Of all the system failures that led to the Luzerne County judicial scandal, one of the worst was the Judicial Conduct Board’s whiffing on a detailed complaint against former judge Michael T. Conahan that alleged case fixing, mob ties, and the basics of the “kids-for-cash” scheme. Now that the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice has issued its report, it’s up to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to make sure the JCB undergoes meaningful reform.
There’s no reason to believe the JCB won’t fail again unless the justices step in. And I have real concerns that unless they do, the JCB is going to return to doing what it does best: ignoring real corruption and looking to kick only the most unpopular judges off the bench.
