Judge Adds Safeguards After Franklin Case?

Ginger Franklin was in an Illinois rehabilitation facility nearly 300 miles from her Nashville home when in August 2008 a Davidson probate judge issued an emergency order taking away her rights to control her own life.

The order was issued by Judge David “Randy” Kennedy in response to a petition filed by Franklin’s aunt.

The aunt had been told by doctors that her niece’s injuries from falling down a flight of stairs were so serious she was likely to die or suffer permanent brain injuries, Franklin said.

It wasn’t until early September 2008 when she returned to Nashville, Franklin said, that she learned what had happened in her absence.

As soon as she stepped off the plane after her release from the Illinois facility, she said, she was met by a newly appointed conservator and taken to a group home.

When she asked why she wasn’t being taken to the Nashville condo she owned, “They told me you don’t have a home to go home to,” she said.

Court records show that Franklin lost her home and ended up on the hook for legal fees and other court-approved fees that ate up all but about $2,000 of her assets, including proceeds from the sale of her condo.

Franklin, 55, was released from the court-ordered conservatorship Dec. 2, 2010, when she presented evidence that she was competent and capable of managing her own affairs.

Upset at how her conservatorship was handled, she filed complaints with the Court of the Judiciary, the body tasked with investigating ethical complaints against judges, and with the Board of Professional Responsibility, which supervises ethical conduct of attorneys.

Just last week she received a letter from the Court of the Judiciary informing her that the investigation of her complaint had been completed.

The letter dated April 10 from Court of Judiciary attorney Patrick McHale stated that “appropriate action” had been taken, but it added that details of that action could not be released because of confidentiality provisions in state law.

Judge Kennedy said he also received a letter from the court informing him that the investigation has been closed. “I received no sanctions or disciplinary action, nor was any warranted,” he said.



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Judge Adds Safeguards After Case