The people of Pennsylvania should pay attention to what the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice has to say when it issues recommendations on May 31.

Perhaps those recommendations will help restore confidence in the state's court system that was dealt a significant blow by two Luzerne County judges' alleged acceptance of nearly $3 million in kickbacks.

The two judges, Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, have been charged with taking kickbacks for sending juveniles to facilities including Western PA Child Care in northern Butler County. A special review of the cases heard by Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008 determined that 54 percent of the defendants had appeared before him without legal representation and were sentenced to the detention facilities even for minor infractions.

All convictions by Ciavarella during that period have been vacated.

The Interbranch Commission, which is to report May 31 on what court system reforms are needed, will submit its recommendations to the state Supreme Court. In the meantime, it's commendable that the issue of confidence in the courts has not been put in limbo.

That was shown last week when judges and lawyers involved with the state's juvenile courts met at Clarion University for a forum participants hoped would help improve the confidence in the courts of people who never imagined that a situation such as Luzerne County's ever could evolve in this state and then continue unchecked for so long.

At last week's session, Dauphin County Judge John Cherry said, "We have what we need already."

He said if existing rules were enforced, the type of corruption perpetrated by Ciavarella and Conahan could not have happened.

But why safeguards in place didn't work in the shameful Luzerne County judicial conduct needs the kind of examination that the Interbranch Commission hopefully will carry out and then recommend remedial measures.

Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen, who also attended the Clarion meeting, observed that "power and greed took the place of upholding the Constitution."

That's a danger in virtually every profession, but the court system is built upon what is supposed to be an impeccable level of honesty and fairness.

That's not what was in play in Ciavarella's and Conahan's courtrooms, however. For that reason, rejection of guilty pleas by the two judges hopefully — they are awaiting a new hearing — will pave the way for them to receive the kind of tough sentence that they truly deserve.

That in itself won't restore all of the public confidence in the state's courts that was eroded by the two judges' wrongdoings. There will certainly be people who will remain suspicious about how the courts operate, and perhaps that lingering suspicion will be a service to the court system in the long run — the knowledge that more people might now be paying more attention to the courts than in the past.

Still, more people need to hear the kind of message that was put forth last week that courts across the commonwealth are serious about ensuring that court corruption never again happens in this state.

May 31 will be an important day for Pennsylvania. All state residents should be interested in learning what the Interbranch Commission has to say.