Opinion ID: 869748
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to Disclose Conflicts of Interest

Text: Ciavarella and Conahan perpetuated their scheme by failing to disclose their receipt of payments from Mericle and Powell. Also, while obligated by Pennsylvania law to file 8 financial interest statements reporting on outside income, from 2003 through 2007, Ciavarella and Conahan filed false statements and failed to report their outside income, financial interests, or gifts related to PACC, Powell, or Mericle. Additionally, though they were ethically required to disclose their financial relationships with parties in cases in which they presided over as judges, and required to recuse themselves from such cases, Ciavarella and Conahan repeatedly failed to disclose their financial relationships with Powell, Mericle, PACC, and WPACC despite presiding over several trials in which they were litigants between 2004 and 2008. Furthermore, Ciavarella never disclosed his conflict of interest with the juvenile detention centers when he presided over the cases of juvenile offenders and committed them to detention at PACC or WPACC. In many cases, with the intent of increasing his personal gain, Ciavarella disregarded the recommendation of juvenile probation officers evaluating the juvenile offenders‟ cases and ordered their detention. Ciavarella also exerted pressure on the staff of the Court of Common Pleas to recommend the detention of juvenile offenders, and on certain occasions, as a result of pressure from Ciavarella, probation officers changed their recommendations from release of the juveniles to recommendations of detention. Following the discovery of this scheme, a special master was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review the cases of juveniles who were not represented by an attorney and were committed to PACC and WPACC by Ciavarella. The special master indicated that “a very substantial number” of the juveniles did not knowingly or 9 intelligently waive their right to counsel. Confidential Presentence Report (“PSR”) ¶ 103. The investigation also revealed “that there was routine deprivation of children‟s constitutional rights to appear before an impartial tribunal and to have an opportunity to be heard.” PSR ¶ 103.