Matthew, Angelia, and Charlie are just three children among the thousands who appeared in Judge Mark A. Ciavarella's courtroom between 2003 and 2008 and were sent away to a detention facility in which, it later came to light, Ciavarella had a personal financial stake. The author shows how this miscarriage of justice underscores a multitude of problems with our juvenile justice system, which too often criminalizes standard adolescent behavior, treats adolescents more harshly than if they were adults, and denies them their most fundamental constitutional rights.
