The state Judicial Tenure Commission is investigating a Macomb County Probate judge who allegedly mishandled cases and was excessively absent from the bench. The focus of the probe is Judge Kathryn George, who was removed as the probate court's chief judge in January 2008 after it was revealed she was circumventing the court's list of conservators and appointing an inordinate number of cases to one agency, Shelby Township-based ADDMS Guardianship Services.
The Detroit News in 2007 reported that George was sending most of her conservatorship cases to ADDMS, in violation of court rules requiring judges to use a rotation of several conservatorship agencies.
Now, Judicial Tenure Commission investigators are poring over court records, looking at cases handled by George, along with her attendance record, said Macomb Chief Probate Judge Kenneth Sanborn.
The probe marks at least the second time state court officials have investigated George, 58, a former registered nurse and Sterling Heights city councilwoman who has served on the bench since 2002.
In February 2008, the State Court Administrator's Office commissioned Auburn Hills-based auditor The Whall Group to look into George's handling of cases, along with allegations of excessive absences.
The audit found "flagrant violations" by ADDMS. The audit highlighted several cases in which the agency mishandled the estates of people it was charged to care for, including selling the assets of an 82-year-old man who was recovering from pneumonia in a nursing home.
The Whall Group found that ADDMS sold the entire contents of his home, "including furnishings, appliances, clothing and two vintage automobiles."
In January 2008, after the Whall Group report was published, Carl Gromek, chief of staff of the State Court Administrator's Office, removed George as the court's chief judge, and ADDMS was barred from handling cases.
Seven months later, Sanborn signed an administrative order removing George from all cases involving wills and estates.
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Malcomb Judge Again Under Investigation
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Attorney Contests Removal
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My Mother
This is a bad judge and she should be de-benched.
ReplyDeleteHere again, judges retreat to judicial immunity.
ReplyDeleteKathryn George, if found guilty of wrongdoing, should stand like any other felon and be punished.
Comment on Detroit News article from NASGA member, L. P. Lambert, 11-30-09:
ReplyDeleteI am pleased that the State Court Administrative Office has decided to resume investigations into Judge George’s judiciary faux pas. She has been a painful sliver under my skin since March 2008, when she appointed Attorney William J. Monaghan as my mother’s guardian and conservator and thereby relegated daughters, legally designated nominees and attorneys-in-fact to inconsequence. Within six weeks of his appointment, the attorney severed my mother’s contact with half of her family and moved her to a remote ‘granny dump’, where she has suffered from devastating physical injuries and illnesses and near familial isolation. Soon after, Attorney Monaghan claimed to have sold all of her worldly possessions, including valuable collections, for a mere $1,616.70.
When the SCAO demoted Judge George from Chief Justice, it reassigned her guardianship and conservatorship cases to Judge Pamela Gilbert O’Sullivan, her ex-political rival. I have seen both judges casually cast aside Michigan Court Rules and the Estates and Protected Individuals Code at every turn to accommodate the interests of guardianship and conservatorship attorneys associated with Macomb County Probate Court. (The majority of Michigan courts banned appointing attorneys as guardians and conservators long ago; Attorney Monaghan has made a living from the estates of over 1,100 ‘Protected Individuals’ at this court).
Neither Judge George nor Judge Pamela Gilbert O’Sullivan possesses sufficient integrity to protect the lives of vulnerable individuals. If my efforts over the past 20 months contributed one iota toward encouraging additional SCAO scrutiny, then they will not have been futile.
http://nasga-stopguardianabuse.blogspot.com/
. . . and the family is never reimbursed a penny for all their flagrant spending!
ReplyDeleteAny case Kathryn George has touched should be thoroughly investigated.
ReplyDeleteI am glad for you, L. P. Lambert. I hope the heat's on Judge George for what she's allowed to be done to your mother.
ReplyDeleteRead more about Judge George at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.courthouseforum.com/forums/view.php?id=1062471
Never had a chance with her a judge is supposed to go I. Blind and judge fairly. She dose not!
ReplyDeleteJudge Katheryne George is back at it again! https://www.facebook.com/justiceforbobandbarb/
ReplyDeleteThis "judge"? is pure evil & corrupt. Anyone with a elderly in thier family will not get justice. All about the bucks that are filtered thru nursing homes who are in co-hoots with guardianship agencies.Its so unchristian its unbelievable.My priest told me, karma always comes around. Just sad for the elderly dying & families who have to live with the intentional damage done by people in power with "NO" conscience.
ReplyDelete