By Associated Press - Thursday, April 7, 2016

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - A lawsuit against two former Pennsylvania judges who were involved a scandal that became known as “kids for cash” has been dropped.

The (Wilkes-Barre) Citizens’ Voice reports (https://bit.ly/23kvmRz ) Raul Clark filed a lawsuit in 2009 alleging that former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella (shih-vuh-REHL’-uh) Jr. had directed him to count the number of birds outside the courtroom, then sentenced him to detention according to that number- six months -at a November 2002 hearing.

A lawyer filed a motion Wednesday saying the plaintiffs have opted into court-approved class settlements in the case.



Ciavarella and Michael Conahan are serving prison sentences for accepting bribes in exchange for ordering youths to for-profit detention centers co-owned by Robert Powell.

Powell reached a nearly $5 million settlement with the juveniles in March 2015.

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Information from: The Citizens’ Voice, https://www.citizensvoice.com

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