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Brian Vukadinovich Court Victim

Brian Vukadinovich Retired teacher Indiana basketball coach Executive director Posner Center of Justice

Brian Vukadinovich is a retired teacher and basketball coach in Indiana and has served as executive director of The Posner Center of Justice for Pro Se’s based in Chicago, Illinois, for retired federal court of appeals judge Richard A. Posner. He has successfully represented himself in state and federal court proceedings in Indiana, including winning a federal jury verdict against his former public school corporation employer in Indiana in March 2016 for violating his due process rights in a five-day trial where he represented himself against the corporation’s team of lawyers. He has received national acclaim for his self-representation ability. According to Speakerpedia Brian is considered to be the leading pro se litigant in the country as he is believed to be the only person to have ever won a federal civil rights jury trial by representing himself without a lawyer. According to Speakerpedia Brian is considered to be the foremost expert in the country in the art of pro se litigation – the ability to represent oneself – and has spoken on the topic in several different forums and interviews, including speaking to a Yale Law School class about how he was able to successfully represent himself and win the federal civil rights jury trial against his former public school corporation employer. Acclaimed retired federal court of appeals judge Richard A. Posner wrote in his book Justice for Pro Se’s that Brian “has the distinction of being one of the most successful pro se litigants in modern history.” Brian is very passionate about social justice issues and the federal judiciary’s indifference to people’s civil rights claims. He is the author of several op-eds on social justice and judicial unfairness issues, including op-eds published by the Washington Examiner and the… Read More

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Listen to the Victims: Senate Holds Hearing on Guardianship By Marian Kornicki

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Listen to the Victims Senate Holds Hearing on Guardianship By Marion Kornicki

On March 30, 2023, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing, “Guardianship and its Alternatives: Protection and Empowerment.” Importantly, this hearing featured one victim witness, Dr. Tina Paone, who spoke about her family’s traumatic, unresolved guardianship nightmare. Her testimony resonated for the many victims that listened to her, as we know too well that guardianship cases are never resolved when there is an estate with money. As she said, “On paper, the current system appears well-intentioned. That’s not how it plays out. On behalf of my family, and so many others, I beg you to please implement meaningful reform.” At this same hearing, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) proposed a bill titled the Guardianship Bill of Rights Act, which would create a national council charged with promoting less restrictive arrangements for people living under, or being considered for, court-ordered guardianship—thereby leading to fewer guardianships. As I described in “Guardianship Destroyed My Family,” published last year on Mad in America, I have seen in my own life the damage and exploitation that can be wreaked by court-appointed guardians. In an effort to advocate and enact change, I belong to Victims and Families Harmed by Guardianship, a national human rights coalition that functions as a consortium of state coalitions on the quest for reform. This is critical work. Most victims cannot report the exploitation they are experiencing because they are silenced by gag orders, chemical restraint, or threats of retaliation. So, it is up to us—those of us who can speak out—to use our voices for those who cannot. Hopefully, we will be heard. Some background: Britney Spears is not alone For many people, the considerable harms of guardianship only came to the fore with the story of Britney Spears, whose… Read More

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