9 Judges Who Disgraced the Bench

Judges are leaders who are expected to exercise good judgment when presiding over cases. For the most part, judges have no problem using good judgment in and outside of court, but by no means are they perfect. These men and women do not have legal immunity, and when they break the law, they pay for it like every other citizen. Here are 9 judges who disgraced the bench:



1. Judge William Adams: Texas Judge William Adams disgraced the bench when a video was released of him viciously lashing his then-16-year-old daughter because she was illegally downloading from the Internet.








2. Clarence Thomas: Before Clarence Thomas was appointed to the High Court, he was accused of sexual harassment by his former assistant, Anita Hill.









3. Judge Samuel Kent: Texas Judge Samuel Kent disgraced the bench when he was indicted for allegedly sexually abusing his former case manager in 2008.








4. Judge James Heath: Judge James Heath found himself in deep water when he was arrested for drunk driving.








5. Mark Ciavarella: Mark Ciavarella, a Pennsylvania juvenile court judge, disgraced the bench when he got caught accepting money to send minors to juvenile prison.






6. George R. Korpita: New Jersey Judge George R. Korpita disgraced the bench when he was arrested for drunk driving and allegedly told the police officers to "get the Vaseline out and bend over."






7. Judge John Suddock: Superior Court Judge John Suddock violated judicial rules when he approached a state commissioner outside of court and discussed the case.







8. Supreme Court Justice Gerald Garson: Gerald Garson is a former New York Supreme Court Justice who found himself in the hot seat when got caught accepting bribes to settle custody in a divorce case.







9. Judge Thomas Porteous: New Orleans Federal Judge Thomas Porteous disgraced the bench when he kept his relationship with a lawyer in a federal case a secret.






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CriminalJusticeDegreesGuide

The Twelve Steps to Recovery of the Legal System

1. Admit you are a citizen of the United States of America and have power over the legal system.

2. Convince yourself that “we, the people” are a Power greater than the legal system and will restore it to sanity.

3. Make a decision to never turn complete control of your case over to an attorney and make sure they understand that.

4. Make a vigilante effort to keep an ethical and legal inventory of all actions of attorneys, judges and officers of the court and be prepared to call them out on the rug if they even suggest or witness an error.

5. Determine to God, yourself, and then to your attorney the exact strategy you want pursued in your legal action. Never listen to an attorney who says, “Just let me be the attorney”.

6. Be entirely ready to file a complaint against any attorney, judge or officer of the court with the appropriate governing body.

7. Persistently appeal the complaint since they are routinely denied by these governing bodies because they are made up of attorneys and judges who have broken the same rules and code of ethics and, because of that, “presumed correctness”, though errant, on the part of any attorney, judge or officer of the court.

8. Keep a list of all persons harmed, all co-conspirators, all rules and ethics broken, including your own attorney if HE doesn’t file a complaint on your behalf, and become willing and diligent in reporting them all to the appropriate governing body and make sure the appropriate discipline is followed through by the various governing bodies. Law is 90% logic. If it feels like something is wrong, it probably is; and DON’T trust any attorney. If you hear an attorney say, “I’ve got to work in this town”, they have just breached The Rules of Professional Conduct.

9. File direct complaints to any legislator who represents the jurisdiction in which your original complaint was levied, or to such people wherever possible, and don’t worry about an attorney telling you it will bring bias from the court, because that is grounds for a complaint and recusal. File a copy of your complaint directly to the attorney, judge or officer of the court and then file a motion for recusal in an effort to get an unbiased court.

10. Fire your attorney, file a complaint and file a legal malpractice suit with their bonding company, “omissions and errors”; because after three complaints, an attorney is out of luck getting malpractice insurance.

11. Seek through study and review to improve your conscious efforts and knowledge of the code of ethics, which are based on logic, with God’s help, and pray like hell that the powers that govern officers of the court do their job; if not, file a suit against the state because your public servant, be it the Court of the Judiciary, The Board of Professional Responsibility, The Senate Judiciary Committee, and all Legislators, failed in their duty to their oath and are not immune from legal action just because they passed some law proclaiming they are immune.

12. Having had a legal awakening as the result of these Steps, try to carry this message to other victims of an errant legal system, and to practice these principles in all your legal affairs.

Source:
The Twelve Steps to Recovery of the Legal System

Lawyer Who Got Bulk of $2M Estate Quits Bar

A lawyer facing disciplinary action over his handling of a $2 million estate resigned from the bar and waived his right to reapply to practice law in the state.

James Englis, 77, acknowledged in front of Judge Arthur Hiller in state Superior Court in Milford that his law practice is closed for good. But under the agreement reached between Englis and the Statewide Bar Grievance Committee, the lawyer admits no wrongdoing of any kind.

The action ends the disciplinary action pending against Englis, said Beth Baldwin, the assistant disciplinary officer of the state bar. There were four complaints against the Milford attorney, and a panel had earlier found that there was probable cause for a formal hearing.

The family of an 88-year-old deceased man, the bulk of whose $2 million estate went to Englis -- the lawyer who drafted his will -- accepted a settlement last month that increased their share of the estate from 30 percent to 50 percent. They had earlier rejected a 60-40 split in Englis' favor.

Full Article and Source:
Lawyer Who Got Bulk of $2M Estate Quits Bar

The Case That Never Ends

Loyd Cook

It’s a lawsuit that mirrors the famous battery commercial … it just keeps going and going and going.

After a three-hour-and-40-minute executive session, Kaufman County Commissioners took no action regarding a lawsuit that has been in the court system since the mid 1990s.

“Jo Ann Combs v. Kaufman County, et al” — involving a monetary figure of $143,168.95 in 2002 — has worked its way through different levels of the court system until finally landing in the Fifth District Court of Appeals.

Click Here to Read Latest Edition“What the executive session basically was, was that there will be a hearing on Jan. 3 in the Fifth Court of Appeals,” County Judge Bruce Wood said after the marathon session was opened up to the public. “The rest of the executive session was an update on the status of the appeal.”

Charles Kimbrough, who has been the county’s attorney through much of the process, gave the update during the closed session.

According to information in a Feb. 12, 2009 Kaufman Herald article:

• On Dec. 30, 2008, the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas reversed a decision reached June 2007 by visiting judge John Robert Adamson in the 86th District Court that dismissed a civil suit filed by Combs seeking financial reimbursement for services rendered as a court-appointed legal guardian for Wallace A. Darst, brother-in-law to former Kaufman County Judge Maxine Darst. The appellate court remanded the case for trial on its merits.

• On June 24, 1994, Joseph Darst, one of Wallace Darst’s sons, filed for guardianship of his father, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, according to court documents.

• On July 5, 1994, Darst’s other son and daughter filed to deny the material allegations in the application and to specifically contest their brother’s qualifications as a guardian.

The presiding judge of the county court at the time was Maxine Darst, who recused herself from the case. Attorneys then verbally agreed to let Judge Glen Ashworth, who at the time was serving in the 86th District Court, preside over the case. Ashworth appointed Combs as guardian of Wallace Darst’s estate as well as his ad-litem. Eight years later, Combs billed the county for services in the case.

And that’s where the dispute began.

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The Case That Never Ends

MA Law - Guardian v. Power of Attorney?

Posted in MA Elder Law Questions and Answers...

Question: Submitted by RyanT on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 08:30
I have a durable power of attorney for financial matters that I executed in Massachusetts several years ago. If I become incompetent and someone asks the court to appoint a guardian or conservator for me who will control, the guardian or the fellow I named in my power of attorney? I would like the power of attorney to remain in control if possible. Thank you.

Answer: Submitted by The Editor on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 12:59.
Assuming you will remain competent until January 2012, I'll answer this question with reference to the new Massachusetts probate code. The person appointed by the court as your guardian and/or conservator would control over the person named as your attorney in fact in your durable power of attorney. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B, Section 5-503(a) specifically states that the attorney in fact (the person named as your agent in the durable power of attorney) is accountable to the fiduciary named by the court, just as he would be accountable to the principal. The appointed guardian or conservator is also empowered to revoke or amend the power of attorney.

However, under the old MA law on this point, and under Section 5-503(b) of the new probate code, you can execute a new power of attorney that nominates your preferred guardian or conservator. In that way, your named attorney in fact may simply change titles in the event you require a guardian or conservator. Hope that helps.

Source:
Power of Attorney or Guardianship Controls Under MA Law?

Maine Probate Judge Sanctioned

A Washington County probate judge has been sanctioned by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court for not dealing with cases fast enough.

Judge Lyman L. Holmes was ordered by justices on Thursday to provide a list of cases taken under advisement for more than 30 days to the executive director of the Committee on Judicial Responsibility and Disability for every month until next August.

Probate judges are elected. They handle adoptions, wills, guardianships, estates and name changes.

Holmes has been the probate judge in Washington County for 22 years.

The Bangor Daily News reports that the sanction order says some people had to wait years for Holmes to make a decision in cases that should have taken months.

Holmes could not be reached for comment.

Source:
Washington County Probate Judge Sanctioned

Convicted TX Judge Resigns, Gets Probation

A state district judge convicted of felony bribery last week will serve 10 years of probation and resign from the bench under an agreement announced outside the jury’s presence.

Judge Suzanne Wooten acknowledged the jury’s guilty verdicts on six bribery counts and one each of money laundering, record tampering and engaging in organized criminal activity. She agreed Monday to waive her right to an appeal.

The Dallas Morning News reports (http://dallasne.ws/tj5Fn7 ) that the 43-year-old was fined $10,000 and sentenced to more than 1,000 hours of community service.

Full Article and Source:
Convicted Judge Resigns Gets Probation

Terri Schiavo's Legacy: The Value of a Life in a Nation That Cheapens It

Terri Schiavo would have been 48 this December 3 … not a major mile-marker among we, the living, but a cause for reflection for those who loved her, and for all those who fought so valiantly to save her, in those terrible years and months and days before she was starved to death, by court order, in March, 2005.

A cause for reflection because, as so many observed and warned us at the time, her death – court mandated, despite the express wishes of her parents and siblings and the best efforts of the President and Congress of the United States – marked a crucial turning point in our nation’s cultural attitude toward life. Perhaps no judicial action since Roe v. Wade has done more to convince ordinary Americans that individual lives are expendable to those pushing for an increasingly callous medical establishment.

In a medical arena where humanity is increasingly supplanted by multi-million-dollar economic interests, life and death decisions become all too easy. Soon, it’s cheaper to pull a plug than to fill a prescription.

Of course, the pressures aren’t only financial. As the lists of patients awaiting transplants grow longer, pressure is mounting in many medical circles to speed along the process of dying, the better to harvest organs for those in need. Rob Stein of The Washington Post reported a few months ago on the increasingly aggressive efforts by the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) to rewrite the rules on when a patient is “dead” and his organs can be removed.

Full Article and Source:
Schiavo's Legacy: The Value of a Life in a Nation That Cheapens It

Pastor Accused of Financial Exploitation of Elderly Man

Earlier this month, it was reported that a 78-year-old disabled man in Minnesota was financially exploited by his friend and pastor. The elderly man suffers from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and paranoid schizophrenia, and the 31-year-old pastor had apparently befriended the elderly man when he came to his church.

He soon became the man's health care proxy and then obtained a power of attorney over the man's finances, which gave the pastor control over the disabled man's finances and bank account. The pastor then placed the man in a total-care nursing home in which all of the man's needs were supposed to be met.

While he was in the nursing home, from June 2010 to February 2011, more than $16,000 in withdrawals were made from the elderly man's bank account. Several of the withdrawals appeared suspicious, including 130 cash withdrawals from ATMs. Other suspicious activity included fast food purchases, cable television payments and cell phone payments.

During that time period, the disabled man's nursing home's bills were not being paid. He currently owes almost $13,000 and could be evicted for non-payment.

The pastor has been charged with four felony counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

California residents who need help with their finances, or whose loved ones need financial management, need be aware of just how critical it is to have a trusted person take care of those responsibilities. As this story shows, however, even a person with a background that encourages trust can turn out to be untrustworthy, so family members and residents should always carefully verify the actions of those in positions of financial trust.

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Pastor Accused of Financial Abuse of 78-Year-Old Disabled Man

Couple Accused of Taking $100K From Elderly Man

Sheriff Sam Craft of Vernon Parish has announced that two people were arrested this week, and they're accused of scamming an elderly nursing home resident out of more than $100,00.00, and then spending the money on cars and other elaborate purchases.

Morgan Elizabeth Walker, 24, and Steven Briggs, 26, both of Rosepine, were arrested by Vernon Parish deputies after a complaint lead to the start of an investigation on November 22nd.

According to Craft, the victim was an 87 year old man from the Leesville area, and the suspects had been taking money from him since June.

Investigators said the allegations revealed that the victim became associated with Walker when she was a caregiver for his wife at an area nursing home facility. Investigators said numerous purchases of large ticket items took place between June and November, including the purchase of two vehicles.

Morgan Walker was charged with six counts of Exploitation of the Infirm, with a total bond of $80,000.00. Steven Briggs was charged with one count of Principal to the Exploitation of the Infirm, and his bond was set of $5,000.00.

Full Article and Source:
Vernon Parish Couple Accused of Taking $100,000 From Elderly Man

Judge in Mollie Florkey Case Recuses!

Highland County Probate Judge Kevin Greer has recused himself from a case involving a dispute over the guardianship and care of a Hillsboro woman. The recusal occurred following a Nov. 22 hearing regarding the case, according to court documents.

Greer's recusal comes after Jane Branson filed suit in U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio against Greer, her brother, her mother's attorney, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Representing herself, Branson claimed in her suit that her mother, Mollie Florkey, should be released from a nursing home in which she was placed, and also claims she has been denied proper access to Ohio's courts.

Greer said Monday he could re-qualify himself to continue hearing the case based on how, and how quickly, Branson's federal lawsuit is resolved. In the meantime, he has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to appoint a judge to hear Branson's ongoing challenge to the care and guardianship of her mother.

But if the federal suit is resolved, Greer will likely re-qualify himself to preside over the case, because "I have a duty to the taxpayer to do my job" rather than paying a visiting judge to preside.

Branson has attempted to overturn Greer's decision, as well as asking Greer to remove himself from the case, which he refused to do until now.

Also named in the suit is Hillsboro attorney J.D. Wagoner, who is Florkey's attorney.

Full Article and Source:
Greer Recuses Himself From Case on Guardianship

See Also:
Jane Branson Files Suit on Behalf of Her Mother

How to File a Complaint...The Fatal Shot Heard Round the World (part 2)

Mr. David Callahan, III, Guardian Ad Litem in The Conservatorship of Robert Thurman, has an oath and legal obligations to adhere. Considering the egregious nature of the Thurman conservatorship, it’s important that this be made public. The Thurman case also shows a pattern of illegal activities, not to mention ethics violations, in Judge Randy Kennedy’s probate court that are routinely carried out on a day-to-day basis.

Again, Mr. Callahan, III, in my opinion, is the least deserving of this public scrutiny, but he did and does have a legal obligation to report to the various authorities what he has witnessed and been made aware of. He also had the obligation as Guardian ad Litem to protect Robert Thurman from the atrocities that followed the Petition for Conservatorship.

Another thing to keep in mind, the probate courts are the biggest business in America, dwarfing any business, because the wealth of the nation eventually passes through probate. See what I’m getting at? So, that’s why they do their actions in such a self-contained manner. In order to maintain “ownership” of the biggest business in the world, they can’t “out” themselves on what is going on.

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How to File a Complaint...The Fatal Shot Heard Round the World (part 2)

How to File a Complaint...The Fatal Shot Heard Round the World (Part 1)

Now here’s the zinger and the power “we, the people” possess but are kept in the dark: If the attorney, with knowledge of, DOES NOT report the violation of The Rules of Professional Conduct or the Judicial Code of Ethics, WE, as observers, have the right to file a complaint against the attorney who has not reported the violation as well as the attorney(s) who committed the original violations. In other words, if the attorney witnessing the violation does not report (file a complaint, charges, etc.), he becomes, in fact, an accessory (co-conspirator) to the breaking of the rules of violation of ethics (if the BPR does their job and takes appropriate action according to the rules and their standard of discipline).

ARE YOU GETTING WHAT THIS MEANS?

If you, as an observer and citizen of the United States, witness or are made aware, and can prove unethical and/or illegal conduct on the part of an attorney or judge, and if the attorney(s) involved in the matter have not corrected the error/breach/rule-breaking, then you, as an observer (you don’t even have to be involved in the case or “have a dog in the fight”) can report the violation to the appropriate governing body, including the attorney(s) who have failed in reporting the misconduct.

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How to File a Complaint...The Fatal Shot Heard Round the World (part 1)

Scan Reveal PVS Patients are Aware

Scientists have used a portable device that tracks changes in brain waves to communicate with people in a vegetative state, some of whom have been locked in their bodies for more than a year.

In a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers showed it was possible to communicate with and detect awareness in people in a vegetative state using functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI.

The researchers instructed 16 people in a vegetative state to imagine they were making a fist with their right hand or wiggling their toes, and then measured brain activity while electrodes were attached to their scalp.

"It was possible to detect that these patients were actually aware" despite being diagnosed as being "entirely unconscious" using standard clinical assessments, said Professor Adrian Owen of the Center for Brain and Mind at the University of Western Ontario. Findings from the newer study were published in the British journal Lancet on Wednesday.

Patients in a persistent vegetative state have periods of wakefulness, but they are completely unresponsive and are thought to be unaware.

"We don't actually know how many vegetative patients there are. It's now possible to find that out," said Dr. Damian Cruse of the University of Western Ontario, who led the study.

Full Article and Source:
Scans Reveal Vegetative Patients Are Aware

'Overprescribed: The Human and Taxpayers' Costs of Antipsychotics in Nursing Homes'

Today, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, Chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, held a hearing examining the widespread inappropriate use of antipsychotics among nursing home residents suffering from dementia, high costs to taxpayers and the efforts to find safe and effective alternatives.

“When properly prescribed, antipsychotics can offer beneficial treatment for individuals suffering from mental illness,” Kohl said. “However, we have a responsibility to patients and their families to ensure that elderly nursing home residents are free from all types of unnecessary drugs, and we have a responsibility to taxpayers to be certain that they are not paying for drugs that are not needed.”

The hearing highlighted two recent investigations by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) that looked at the prevalent use of atypical antipsychotics in the face of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “black box” warning and the high costs to taxpayers.

In examining medical records over a six-month period, Daniel Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, testified that 14 percent of all nursing home residents, or nearly 305,000 patients, had Medicare claims for atypical antipsychotic drugs and that half of these claims should not have been paid for by Medicare because the drugs were not used for medically accepted indications. He said that for one in five drug claims, nursing homes dispensed these drugs in a way that violated the government's standards for their reimbursement.

Full press release and source:
Alternatives to Overuse of Antipsychotics in Nursing Homes Focus of Senate Hearing

Watch the Hearing

Wife of Missing Doctor Seeking Conservator for Husband's Funds

The search for a missing Nashville surgeon in Dekalb County has long ended, and now a court document shows his wife holds out little hope for his return.

Dr. William Coltharp, a 55-year-old cardiothoracic surgeon at Saint Thomas Hospital, went missing Oct. 2 while kayaking on Center Hill Lake. He last told his wife he’d be home for dinner, but didn’t show up. His kayak was found the next day about a mile from where he was last seen.

Dekalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray said the search has been called off, but they’re not yet giving up hope he might be alive.

But according to documents filed in Davidson County’s probate court, Coltharp’s wife isn’t as optimistic.

“He is believed to have died on Center Hill Lake, but his remains have not yet been found,” reads a line in paperwork Nicole Coltharp filed to begin dealing with more than $120,000 associated with her husband’s estate. She’s asking a conservator be appointed on his behalf.

Full Article and Source:
Wife of Missing Doctor Seeking Conservator for Husband's Funds