PENNSYLVANIA
County's first juvenile court master has full plate
Greg Keenan knows he has a big responsibility, as his actions influence the lives of children and their families across the county.
That’s because Keenan, 52, a Meadville attorney, became Crawford County Court of Common Pleas’ first full-time juvenile court master, effective Sept. 1.
The juvenile master hears practically all juvenile court cases and makes a decision, some 1,100 cases a year. Most of the cases involve children under the age of 18 who are accused of criminal activity. And about 10 percent of his judgments involve adults (such as parents or guardians) charged with abuse where the child is the victim. On average, there are more than 1,000 juvenile criminal and around 100 child abuse cases filed each year with the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas.
The biggest reasons for a master system are to save time and money for the county by having a master hear the case instead of the judge. If the juvenile and his (or her) parents or guardians accept it, the decision is final. If not, they can appeal it to the county court. The goal is to speed up the disposition and court time for other cases.
As juvenile master, Keenan hears cases where someone is accused of committing a crime. However, by Pennsylvania law, a master doesn’t hear homicide, rape, kidnapping and certain first-degree felony cases filed against a person under age 18. He also hears cases involving child abuse or neglect.
Those cases come before the court after an investigation by the county’s Human Services or Children and Youth Services departments. Rulings could require social services be brought into the home to aid the family; the child be placed in a youth center; or placed into foster care depending on the situation.
Keenan said he likes the aspect he’s dealing with children to get them back on the right track so they have a chance to grow up to become productive members of society. “The clearest thing is you know what you do has an impact,” said Keenan. “You can effectuate a difference. As a private attorney, what you do may have an impact on the outcome, but you don’t control it.”
President Judge Anthony Vardaro said a juvenile master is essential for the functioning of the county’s court system. “Without the juvenile court master we (himself and fellow Judges John Spataro and Mark Stevens) would not be able to keep with the cases because rules require we hear these quickly,” Vardaro said. “There isn’t enough judge time to do it. The master is essential to our function.”
Keenan came into the full-time master’s job after working in the position one and one-half days per week since earlier this summer.
An attorney in Meadville since 1992, Keenan was appointed by the county in June as a part-time juvenile court master at the request of Vardaro. He was appointed to help with the case load of then-juvenile master Bill Peters. Peters had been working in the position three and one-half days a week since January 2000. Keenan was brought in to work the other one and one-half days per week that Peters wasn’t hearing cases. Peters, retired effective Aug. 31, and Keenan was named. He’s paid a salary of $60,000 a year for the position.
In addition to his legal experience both as a criminal and civil attorney in private practice for nearly two decades, Keenan had several other positions. He had been both a court-appointed substitute juvenile court master and a substitute custody mediator for Crawford County Court for several years prior to his part-time appointment as a part-time juvenile court master. He had been an assistant public defender for Crawford County about seven years, representing both adults and juveniles in court.
Keenan is a graduate of Northern Michigan University with a degree in psychology and earned his law degree from the Widener University School of Law in Delaware.
He and his wife, Sharlene, live in Meadville and are the parents of two sons.
Keith Gushard
22 September 2010
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