The suit names Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan and 14 other defendants. It was filed in federal court late Thursday on behalf of hundreds of children and their families who were alleged victims of the corruption.

"At the hands of two grossly corrupt judges and several conspirators, hundreds of Pennsylvania children, their families and loved ones, were victimized and their civil rights violated," plaintiffs' attorney Michael Cefalo said in a statement Friday.

Prosecutors allege Ciavarella and Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, possibly tainting the convictions of thousands of juvenile offenders.

The judges pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court in Scranton on Thursday. Their plea agreements call for sentences of more than seven years in prison.

"It's our intent to make sure that the system rights this terrible injustice and holds those responsible accountable," Cefalo said.

An attorney for Conahan said he hadn't seen the suit and declined comment. Ciavarella's lawyer didn't immediately return a phone message.

The lead plaintiff is Florence Wallace, whose 14-year-old daughter Bernadine was charged with terroristic threats after getting into an argument on MySpace. The lawsuit said the teenager was not advised of her right to an attorney and was pressured to plead guilty. She was taken from Ciavarella's courtroom in shackles and spent time in PA Child Care and at a youth wilderness camp.

In a hearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Deputy Attorney General Daniel Powell argued that a judge's demand for a $250 million down payment violates state sovereignty and federal law. A court-appointed receiver wants that money to go toward his $8 billion plan to build seven new medical and mental health facilities for the state's 33 adult prisons.

Powell told the three-judge panel that the plan goes far beyond what's needed to remedy the prison health care system. The state cited proposed amenities such as therapy rooms, basketball courts and bingo boards. Powell added that the state already has taken steps to improve care that has been ruled unconstitutional.

The demand for billions to improve inmate medical care comes during a time of "extreme fiscal crisis," the state argued. California is struggling to bridge a $42 billion budget gap, furloughing employees two days each month, cutting billions from education and social services and considering a variety of tax increases.

The court system had to close down Friday afternoon after a computer virus affected access to data on court cases. Courtroom operations aren't expected to be back in business before Thursday morning.

People can pay fines and conduct other court business, but judges will not call dockets. Those with court dates for misdemeanor cases will be notified by mail of their new dates.

The virus hit 475 of the city's 16,000 computers and infected part of Microsoft Windows that handles the login process.

Gwendolyn Goins, spokeswoman for the court system, says she does not know how many cases have been affected. She said there's no evidence the virus was released deliberately.

A veteran Baton Rouge lawyer has been suspended indefinitely by the Louisiana Supreme Court for alleged misconduct and now faces disbarment.


Donald Ray Smith began practicing law in Louisiana in 1976. He's now accused of practicing law without a license and taking money from clients without performing his legal duties.

The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday suspended Smith indefinitely based on the charges brought by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which prosecutes alleged attorney misconduct. Court records show Smith has yet to dispute the allegations brought by the ODC since prosecutors took the first of a series of complaints against him in June 2005.

Court records show Smith has been serving as an attorney in the state despite being ineligible to practice law in Louisiana since 2004.

The high court on Monday said it will consider allowing prosecutors in Maryland to use a confession from convicted child molester Michael Shatzer that he sexually abused his son.

Shatzer was imprisoned at the Maryland Correctional Institution in Hagerstown for child sexual abuse in 2003 when police started investigating allegations concerning his son. Shatzer requested an attorney and the investigation was soon dropped.

Three years later, the boy was old enough to offer details. According to court documents, when police questioned Shatzer again about the case, he was advised of his rights and signed a form waiving them before confessing.

After Shatzer was charged, he filed a motion to suppress his statements, arguing that he had asked for an attorney in the case before. A lower court said the confession could be used, but the Maryland Court of Appeals agreed with Shatzer and threw out the confession.

Judge Nancy Gertner postponed oral arguments set for Thursday in the copyright infringement lawsuit that pits a Boston University graduate student against the music recording industry. Proceedings will resume Feb. 24.

Gertner said the delay would give the First Circuit Court of Appeals time to resolve an extraordinary petition by the recording industry challenging how the court recording will be made and distributed.

Charles Nesson, a Harvard professor representing BU student Joel Tenenbaum, is challenging the constitutionality of the lawsuits and asked the court to authorize the webcast.

The case is part of an effort by the Recording Industry Association of America to stop online music sharing.