81-Year-Old is Missing

FL - An 81-year-old man who has cognitive difficulties went missing from his home, and deputies are asking for the public's help in finding him.

A court-appointed guardian tried to reach Loui D. Elfrink but couldn't reach him. The guardian visited his home and saw that he and his 2006 silver Lexus were gone.

Tarpon Springs police found the car at a condominium in Tarpon Springs at 1250 S Pinellas Avenue.

Elfrink is described as a white male with gray hair, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 180 pounds.

Deputies are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Amy Plourde of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Robbery/Homicide Unit at (727) 582-6200, or call Crimestoppers anonymously at 1-800-873-8477 (TIPS).

Source:
81-year-old Palm Harbor man is missing

Conservatorship is "Officially Made Permanent"

The conservatorship overseeing Britney Spears' personal and financial affairs was officially made permanent on Monday, January 5, when court papers were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The agreement filed in the court places Britney's finances under the permanent control of her father Jamie Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, with her personal affairs being placed solely under her father.

Legally, Britney "is substantially unable to manage … her financial resources or to resist fraud or undue influence" and "is unable properly to provide for her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter."

Jamie Spears now has the "the power to restrict and limit visitors by any means."

Full Article and Source:
Britney Spears officially placed under a permanent conservatorship

See also:
Conservator Pay Raise

Prisoner People

Permanent Conservatorship

Big Money Conservatorship

No Right To Counsel

Bad News For Britney

Prosecutors Will File to Appoint a Guardian

Prosecutors might drop kidnapping charges against an Ohio woman and her boyfriend accused of forcing her elderly sister from a trash-filled apartment.

Laura Stewart and her boyfriend Earl Cross drove from their suburban Cleveland duplex and wrapped Stewart's 86-year-old sister, Evelyn Poynter, in a duct-taped blanket and drove her to Ohio.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala said other criminal charges probably will stick but the felony charges of kidnapping and conspiracy likely will be dropped.

Zappala: "If they were trying to do the right thing, they did it the wrong way."

Caroline Roberto, the attorney for Cross and Stewart: "It was an inartful rescue attempt but there was no criminal intent. She wasn't taking care of herself. She's not safe there."

Zappala said prosecutors will file a motion in Orphan's Court asking a judge to appoint a guardian for Poynter.

Full Article and Source:
Kidnapping charges may be dropped in 'rescue'

More information:
Pittsburgh district attorney says he might drop kidnapping charges against Shaker couple

See also:
Sister Charged With Kidnapping

Angry Attorneys

York County defense attorneys are reacting with anger to the prospect of not getting paid to represent indigent clients.

The S.C. Commission on Indigent Defense has suspended the payment of legal fees in all noncapital criminal and civil cases, a decision blamed on cuts to the state budget. State money was set to run out, meaning most court-appointed lawyers won't get paid for at least three months.

The commission will meet again to determine whether payments can resume.

Court-appointed lawyers represent poor criminal defendants in cases that can't be handled by public defenders and in a type of appeal known as post-conviction relief. They often are appointed in child abuse and neglect cases in family court.

Full Article and Source:
Halt in pay for indigent work riles S.C. lawyers

Loss in Funding

The director of the Legal Aid Society of Columbus said that lack of money is threatening legal services for the poor in 36 Ohio counties, including Franklin.

With a $1 million loss in funding for the Columbus nonprofit organization during the past year, more staff layoffs are looming.

"It's a grim situation and a big challenge, to have that kind of funding gap in any agency. Most of our costs are personnel, so cutting costs will mean cutting services."

Seven Legal Aid lawyers in Columbus lost their jobs.

Legal-aid lawyers handle such things as landlord-tenant disputes and family-court cases. They advise people who are victims of domestic violence and those facing foreclosure or the loss of benefits from a federal agency, such as Medicaid or Medicare.

Full Article and Source:
Ohio's legal services for poor left destitute themselves by downturn

A Lawsuit Asks - Was He Murdered?

On what would be the final weekend of his life, Tom Carvel drove to his country home in upstate New York, deeply depressed. He’d built a namesake national chain of 850 ice cream shops, developing some of the fast-food and franchising concepts that changed how America eats. His sandpaper-voiced pitches in commercials—“Thinny-Thin for your fatty-fat friends,” he said in one spot—had made Carvel a household name. He golfed with Bob Hope and did a guest turn on Late Night With David Letterman. He had recently sold his chain for $80 million, but he held on to a 100-room motel, 40 properties leased to Carvel franchisees, and a golf course in Dutchess County, New York. At 84, Carvel still was going to work every day.

But there were deepening problems inside his empire. Carvel confided to an associate that he no longer trusted Mildred Arcadipane, his corporate secretary of 38 years, or Robert Davis, his longtime lawyer and close financial adviser. Carvel had come to believe that they were scheming behind his back, maybe stealing from him. After agonizing for months, he arrived at his country home on Saturday determined to march into his office on Monday and fire his lawyer and relieve his secretary—a mercurial woman, according to many who knew her—of her considerable power.

But Carvel never got the chance. He was found dead in his bed that Sunday morning in 1990, the victim, it appeared, of a heart attack. Instead of being dismissed and demoted, Davis and Arcadipane returned to work and began to take command of Carvel’s business and personal finances. The Carvel estate, officially valued at $67 million, spurred what one lawyer calls a “feeding frenzy”; nearly 18 years later, a bitter fight rages on. In most estate battles, family members square off against one another. But the principal fault lines in this case have put Davis, Arcadipane, and the multimillion-dollar charity that Carvel ­left behind on one side, and Carvel’s widow, Agnes, and his niece Pamela Carvel on the other. The Carvels had no children, and Agnes “was frozen out of everything,” Pamela contends. “She was denied millions that Tom wanted her to receive.”

In 2007, after years of digging by private investigators in Pamela’s employ, the case took a bizarre turn. Pamela filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, alleging that Carvel’s death resulted in “fraudsters…controlling all Carvel funds to the exclusion of the Carvels.” She asked that her uncle’s body be exhumed for an autopsy to determine if he was murdered as part of the alleged scheme. The petition concludes with a question: “Will the truth finally be known?” And with that, one of the most contested estate fights in New York history also became a murder mystery.

Full Article and Source:
Cold Case

DCF Closed Case

The cops think of her as "heroin mom": the alleged drug peddler who brought her 7-year-old daughter along on a narcotics deal in West Hartford in December.

The Department of Children and Families was well acquainted with Maribel Marrero and her 23-year history of drug-related child neglect, including the removal of six other children.

Agency case workers had been closely monitoring Marrero until mid July, when the DCF determined she posed a "low risk" and closed the case involving her 7-year-old.

All six of the children born to Marrero between 1985 and 1999 were taken from her because of problems stemming from drug abuse, homelessness and mental health issues.

Guardianship of the first two children was transferred to relatives after hearings at probate court. The next four were removed by DCF case workers. Of those four, two children were taken at birth after testing positive for narcotics, said sources familiar with Marrero's history.

But what of the seventh child? Why was the the mother able to shuttle her daughter around on heroin deals?

Those questions have triggered an investigation by Child Advocate Jeanne Milstein's office into why DCF closed the Marrero case in light of the mother's history.

Full Article and Source:
DCF's Handling Of 'Heroin Mom' Case In West Hartford Is Investigated

Public Guardian Employee Sentenced

A judge sentenced Juanita Browne, a former county Public Guardian employee, to five years probation after a jury convicted her of stealing cash and personal belongings of 10 clients during a two-year period.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Riley said Browne, who is also known as Juanita Canley, will serve 270 days in jail and must pay restitution to the victims.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Wise had asked Riley to send Browne to prison for nine years and eight months.

After the sentencing, Wise said he disagrees with the sentence, noting that he spoke at length about why the district attorney felt that prison time was appropriate.

An investigation into the Public Guardian’s Office in 2005 led to the arrest of Browne.

Co-defendant Hiep Quang Le of Ventura, who was accused of bribing Browne to get him jobs cleaning out clients’ homes after they died or were moved to care facilities, pleaded guilty to bribery in 2007 and will be sentenced later.

Also arrested was Esther Torres. She was sentenced to five years and four months in prison.

Public Guardian worker gets jail sentence

See also:
Poor Oversight by Public Guardian

Public Guardian Scandal

Wanted on a Charge of Financial Elder Abuse

CA - Police in California are asking for the public’s help in finding a woman believed to be living in metro Atlanta who is wanted for stealing $300,000 from an elderly woman.

Hazel Whitt Mitchell, 73, is wanted on a charge of financial elder abuse.

Sacramento police Detective Mike Wood: "She is accused of scamming another woman, now 93, out of more than $300,000 between 1994 and 2007."

She was arrested on the same charge earlier this year in the Dallas, Texas, area, but was released from custody for unknown reasons, Wood said.

The scam California police want Mitchell for began in 1994 after the death of the 93-year-old woman’s brother, Wood said.

Mitchell falsely claimed that the dead man owed her money and convinced his sister to pay off the debt over time, Wood said.

The victim made payments to Mitchell on a near-weekly basis until police began investigating in 2007, emptying her own bank account in the process, Wood said.

Anyone with information on Mitchell’s whereabouts is asked to call the Sacramento Area Crime Alert tip line at 800-AA-CRIME.

Source:
Elderly woman cheated out of $300,000; suspect sought

Caregiver Suspected of Abuse

CA - A caregiver is suspected of stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly victim.

According to San Diego County Crime Stoppers, Raymond George Wilkins stole $13,000 in cash and Krugerrand gold coins from a 92-year-old victim.

According to police, the 34-year-old Wilkins was living with the victim and acting as a temporary caregiver at the time of the theft.

They say Wilkins is an avid surfer who is known to hang out in Pacific Beach. But investigators also say they think Wilkins purchased a one-way ticket to Oahu, Hawaii.

They describe Wilkins as a while male, 5'9" and weighing 180 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers. Tips can be anonymous and may can qualify for a reward up to $1,000 if the information leads to an arrest.

Source:
Caregiver Suspected of Theft & Elder Abuse

Unprotected

Within days of 4-year-old Jahmaurae Allen's beating death last summer, the leadership of Sacramento County's Child Protective Services laid the blame for the troubled investigation on a single social worker who operated "in isolation."

Her work was described by top CPS management as "shoddy" and "totally inadequate," according to internal e-mails obtained by The Sacramento Bee.

But those documents and recent interviews reveal a broader failure of the county's child protection system that reached into CPS management ranks – before and after the boy's death.

* a supervisor of social worker Adriane Miles did not scrutinize Miles' work as required

* the supervisor did not review any case documentation until the boy was dead – five weeks after the emergency referral

* at least two CPS supervisors went into the boy's case file after his death and altered the records before they were publicly released, a violation of the government code and Child Protective Services' written policy

* the CPS investigation into Jahmaurae's household was so cursory that the agency's top four managers debated by e-mail three days after the child's death how to massage the case file to more closely reflect reality

Ed Howard, senior counsel for the Children's Advocacy Institute: "It sounds as though CPS – instead of taking top-level responsibility for the systemic, stubborn and ongoing failures of its supervisors and leadership – has adopted a policy of trying to throw individual social workers under a bus."

Full Article and Source:
Sacramento County child protection woes extend into management, critics say

See also:
Boy's CPS record altered after death to reflect likely abuse

Critics say Sacramento County child protection managers share blame

Guardian Charged With Unlawful Neglect

The guardian of a toddler who was brought in for treatment of extensive injuries on New Year's Eve has been charged after the child died.

The Greenville County Sheriff's Office has charged Lavonda Maxwell with unlawful neglect of a child which carries a potential sentence of 10 years.

Maxwell was the 29-month-old Samauri Mayes' legal guardian. Mayes had been taken away from her parents in Oct. 2007 because of their addiction to marijuana. The Department of Social Services (DSS) gave legal guardianship to Maxwell -- cousin of the child's parents.

Full Article and Source:
Injured Toddler Dies, Guardian Charged - Social Services Remove 2 Others From Woman's Care

Law Prohibits Judges From Being Sued

A federal appeals court issued a warning to a lawyer that she could face sanctions if she keeps trying to sue local judges.

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: "We take this opportunity to warn the plaintiffs that future frivolous appeals in this court - including any frivolous petitions for rehearing - will result in the imposition of sanctions."

The opinion affirmed a ruling made by U.S. District Judge T. John Ward concerning a lawsuit filed by attorney Claudene Arrington. The lawsuit named Cass County Judge Donald Dowd; 5th District Judge Ralph Burgess; Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center; Longview attorney Glenn Perry; local attorney Tommy Johnson; nursing home owner Ann Ellisor; and Lenda Beachum, a relative of one of the men Arrington claims to represent.

Arrington filed the suit when Dees and Perry continued their involvement in the affairs of Billy Ray Johnson even after they litigated and won a $9 million judgment for the mentally handicapped man in a civil lawsuit in April 2007.

During a September hearing before Burgess to address the status of Johnson's guardianship and special-needs trust, Burgess asked Arrington about her position on Johnson's abilities.

"Are you saying a fraud has been committed on this court?" Burgess asked when faced with the proposition that Perry and Dees and the medical experts had made false statements during the civil trial.

Ward dismissed Burgess and Dowd from Arrington's federal lawsuit citing laws that prohibit judges from being sued when working in their official capacities.

Full Article and Source:
Court warns lawyer about frivolous suits

See also:
SPLC Seeks Damages for Injured Man

Linden, Texas: Trust set up for Billy Ray Johnson

Suit filed over which attorney works for beaten man

Swindled and No Real Oversight

January 27, 2008 - Shannon Pitcher went from the obscurity of handling mostly guardianships and conservatorships to the headlines starting in late 2006. Legal guardians and conservators are appointed by Genesee County Probate Court to make routine, day-to-day decisions for those who usually are unable to care for themselves. It's little known and nondescript legal work.

But in Pitcher's case, investigators uncovered a series of incidences in which they alleged the attorney broke her clients' trust by stealing from their accounts.

Her case became more notorious when police found almost $100,000 in cash buried in the yards of two friends and described her wildly cluttered office and disorganized accounting for her clients' money.

Full Article and Source:
Imprisoned lawyer faces up to embezzling conviction

Shannon Pitcher lost her right to practice law when she pleaded guilty to embezzlement, but the Flint lawyer might not have seen the last of the courtroom.

A Michigan state police detective says he will turn over another case involving Pitcher and missing funds to the Lapeer County prosecutor's office, which could file additional criminal charges.

Full Article and Source:
Police question lawyer in prison, more charges possible

Tonya Field and her son, Robert, were forced to rely on area soup kitchens for food and lived in a cold home because they say their guardian stole money from them intended to be used for their well-being.

This is not the first time Pitcher, 36, has been accused of stealing from vulnerable adults she was supposed to protect. She is currently imprisoned in the Robert Scott Correctional Facility in Plymouth Township. The attorney was sentenced in November to spend 23 months to 10 years in prison for mishandling the accounts of adults in Genesee County. Officials there determined that Pitcher stole $288,137.

Full Article and Source:
Swindled

Authorities say she stole money from vulnerable clients who the court appointed to be their guardian or a conservator.
Investigators say over the last five years, Pitcher stole nearly $500,000 from different clients. Much of the money is unaccounted for, and Pitcher buried it in different back yards.

Full Article and Source:
Shannon Pitcher charged with 4 counts of embezzlement

Michigan's Judicary has little to no real oversight over its members. With a quarreling Supreme Court, a dysfunctional Judicial Tenure Commission, and a defunct Attorney Grievance Commission, it looks like the system can't be trusted to police itself.

Grievances stacked up unheeded
So many people have complained about attorney Shannon H. Pitcher's erratic behavior, she could have had her own mailbox at Michigan's Attorney Grievance Commission.

But the agency that polices Michigan lawyers never stopped Pitcher from practicing law, In fact, it has never even publicly reprimanded her despite warnings from citizens, police, a prosecutor and at least one judge.

Despite a history of unsatisfied clients and a mountain of personal legal problems, Pitcher still has an unblemished record with the commission two months after her arrest on charges she stole from the clients she was appointed to protect.

Full Article and Source:
Michigan's Judiciary Has Little to No Real Oversight

Despicable

Linda suspected for a while that her father was a victim of financial elder abuse. Unfortunately, she couldn't get her father to see what was going on. Like so many parents who are victims of financial abuse at the hands of a child, Linda's father did not want to believe his daughter, Linda's sister, could treat him so poorly. But she did, and now he is not even allowed in his own home.

"My dad told us that he had 2 people on the conservatorship so that no one person would have control. Then, after mom died, I was told I was off the conservatorship. I asked him about it, but he can't remember if that's true."

Linda says that there are a full 2 weeks that her father does not remember. He went from being completely fine one day to being unable to walk, unable to speak and unable to remember what had happened.

Nurses came to evaluate Linda's father and determined that he needed 24-hour care. Linda's sister said she didn't have time for that, so he was sent to a nursing home to live.

"This is just devastating. It [financial elder abuse] is out there, but it's hushed. It's despicable that a child could do this to a parent. She can't get her act together, so she abuses him. He wants to be home. He doesn't want to live like this."

Full Article and Source:
Financial Elder Abuse "Despicable"

Video Conference

An elderly St. Louis woman who was hospitalized with dementia always begged her doctor not to make her go to court.

"I hope I don't get the death penalty," she would say every three weeks as paramedics strapped her to a gurney and drove her in an ambulance to the St. Louis Circuit Court.

State law required her to attend a hearing every 21 days because she was involuntarily committed to Barnes-Jewish Hospital's mental ward. The trip scared her every time.

Now the trip is unnecessary, thanks to a new video conference system in the St. Louis Circuit Court. Patients and doctors can appear by closed-circuit television without leaving the hospital.

Installed last spring, it has been hailed by the Missouri Supreme Court and is beginning to be copied by other Missouri circuit courts.

Full Article and Source:
St. Louis civil commitment process eased by video link to court

Conservatorship Services

A concise and complete summary of how guardianship services for adults is managed in Tennessee will be presented in "Conservatorship Services In Tennessee" during the Senior Moments at American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) program at 10 a.m. Jan. 6 in the auditorium in Oak Ridge.

"Conservatorship Services in Tennessee" will be presented by Carol Silvey for seniors 60 years and up who receive free AMSE admission on Tuesdays to participate.

Participants attending the workshop will get an overview of the statues governing conservatorship. A definition of terms used in this legal process and who the statutes were mandated to protect will be addressed. Discussion of typical scenarios that often lead to the need for conservatorships will be explored. Find out how the powers of attorney and durable powers of attorney differ from conservatorship. Get to know the range of rights that can be placed in the hands of a substitute decision maker. There will be discussion of "best interest" versus "wishes of the individual" to conclude the session.

The final program for Senior Moments at AMSE will be the Health Resource Fair 9 a.m.-noon Jan. 13. For information on AMSE programs, events, exhibits and activities, go online to www.amse.org

Source:
AMSE hosts seminar on conservatorship

Case Ends After 15 Years

After 15 years, the landmark child welfare case that brought extensive reform and oversight to the Utah foster care system has finally ended. The California-based National Center for Youth Law and the state jointly asked the federal courts Tuesday to dismiss the case.

But exactly what happened to the child plaintiffs -- including the child known as David C. who was abused in foster care -- is unclear as lawyers struggle to locate them. All of them have left state custody and are now adults.

Full Article and Source:
Foster care lawsuit ends after 15 years

Grandparents and Guardianship

4-year-old Leah Ashley Johnson's father, Eric Johnson, died Oct. 31 in a car crash near Wyndmere, N.D. Her mother, Heather Johnson, died in a car crash in Rhode Island in November 2005.

At the time of her mother’s death, Leah Johnson’s parents were in the process of getting a divorce.

Now, the little girl is caught in the middle of another family rift.

On the day of her father’s funeral, Leah Johnson’s maternal grandmother, Dale Campbell arrived at the funeral home with a lawyer and court papers.

The papers granted Campbell temporary guardianship of Leah.

Campbell filed papers in Cass County District Court on Nov. 6 seeking temporary guardianship of Leah pending a hearing to determine permanent guardianship.

The papers included a copy of Heather Johnson’s will, which stated that if anything happened to her she wanted her mother to care for Leah.

According to court papers, Eric Johnson did not have a will.

Campbell's attorney, Jason Loos: "the case is an example of why it’s a good idea for parents to have a will that spells out their wishes for child guardianship."

Eric Johnson's mother, Alice Mayer: "You lose your son, but to tell you the truth, losing Leah the way this lady did it is way harder. We raised Leah since the time she was 16 months old."

Full Article and Source:
Grandparents at odds over custody of 4-year-old orphan

Topic: Special Needs Planning

An informational program for students with developmental disabilities, educators, school district administrators, case managers, parents, professionals and other interested parties on the topic of special-needs planning will be from 7-9 p.m. Jan. 15 at Mount Saint Mary College in Hudson Hall Room 102, 330 Powell Ave., Newburgh.

It is free and open to the public.

The guest speaker is attorney Adrienne Arkontaky. Her presentation will focus on special-needs planning, including trusts and guardianship.

Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions afterward.

RSVP to Linnette Boykins at 565-1162, ext. 240, by Jan. 13.

Full Article and Source:
Program to discuss trusts for special-needs families

Famous Producer Sues Lawyer

Producer Jon Peters has sued his former lawyer of "fraudulent, deceitful and criminal acts." The "Rain Man" filmmaker claims Ronald Grigg also stole from him.

As per the lawsuit Peters filed, he hired Grigg in 2006 at a salary of $225,000 a year, at the same time he became seriously ill and was under heavy medication and "vulnerable."

Around that time, the lawyer then went on to appoint himself president of his production company and hired a $60,000-a-year assistant from Peters' own money, doing unrelated legal work for Grigg.

The producer also claims that Grigg stole his computers, which contained confidential information about his film business, and that he was exposed to a lot of "fabricated legal actions that arose from a conspiracy of disgruntled individuals".

Full Article and Source:
Producer Jon Peters Sues Former Lawyer Of Theft And Fraud

See also:
Famous Producer Alleges Fraud, Theft, Date Rape

New Code for Judges

The new year will bring a new code of ethical conduct for Montana judges, mandated by the Montana Supreme Court and updating judicial conduct rules that hadn't been revised for 45 years.

The Code of Judicial Conduct takes effect Jan. 1.

Justice Karla Gray: "while the old canons were couched as permissive guidelines, the new code is a set of specific, enforceable rules. It will give the Judicial Standards Commission much better tools to work with when they receive complaints about judicial misconduct."

Full Article and Source:
Court adopts new code for judges

Doctor-Assisted Suicide

A state district judge has ruled Montana residents have the right to doctor-assisted suicide.

The ruling was issued Judge Dorothy McCarter and makes Montana the third state in which doctor-assisted suicide is legal.

McCarter: "Treating physicians are frequently called upon to determine the competency of their patients for the purposes of guardianship and other legal proceedings. Whether a patient is terminally ill can also be determined by the physician as an integral component of the physician-patient relationship."

Attorney General Mike McGrath said that attorneys in his office will meet to discuss the ruling and expects the state will appeal the ruling. The attorney general's office argued that intentionally taking a life is illegal, and that the issue of assisted suicide falls under the responsibility of the Legislature, not the court.

Oregon passed its Death with Dignity Act in 1997 and Washington voters approved a similar law.

Full Article and Source:
Montana judge rules in favor of assisted suicide

See also:
Montana judge: Man has right to assisted suicide

Montana Becomes Third State to Allow Doctor-Assisted Suicide

Montana Judge Appears to Ignore State Law, Authorizes Assisted Suicide

Americans United For Life Denounces Montana Court's Assisted Suicide Decision, Urges Appeal

Trial Lawyers: Study is Malarkey

The West Virginia Association for Justice president says the "Judicial Hellholes" study is propaganda supported by nothing.

The group, formerly known as the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, was founded about 50 years ago to educate members about legal issues statewide and to provide Continuing Legal Education credits.

Allan Karlin, president of the association: "The study is a bunch of malarkey. The truth is, what it says is not true nor supported by any methodology. It's propaganda to spread a particular point of view."

This is the seventh straight year of the national "Judicial Hellholes" study and the seventh straight year the group has branded West Virginia's legal climate as such. West Virginia has the distinction of being the only full state to receive the designation. Otherwise, the report cites regions or counties within states.

As other regions moved off the list, West Virginia has moved up.

Full Article and Source:
Trial Lawyers: 'Hellholes' Report Unreliable

More information:
For the second time in three years, West Virginia has been singled out as the nation's most unfair legal environment by the American Tort Reform Foundation.
W.Va. again the biggest judicial hellhole, tort reform group says

See also:
Judicial Hellholes

2008 Top Stories

Readers pick top stories - Captive teen in Tracy is number four.

A thin, barely clothed and dirty teenager with a shackle around his ankle rushes into a gym in Tracy seeking asylum from what he says is an abusive home.

Tracy Police Department said its investigation reveals a pattern of abuse heaped upon the teen by a woman who is his guardian, the couple in whose home they are living, and a neighbor.

Full Article and Source:
Record readers pick 2008's top stories: Captive teen in tracy is No. 4

See also:
Fourth Suspect Arrested in Torture Case

Arrests in Torture Case

Act One Under Fire

Just days before it's scheduled to take effect, the ACLU files a lawsuit to strike down initiated Act One. That act would ban unmarried couples who live together from adopting or fostering children.

The ACLU says it doesn't matter if you're single, married, gay, straight or co-habiting, every prospective foster or adoptive parent should be screened on a case by case basis.

But supporters of Act One say the people have already spoken and they're confident the ban will stay on the books.

The ACLU explained they currently have 29 plaintiffs in the suit, and more may follow.

The Family Council Action Committee, the group behind the ban, doesn't think this lawsuit will amount to much.

Full Article and Source:
ACLU Taking Act One to Court

More information:
ACLU files suit over Ark. adoption law

ACLU of Arkansas sues over adoption restrictions

ACLU Asks Court To Strike Down Arkansas Parenting Ban

See also:
Banning Unmarried Couples

Caregiver Stole Thousands

Ronald Polk was charged with burglary, financial exploitation of an elderly person, financial exploitation of a disabled person and 11 counts of forgery.

Polk is accused of stealing 11 blank checks, at a time when he was a caregiver for his neighbor. Polk allegedly wrote the checks to himself and cashed them.

Full Article and Source:
Elgin man accused of forging checks from elderly neighbor

See also:
Cops: Elgin man stole thousands from disabled neighbor

Lokuta's Motion Denied

A court has upheld its earlier ruling against a former Luzerne County judge it described as "a bully", removing her from the bench and prohibiting her from holding any judicial office.

The Court of Judicial Discipline denied Ann H. Lokuta's motion to reconsider the sanctions it handed down.

On Dec. 9, the court voted 6-1 to remove Lokuta from the bench. The court ruled Lokuta failed to perform her judicial duties, terrorized courthouse workers and had employees run personal errands.

Lokuta has until Jan. 8 to file an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Full Article and Source:
State court upholds decision against Pa. judge

See also:
Judge Wants New Hearing

Removing "Bully" Judge

Where The Rumors Were Coming From

When Covington County residents, like most Americans, look back on 2008 they will likely recall a year of change.

It was the year that Americans elected their first African-American leader; the year that Covington County and Andalusia residents made sweeping political changes; the year that scandal changed the Covington County Courthouse.

Judge indicted, found guilty

But let us rewind to June, when then-Probate Judge Sherrie Phillips on June 4 proclaimed her innocence in the face of rampant rumors of her impending arrest.

Phillips told The Star-News: “What people are saying is that there’s an investigation going on about how I stole from estates. I can tell you there’s no money missing from the probate office or from any estate. It’s all intact and accounted for. We’re audited every year and (the audits) have always been good. What’s happening now is just rumors and speculation, I don’t know where they’re coming from.”

Where the rumors were coming from was an attorney general’s investigation which led to Phillips’ indictment on six felony theft and ethics charges. She was indicted for the theft of $1.8 million from the estate of Cary Douglas Piper just a week after she said the money was “intact and accounted for.”

Full Article and Source:
2008: The year that was

See also:
Others Feel Victimized

Probate Judge Convicted

Judge on Trial

Attorney Fees Challenged

Some former wards of Rita Hunter, who until Wednesday was Jasper County’s public administrator, have filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of taking money from their estates to pay attorneys for the county office.

A lawsuit filed in Jasper County Circuit Court contends that there was no authority to take the fees because there was no written contract between the attorneys and the county office, a requirement of state law.

The lawsuit names John Podleski, who served as attorney for the administrator’s office until Hunter’s term ended Wednesday, and Gayle Crane, who held the post for the first two years after Hunter took office in 2004. Crane is now a circuit judge.

In the action, Springfield attorney R. Lynn Myers seeks damages for Emma France and other former wards of the county office from the two attorneys and their law firms.

Full Article and Source:
Former wards challenge attorneys’ fees

Copy of Lawsuit

See also:
Jasper County OPA

Probate Judge Cannot Hear Case

Class Action Filed

Former Ward Files Suit

Undrafted Medical Certificate

France is Released

Mother and Daughter File Suit

An Alleged Kidnapping

Rita Hunter is a registered with National Guardianship Association

Teen Allegedly Kills Guardian

John W. Wilfong, a 17-year-old accused of shooting and killing his guardian in her home was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

According to a probable cause statement, Wilfong planned the murder while his guardian, Pamela Ackman, was still at work.

When she returned, Wilfong had a 9-year-old who lived in the home watch from his bedroom window for Ackman's vehicle to pull into the driveway.

When she walked into the kitchen, Wilfong allegedly shot her twice, in the head and neck area, once after she'd already fallen.

Ackman and her husband Mickey were granted guardianship of Wilfong in November 2003. The Ackmans applied for guardianship of Wilfong in 2003, under protest by his natural mother.

Full Article and Source:
Detective: Patton teen confessed that murder of guardian was planned

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Attorney Plundered $1Million Estate

A judge jailed a Jackson attorney after he admitted plundering a $1 million estate.

Court documents indicate Richard McQuillan wrote numerous checks to himself from the estate of Robert T. Howard ranging up to $200,000 each.

Probate Judge Diane Rappleye ordered McQuillan to account for the missing money in a show-cause hearing.

Sobbing and apologetic, McQuillan said he stole more than $900,000 and juggled money among a number of disgruntled clients in 2007.

McQuillan: "By May 2007 these funds had almost disintegrated because of my criminal conduct. I don't need an attorney appointed. I need to pay the piper."

Full Article and Source:
Jackson attorney admits to plundering $1 million estate

Sister Charged With Kidnapping

"If the woman was competent, she has the right to live however she wants to. This is sometimes difficult for families to accept."

Laura Stewart and Earl Cross were charged with kidnapping, conspiracy, assault, false imprisonment and unlawful restraint. Darnell Randall was arrested in Pittsburgh on charges of helping Stewart and Cross bind Evelyn Poynter and force her into a Cadillac Escalade.

Stewart's heart was in the right place when she and her boyfriend attempted to move her 86-year-old sister from a trash-filled apartment in the Hill District to Stewart's duplex in a Cleveland suburb, her family said.

A police affidavit filed to support the charges against Randall notes the "deplorable" condition of Poynter's apartment and says there were "extreme amounts of garbage and clutter throughout."

But police and legal experts said Stewart had plenty of law-abiding alternatives to binding Evelyn Poynter's wrists in duct tape, forcing her into a car wearing only her nightgown and a blanket, and driving her around for eight hours.

The alternatives:

* contact the Area Agency on Aging's protective services division, which deals with elderly victims of abuse, neglect and self-neglect

* a doctor's evaluation to determine if someone is physically and mentally capable of taking care of him or herself

* an Orphan's Court judge can appoint a guardian to make important decisions for the person

* get the person to sign over either full or partial power of attorney

Full Article and Source:
Elders' self-care puts family in tricky spot, experts say

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