One of the architects of the most notorious judicial crime in Pennsylvania history, “kids-for-cash,” has scored a hearing to argue for overturning some of his convictions.

Former Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella, 67, was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison in 2011 for accepting $2.8 million in kickbacks along with fellow Judge Michael Conahan to sentence low-level juvenile offenders to a private, for-profit youth detention facility.

The disgraced ex-judge was convicted on 12 counts including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, honest-services mail fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and tax fraud.