Category: COURT VICTIM

Guardians of the Elderly: An Ailing System Part I: Declared ‘Legally Dead’ by a Troubled

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Guardians of the Elderly: An Ailing System Part I: Declared ‘Legally Dead’ by a Troubled System Undated (AP) The nation’s guardianship system, a crucial last line of protection for the ailing elderly, is failing many of those it is designed to protect. A year-long investigation by The Associated Press of courts in all 50 states and the District of Columbia found a dangerously burdened and troubled system that regularly puts elderly lives in the hands of others with little or no evidence of necessity, then fails to guard against abuse, theft and neglect. In thousands of courts around the nation every week, a few minutes of routine and the stroke of a judge’s pen are all that it takes to strip an old man or woman of basic rights. The 300,000 to 400,000 elderly people under guardianship can no longer receive money or pay their bills. They cannot marry or divorce. The court entrusts to someone else the power to choose where they will live, what medical treatment they will get, and, in rare cases, when they will die. The AP investigation examined more than 2,200 randomly selected guardianship court files to get a portrait of wards and of the system that oversees them. After giving guardians such great power over elderly people, overworked and understaffed court systems frequently break down, abandoning those incapable of caring for themselves, the AP found. A legal tool meant to protect the elderly and their property, guardianship sometimes results instead in financial or physical mistreatment, the AP found. ″Guardianship is a process that uproots people, literally ‘unpersons’ them, declares them legally dead,″ said Dr. Dennis Koson, a law and psychiatry expert in Florida. ″Done badly, it does more hurting than protecting.″ That danger was… Read More

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9th Circuit Finds Judge’s Comments About Perceived Disability of Disney Heir ‘Troubling’ but Protected by Judicial Immunity

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9th Circuit Finds Judge’s Comments About Perceived Disability of Disney Heir ‘Troubling’ but Protected by Judicial Immunity In a lawsuit against Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Ninth Circuit found that a judge’s comment about his reluctance to allow Walt Disney’s grandson to collect a multimillion-dollar inheritance because of a genetic disorder might be inaccurate and inappropriate but it is still protected under judicial immunity. A federal appellate court ruled judicial immunity protects a state court judge who said he was reluctant to hand over a multimillion-dollar fortune to Walt Disney’s grandson because he could have Down syndrome. The ruling comes as probate courts face national scrutiny amid Britney Spears’ legal battle to appoint her own attorney and end her 13-year conservatorship. According to an opinion Thursday from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Disney heir Bradford Lund “has languished in perhaps the Unhappiest Place on Earth: probate court.” Trustees have withheld Lund’s inheritance distributions under a provision in the trust agreement that allowed them to hold back the funds if Lund lacks maturity or financial acumen. Lund sued Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Cowan, as well as the state court, after Cowan said during a settlement hearing, “Do I want to give 200 million dollars, effectively, to someone who may suffer, on some level, from Down syndrome? The answer is no.” The judge then rejected the proposed settlement and appointed a guardian ad litem over Lund without a hearing, according to Thursday’s opinion. Cowan also issued an order striking a statement from Lund that objected to the judge and sought his disqualification. Lund argued the appointment of the guardian without notice or a hearing violated his due process rights and that Cowan’s comment violated… Read More

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