may have played a role.

First Page

653

Volume

88

Publication Date

2016

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