Mark Zahner, chief elder abuse prosecutor for CA AG Kamala Harris’ DOJ, steps down amid criticism of selective enforcement

California’s chief elder abuse prosecutor is leaving office amid sharp criticism that he has selectively enforced criminal elder abuse laws against a small number of vulnerable, small-fry defendants while sparing the principal malefactors of systemic elder abuse, the wealthy, politically connected, corporate-owned nursing homes.

According to reliable sources, Deputy Attorney General Mark L. Zahner, who, since at least 2003, has been the chief of prosecutions for the Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (BMFEA), in the California attorney general’s Department of Justice (DOJ) in Sacramento, is stepping down from his position at the end of this month. Mr. Zahner is reportedly leaving his office to head an association of district attorneys in California.

Source:
Mark Zahner, chief elder abuse prosecutor for CA AG Kamala Harris’ DOJ, steps down amid criticism of selective enforcement

Couple wins custody of Jenny Hatch

Couple wins custody of Jenny Hatch

The custody battle of a 29-year-old woman with Down Syndrome came to an end Friday afternoon.Jenny Hatch has been in and out of court for months, fighting to live with her friends, couple Kelly Morris and Jim Talbert, instead of at a group home. Friday a judge granted that wish and gave the couple custody of Jenny for the next year.

The verdict was revealed in a Newport News courtroom a little before 4 p.m. Full guardianship of Jenny was taken away from her mother, Julia Ross, who wanted Jenny to live in a group home. After a year under the guardianship of Morris and Talbert, Jenny will be able to make her own decisions.

Morris and Talbert have a history of caring for Jenny, and say they will gladly take her in.

"It's awesome. We're ecstatic," said Morris. "At first, I thought it wasn't going in our favor, but then the judge said 'however.' It brought up a glimmer of hope. We're ecstatic."

Full Article and Source:
Couple wins custody of Jenny Hatch

See Also:
Jenny Hatch's courtroom battle continues

Jenny Hatch shouldn’t be treated as a prisoner

Jenny Hatch shouldn’t be treated as a prisoner

Monday, July 29, 4:25 PM

 

The guardianship system in our country raises serious concerns.

The July 21 front-page article “Jenny’s declaration of independence” is a strong illustration of the system’s overreach in action. The story focused on Jenny Hatch, a vibrant 29-year-old in a battle over who controls her life. As Ms. Hatch said clearly: “I don’t need guardianship. I don’t want it.”

 

If anyone else had been required to live somewhere against her will, with limited communication with the outside world, as Ms. Hatch was, she would either be able to lodge a charge of kidnapping or would be a prisoner convicted of a crime. But because Ms. Hatch is a person with a disability, such actions are completely legal, even though she has done nothing wrong.

Guardianship can, and often does, deprive a person of the ability to choose where she lives, whom she sees, when she gets up in the morning, what she eats for breakfast, whether and where she works and whether she can vote.

Less restrictive options are available, including powers of attorney for health care or financial matters, and “supported decision-making.” Both options give people with disabilities greater control of their lives. We should explore these options first, rather than reflexively stripping people of their fundamental right to live with independence, freedom and dignity. Disability is no excuse to deprive someone of her basic civil liberties.

 

Full Article and Source:
Jenny Hatch shouldn’t be treated as a prisoner

Jenny Hatch's courtroom battle continues

Jenny Hatch's courtroom battle continues

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) - The custody battle of a woman with Down Syndrome continued in a Newport News court Monday and Tuesday.

The verdict on whether 29-year-old Jenny Hatch will be her own guardian or continue to live under the guardianship of her mother will be revealed Friday.

Hatch has been in and out of courtrooms for months -- her mother is fighting for full guardianship and to keep her in a group home, but Jenny has repeatedly said she wants to live with her friends, couple Kelly Morris and Jim Talbert, who say they will gladly take her in.

Jenny told WAVY.com outside court Monday, "I am coming home. I have had enough. I am coming home today or tomorrow. I have had enough. Thank you all...I want to live at Jim and Kelly's."

Full Article and Source:
Jenny Hatch's courtroom battle continues

Minneapolis conservator accused of mishandling vet’s finances quits

A prominent Twin Cities guardian and conservator has given up his caseload after an investigation was launched into his handling of a veteran’s finances.  

Stephen Grisham, founder of Alternate Decision Makers Inc. in Minneapolis, stepped down as president of the company after the allegations arose about a month ago, said Jacob Kamenir, who took over as president after Grisham’s departure. Kamenir said the Department of Veterans Affairs is investigating Grisham.

 

“ADMI is fully cooperating with all parties that are investigating and all assets are fully secured,” Kamenir said. “ADMI is being transparent to all parties that are looking into this matter. Our primary focus right now is making sure that our clients are taken care of.”

 

Kamenir said all clients were immediately notified and “all client assets are secured.” He declined to comment further on the allegations, saying he would provide more information once the investigation is complete.

 

Grisham founded ADMI in 2000. Court records show the company has been involved in at least 293 cases. Mark Thompson, Hennepin County court administrator, said the investigation is limited to one file in Hennepin County.

 

“It’s substantial and we take it seriously, but it does not seem like a widespread problem here,” Thompson said. “I am not terribly concerned that things won’t be handled and investigated properly.”

Guardians and conservators are appointed by judges to make life and financial decisions for people suffering from dementia or other incapacitating conditions. In recent years, revelations of theft and neglect by some court-appointed caretakers have prompted new laws to increase oversight of what has been a lightly regulated profession.

 

In 2010, an Apple Valley woman who was an appointed fiduciary for some veterans was sentenced to federal prison for stealing their money. After the woman’s sentencing, Grisham told KARE-11:  “When you’re appointed as a fiduciary for someone, there is a lot of trust and a great responsibility that needs to be taken seriously and unfortunately in that case she broke that trust.”

Full Article and Source:
Minneapolis conservator accused of mishandling vet’s finances quits

Judge Jones tries to stop discipline hearing over alleged mishandled relationship

Longtime Family Court Judge Steven Jones,
third from left, declines to talk to the
 news media outside the
 Lloyd George Federal Courthouse
 in Las Vegas after pleading not guilty
 to a slew of felony charges in this Nov. 1, 2012,
file photo.

Embattled Family Court Judge Steven Jones is mounting an 11th-hour campaign to put off a hearing next week before the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline on allegations he mishandled a romantic relationship with a prosecutor who appeared before him.

The judge’s lawyer, Jim Jimmerson, has filed papers asking the Nevada Supreme Court to halt the proceeding, which is set to begin Monday.

Jimmerson also has filed suit against the judicial commission in District Court and is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the panel from disciplining Jones. A hearing on the restraining order was set for 11 a.m. today before District Judge Michael Villani.

In a mass of court papers, Jimmerson contends the seven-member commission has blatantly violated Jones’ constitutional due process rights.

“Not only is the petitioner (Jones) worried about his own fate before a commission that, left unchecked, has so quickly and repeatedly abandoned the principles of due process, but he also is very fearful that without meaningful intervention from the court, no judge in the state of Nevada can be secure from the wrongful actions of the commission,” Jimmerson told the Supreme Court.

The commission has a “storied history” of violating the rights of judges it has investigated, Jimmerson added in his District Court papers.

In Jones’ case, Jimmerson said, the commission has “sullied itself” and “brought shame on the very institution the public relies upon to protect them from dangerous judges.”

Lawyers for the commission responded that the judge’s due process rights have been protected during the commission’s investigation and that his last-minute bid to derail the disciplinary proceeding is a ploy to avoid possible sanctions for his alleged misconduct.

Special Counsel Kathleen Paustian said a District Court order at this time blocking the hearing would “usurp the role of the commission” and “irreparably” damage public policy.

“The judge fails to address the fact there is also at stake the reputation of the judiciary and the public confidence in the judiciary as an institution,” Paustian wrote.

Jones, 54, who also is under federal indictment, is accused of violating Nevada’s Judicial Code of Conduct and faces possible sanctions ranging from a private reprimand to removal from office. He has been the subject of a more extensive commission investigation into other allegations of misconduct dating to 2006, but has not been charged.

The commission suspended the longtime judge in November after the federal indictment charged him with participating in a $3 million investment fraud scheme. Jones, who is to stand trial in the criminal case on March 3, has continued to receive his $200,000 annual salary.

The judicial discipline hearing, which could last most of next week, is being held at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on Paradise Road.

Jones, first elected to Family Court in 1992, has denied the latest allegations of wrongdoing, which were brought to light in a 2011 Las Vegas Review-Journal story.

According to a complaint filed by commission lawyers in December, former Deputy District Attorney Lisa Willardson “actively litigated cases” in the judge’s courtroom while she maintained a relationship with him in 2011. Jones failed to disqualify himself from those cases.

The State Bar of Nevada, which regulates lawyers, declined to formally discipline Willardson over the relationship.

The bar, however, sent Willardson a “letter of caution” that will remain in her professional file for three years.

“While the panel found no clear and convincing evidence that your developing romantic relationship with Judge Jones changed the result of any case, and found it hard to clearly define when your relationship with Judge Jones began,” the letter stated, “the public was left to speculate on what effect the relationship might have had in any matter, and public trust in the justice system was undermined.”

The letter of caution, made public this week by the Judicial Discipline Commission in its court papers, reminded Willardson that she did appear before Jones in an uncontested matter several days after she acknowledged in emails that she was dating him.

“We hope that the foregoing serves as a reminder of your ethical obligations and that no similar problems will arise in the future,” the letter concluded.

Willardson last month filed a federal lawsuit against the district attorney’s office seeking to clear her name and denying she and Jones saw each other socially while she appeared before him.

Former District Attorney David Roger asked the commission to investigate the relationship between Jones and Willardson, a deputy in the child welfare unit.

Roger, who has been subpoenaed to testify before the commission next week, removed Willardson from child abuse and neglect cases before Jones after the relationship became public in October 2011. Later, he fired Willardson.

Full Article and Source:
Judge Jones tries to stop discipline hearing over alleged mishandled relationship

Life and Death in Assisted Living: "Close the Back Door"

On Sept. 30, 2008, an employee at the Emerald Hills assisted living facility in Auburn, Calif., made an entry in a company computer log: “pressure ulcer/wound.”

Joan, who had spent just 19 days in the facility, had developed the wound on her foot. The fall eight days earlier had hospitalized her and left her with bruises and an abrasion on her right temple. This, though, could be much, much worse.

Pressure ulcers — also known as bed sores — can form when a person loses the ability to move about freely. Lying in bed or sitting in a chair for long stretches of time diminishes the blood flow to the skin, causing it to break down and die. A hole grows. If bacteria creep into the wound, the bugs can devour flesh or invade the blood and bones. Pressure ulcers can turn fatal, particularly in older people.

Because of the lethal potential of pressure ulcers, the federal government monitors them closely in the nursing home business. In the eyes of experts, the sores are often an indicator of poor care. Attentive caregivers can prevent many pressure sores by making sure that people don’t spend too much time in the same position.

“We know that most bed sores are avoidable,” said Kathryn Locatell, a forensic geriatrician who investigates allegations of elder abuse for California Department of Justice. “That is the consensus of experts in the field.”

Emerald Hills was supposed to contact Joan’s doctor when she developed the ulcer. But nobody from Emerald Hills called a doctor. No nurse came to salve Joan’s wound. And nobody told Joan’s relatives — her husband, Myron, who lived in the same facility, or her son who lived nearby — about the development.

Joan’s short, painful stay at Emerald Hills seemed to be accelerating her decline.

Full Article and Source:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "Close the Back Door
See Also:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "A Sinking Ship"

Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "They're Not Treating Mom Well"

Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "The Emerald City"

Court: Guardians can order end of life support

MINNEAPOLIS -- A Minnesota appeals court has ruled legal guardians can order the end of life support for their wards.

The ruling overturns a Hennepin County District Court finding that end-of-life decisions are too important to be made by the guardian alone. The appeals court disagreed, saying those decisions should not be dictated by the courts.

The case involves Jeffers Tschumy, who was mentally disabled and living in a group home. In 2011 he was declared severely brain damaged after choking on some food. A Hennepin County judge denied his guardian the right to end life support, but ordered that it be discontinued.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/30/5607678/court-guardians-can-order-end.html#storylink=cpy

Full Article and Source:
Court: Guardians can order end of life support

Contra Costa judge slapped for action in son's case

A veteran Contra Costa County judge disciplined twice by a state legal watchdog agency has been publicly admonished for meddling in a case in which his son failed to comply with a court order that he perform volunteer service.

The state Commission on Judicial Performance said Tuesday that it had reprimanded Superior Court Judge Bruce Mills for "engaging in judicial misconduct" by having private conversations with court staffers on his son's behalf. The panel voted 10-0, with another Contra Costa County judge on the panel abstaining.

The commission said it decided against more severe discipline, such as ordering Mills' removal from the bench, because the judge "was acting as a concerned parent."

The commission also said it had heard testimony from witnesses describing Mills as "hardworking, conscientious and fair."

But the panel - made up of three judges appointed by the state Supreme Court, two attorneys named by the governor and six members of the public named by the governor, a state Senate committee and the Assembly speaker - revealed that this was not the first time Mills had been disciplined for using his position as a judge to bypass normal channels on behalf of his son.

Attorney 'outraged'

In 2011, Mills received an "advisory letter" for allowing his son to accompany a police officer executing a search warrant the judge had signed "without going through the ordinary application process for going on a ride-along," the commission said.

Mills' attorney, James Murphy, said Wednesday that he is "outraged" by the commission's decision and said the special masters - three judges who investigated the case and turned over their findings to the panel - had concluded that his client's actions were improper but did not constitute misconduct.
"Judge Mills never requested any favors," Murphy said. "I don't think the judge obtained due process."

The case that led to Mills' reprimand began in October 2010 when his son, who was a juvenile, was cited for illegal possession of tobacco. He pleaded guilty to an infraction in March 2011 and was ordered to perform 20 hours of volunteer service, but did not complete the work after enrolling in an out-of-state treatment program, the commission said.

Clerk, judge visited

A hearing on the youth's noncompliance was scheduled for October 2011 in the same Walnut Creek courthouse where his father worked.

On the day of the hearing, the commission said, Mills spoke with court clerk Jane Sims and later with Helen Peters, a temporary judge hearing the case, asking that his son's out-of-state program count as credit for the volunteer work that he had been ordered to do.

The judge agreed and gave Mills' son credit without holding a hearing, the commission said.
The judge's private conversations on his son's behalf "created an appearance of impropriety" and constituted "prejudicial misconduct," the commission said.

The panel said the resolution "was not more lenient than likely would have occurred" if an attorney for Mills' son had appeared in court before Peters.

Full Article and Source:
Contra Costa judge slapped for action in son's case

Nevada conduct hearing delayed for Las Vegas judge

 

A disciplinary hearing is being postponed until at least mid-September for a Nevada judge accused of breaching ethics by presiding over cases involving a prosecutor with whom he had a romantic relationship.

 

Clark County Family Court Judge Steven Jones' hearing before the state Commission on Judicial Discipline had been scheduled Monday in Las Vegas.

The Nevada Supreme Court on Friday ordered a delay to hear accusations by Jones' attorney that the commission failed to follow investigatory rules.

Acting commission general counsel and executive director Brian Hutchins told the Las Vegas Sun  that it'll be at least 45 days before another hearing can be scheduled.

Full Article and Source:
Nevada conduct hearing delayed for Las Vegas judge

Life and Death in Assisted Living: "A Sinking Ship"

On Sept. 30, 2008, an employee at the Emerald Hills assisted living facility in Auburn, Calif., made an entry in a company computer log: “pressure ulcer/wound.”

Joan, who had spent just 19 days in the facility, had developed the wound on her foot. The fall eight days earlier had hospitalized her and left her with bruises and an abrasion on her right temple. This, though, could be much, much worse.

Pressure ulcers — also known as bed sores — can form when a person loses the ability to move about freely. Lying in bed or sitting in a chair for long stretches of time diminishes the blood flow to the skin, causing it to break down and die. A hole grows. If bacteria creep into the wound, the bugs can devour flesh or invade the blood and bones. Pressure ulcers can turn fatal, particularly in older people.

Because of the lethal potential of pressure ulcers, the federal government monitors them closely in the nursing home business. In the eyes of experts, the sores are often an indicator of poor care. Attentive caregivers can prevent many pressure sores by making sure that people don’t spend too much time in the same position.

“We know that most bed sores are avoidable,” said Kathryn Locatell, a forensic geriatrician who investigates allegations of elder abuse for California Department of Justice. “That is the consensus of experts in the field.”

Emerald Hills was supposed to contact Joan’s doctor when she developed the ulcer. But nobody from Emerald Hills called a doctor. No nurse came to salve Joan’s wound. And nobody told Joan’s relatives — her husband, Myron, who lived in the same facility, or her son who lived nearby — about the development.

Joan’s short, painful stay at Emerald Hills seemed to be accelerating her decline.

Full Article and Source:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "A Sinking Ship"

See Also:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "They're Not Treating Mom Well"

Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "The Emerald City"

"I Made a Small Change"

Tara Wilson

Attorney Tara Wilson of Andover, MA, had many of her own estate planning documents in order. But after her grandmother fell ill at 84 and her relatives disagreed on her care, the court appointed a stranger as guardian, overruling her grandmother's wishes.

"The guardian kept her from her loved ones, put a reverse mortgage on her house, moved her to a nursing home and squandered her savings. From all this I learned that I needed to name a second and third choice for healthcare proxy and power of attorney, and add a provision to my will that the court is not to appoint anyone else to represent the interests of my children. And I keep my will up to date."


Full Article and Source:
"I Made a Small Change"

Man's Death After Confrontation With Police Ruled a Homicide

The Victory Centre of Park Forest

 

Saturday's death of a 95-year-old nursing home resident who was shocked by a Taser and struck with bean bag rounds during a confrontation with police has been ruled a homicide by officials in the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

An autopsy showed John Warna died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen from being hit with the bean bags.

Officials at the Victory Centre of Park Forest, the south suburban home where Warna lived, said the man was displaying "unusually aggressive behavior" on Friday evening. When police arrived, they said Warna was threatening paramedics and staff with a cane and a metal shoehorn.

Police said they struck him with a Taser and bean bag rounds after he threatened officers with a 12-inch butcher knife.

Full Article and Source:

Man's Death After Confrontation With Police Ruled a Homicide

Woman wounded by Pacific Palisades man was caregiver, neighbors say

A Pacific Palisades man shot and wounded his caretaker before fatally turning the gun on himself early Tuesday, neighbors told a local television station. Police confirmed that the man had shot the woman, then himself.

Residents near the 1400 block of Paseo de Oro, where the shooting occurred, told NBC 4 the man had suffered a stroke in recent months and the victim was his caregiver.

The Los Angeles Police Department has not confirmed the relationship between the woman and the dead man.

Officer Wendy Reyes said there was no search for a suspect because the shooting was considered "an isolated incident."

Police found the two after responding to a report of shots fired shortly before 8:30 a.m., LAPD Sgt. Albert Gonzalez said.

The man, shot once, was pronounced dead at the scene, Reyes said. The woman, shot multiple times, was taken to a hospital. Her condition was not known.

LAPD Officer Bruce Borihanh confirmed that the man shot the woman, then himself.

Full Article and Source:
Woman wounded by Pacific Palisades man was caregiver, neighbors say

Life and Death in Assisted Living: They're Not Treating Mom Well

When the ambulance crew arrived, about 8:20 p.m., Joan Boice was in the TV lounge, face-down on the carpet. Her head had struck the floor with some velocity; bruises were forming on her forehead and both cheeks. It appeared she’d lost her balance and fallen out of a chair.

But no one at the assisted living facility could say precisely how the accident had occurred. No one knew how long Joan had been splayed out on the floor. She had defecated and urinated on herself.
Worried that Joan might have injured her spine, the emergency medical personnel gently rolled her over and placed her on a back board. They pumped oxygen into her nostrils.

It was Sept. 22, 2008 — just 10 days after Joan had first moved into Emerald Hills.

No Emeritus employees accompanied Joan to the hospital. And even though Joan’s husband, Myron, was living in the facility, the Emeritus workers didn’t immediately alert him that Joan had fallen and hurt herself. Joan, confused, injured, and nearly mute, ended up in the local hospital by herself, surrounded by strangers.

California law requires assisted living companies to conduct a “pre-admission appraisal” of prospective residents, to ensure they are appropriate candidates for assisted living.

But Emerald Hills took Joan in without performing an appraisal. It wasn’t for lack of time. The Boices had signed the contract to live at Emerald Hills more than two weeks before Joan moved in.

Full Article and Source:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  They're Not Treating Mom Well

See Also:
Life and Death in Assisted Living: The Emerald City

Criminal probe requested in conservatorship case

John E. Clemmons

Citing “incomplete accountings and other misrepresentations,” a court-appointed conservator is recommending that the district attorney general and the TBI open criminal investigations into a Nashville attorney’s handling of a conservatorship.

In a 26-page report filed Thursday in Davidson County Probate Court, Paul Gontarek found that attorney John E. Clemmons paid himself over $370,000 while acting as the conservator of Nannie P. Malone. Court records show that most of those payments were made without court approval.

Malone passed away last year at the age of 81, but her family has filed a civil suit against Clemmons, who is facing criminal charges in a separate case in Rutherford County.

Gontarek was named to replace Clemmons in the Malone case on April 10 after the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Clemmon’s license to practice law. Probate Judge David “Randy” Kennedy also named Gontarek to take over three other of Clemmons’ cases.

Gontarek said that his review of the four cases showed Clemmons routinely submitted accounting reports that omitted the payments he made to himself. He said some of those reports were “totally fraudulent.”

Full Article and Source:
Criminal probe requested in conservatorship case

See Also:
Nashville Attorney John E. Clemmons Charged With Theft in Conservatorship Case

Tennessee Attorney John E. Clemmons, Court Appointed as Conservator, Sued for Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Conversion, and More

Feds Sue Over Kids In Nursing Homes

Federal officials are suing alleging that hundreds of children with disabilities are being unnecessarily segregated in nursing homes in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit Monday accusing the state of Florida of relegating nearly 200 children with significant disabilities to nursing homes who could be served at home or in other community-based settings.

Last September, the Justice Department warned Florida officials of ADA violations after an investigation found that state policies and practices limited access to in-home care for kids with significant medical needs leaving many families with little choice but to send their children to nursing homes. What’s more, the probe identified children who spent years at the facilities before receiving federally-mandated screening to assess whether or not the environment was the most appropriate for them.

Though the state made some changes since being notified of the investigation’s findings, federal officials said that after several months of negotiating, violations remain making legal action necessary.

“Children have a right to grow up with their families, among their friends and in their own communities,” said Eve Hill, deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The violations the department has identified are serious, systemic and ongoing and require comprehensive relief for these children and their families.”

Kids living in nursing homes have limited interaction with individuals without disabilities and are often located hundreds of miles away from their families, according to the federal complaint.

In addition, the suit alleges that the state’s policies and practices put other children with significant medical needs who are currently living in the community at risk of similar institutionalization.

For their part, Florida officials said they have taken steps in the last year to improve an “already strong program” providing services for children with complex medical needs, indicating that more than 1,000 children are now receiving enhanced care services to help them return to or remain in the community.

“Today’s Obama administration action shows that Washington is not interested in helping families improve but instead is determined to file disruptive lawsuits with the goal of taking over control and operation of Florida’s Medicaid and disability programs,” said Elizabeth Dudek, secretary of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, in a statement.

Full Article and Source:
Feds Sue Over Kids In Nursing Homes

Disability Spending Drops For First Time In Years

For the first time in decades, a new report finds that total government spending on individuals with developmental disabilities has declined.

When adjusted for inflation, government funding fell 0.2 percent in 2011 as compared to the year prior, according to findings in the 2013 State of the States in Developmental Disabilities, a report produced by the University of Colorado.

That’s the slowest growth rate documented in at least 35 years, researchers said.

Overall government spending on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities for 2011 — the most recent year for which data is available — was $56.65 billion, the report found.

Of the funding distributed nationwide that year, about 20 percent went toward programs providing family supports, employment services, personal assistance and similar aid.

Almost 60 percent went toward residential settings for six or fewer people while 5 percent funded living environments with seven to 15 residents. State-run institutions with 16 or more residents received 11.5 percent of total spending and 3 percent went to institutions that were privately run.

Nearly 80 percent of government spending on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities was funneled through the Medicaid program in 2011, the report found. Other funding came from the states and federal programs like Social Security.

Full Article and Source:
Disability Spending Drops For First Time In Years

Life and Death in Assisted Living: "The Emerald City"

Joan Boice needed help. Lots of it. Her physician had tallied the damage: Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, pain from a compression fracture of the spine. For Joan, an 81-year-old former schoolteacher, simply getting from her couch to the bathroom required the aid of a walker or wheelchair.

The Alzheimer’s, of course, was the worst. The disease had gradually left Joan unable to dress, eat or bathe without assistance. It had destroyed much of the complex cerebral circuitry necessary for forming words. It was stealing her voice.

Joan’s family was forced to do the kind of hard reckoning that so many American families must do these days. It was clear that Joan could no longer live at home. Her husband, Myron, simply didn’t have the stamina to provide the constant care and supervision she needed. And moving in with any of their three children wasn’t an option.

These were the circumstances that eventually led the Boice family to Emeritus at Emerald Hills, a sprawling, three-story assisted living facility off Highway 49 in Auburn, Calif. The handsome 110-bed complex was painted in shades of deep green and cream, reflecting its location on the western fringe of the craggy, coniferous Sierra Nevada mountain range. It was owned by the Emeritus Corp., a Seattle-based chain that was on its way to becoming the nation’s largest assisted living company, with some 500 facilities stretching across 45 states.

Emeritus at Emerald Hills promised state-of-the art care for Joan’s advancing dementia. Specially trained members of the staff would create an individual plan for Joan based on her life history. They would monitor her health, engage her in an array of physically and mentally stimulating activities, and pass out her 11 prescription medications, which included morphine (for pain) and the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel (given in hopes of curbing some of the symptoms of her Alzheimer’s). She would live in the “memory care” unit, a space designed specifically to keep people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia safe.

Full Article and Source:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  The Emerald City

Lawyer barred from practicing for mental health issues

Minneapolis lawyer Jill Eleanor Clark has been forbidden from practicing law for being "unable to competently represent clients because of mental health issues."

Clark, 56, of Golden Valley has been placed on "disability inactive" status by the state Supreme Court, which rules on attorney discipline cases.

"There is overwhelming evidence in the record that Clark has a serious mental health condition," the Supreme Court order, made public Wednesday, said.

Details of her condition were placed under seal, but some specifics emerged.

Her medical records show that "she suffered from extreme stress and anxiety during long stretches of 2012, and that this stress and anxiety severely affected her cognitive abilities and judgment."

On two occasions, she went "on the run" because of emotional crises, once leaving town for 10 days and once for three weeks, the order said. She was hospitalized three times during those crises.

Clark did not dispute that she had mental issues, the order said. She was temporarily suspended in January.

In July 2012, Clark filed a motion to disqualify the entire Supreme Court from ruling on her case. The court denied the motion.

Full Article and Source:
Lawyer barred from practicing for mental health issues

“To Kill A Mockingbird” Author a Victim of Elder Abuse

In her 1960 courtroom drama “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee created one of American literature’s most beloved figures – the courageous Southern lawyer Atticus Finch. Told from the perspective of Finch’s young daughter, the book details Finch’s defense of a black man falsely accused of rape in Depression-era rural Alabama.

Now, at age 87, Lee is in court with her former literary agent, Samuel Pinkus, who Lee claims took advantage of her declining health and tricked her into surrendering her royalties to him. The book still sells 750,000 copies per year, according to Publisher’s Weekly, translating into more than $1.5 million in annual royalties.

Elder financial abuse cases often involve friends and relatives, and this one is no exception: Pinkus is the son-in-law of one of Lee’s oldest and dearest friends, the late Eugene Winick.

The Lawsuit

The lawsuit filed in a Manhattan court this May claims that in 2007, Lee suffered a stroke and was not well enough to comprehend the papers that Pinkus gave her to sign. “Pinkus knew that Harper Lee was an elderly woman with physical infirmities that made it difficult for her to read and see” and he deliberately sought to take advantage of her. The papers gave Pinkus control over “Mockingbird”’s copyright and royalties. Lee was – and still is – living in an Alabama assisted living facility. She claims to have no memory of signing away her rights.

“She’s 95 percent blind, profoundly deaf, bound to a wheelchair,” Dr. Thomas Butts told London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper two years ago. Butts is a close friend of Harper’s who lives in the same Alabama town, Monroeville, that Lee has long called home. He added that Lee’s short-term memory was poor, but that her longterm memory was in good shape.

At the time of that interview, Lee’s legal affairs were handled by her older sister, Alice, an attorney who still maintained an active law practice at age 99. But Alice did not file the suit against Pinkus. Manhattan-based intellectual property attorney Gloria Phares wrote the complaint and is representing Lee in the suit. Phares, who often represents literary clients, once engaged in a battle over the rights to the C.S. Lewis children’s fantasy, “Chronicles of Narnia.”

The August 2013 issue of Vanity Fair examines the complex case and the relationship between Lee and Pinkus. Winick, Pinkus’s father-in-law, was Lee’s agent while she was writing “Mockingbird” and read various drafts of the book. Around 2002, Winick’s health became too frail for him to continue representing Lee. Pinkus took her on as a client. One of Lee’s friends told Vanity Fair that she came to admire Pinkus enough as a person to give him the Medal of Freedom bestowed upon Lee by former President George Bush.

The complaint filed by Lee’s attorney Gloria Phares asserts that Pinkus took the “Mockingbird” royalties and moved them among several shell accounts. Phares has said that “Pinkus knew that Harper Lee was an elderly woman with physical infirmities that made it difficult for her to read and see” and he deliberately sought to take advantage of her.

Full Article and Source:
“To Kill A Mockingbird” Author a Victim of Elder Abuse

Terry Nolan, prominent Muskegon attorney, sentenced for cocaine use

MUSKEGON, MI – Terry Joel Nolan, one of Muskegon’s highest-profile attorneys, pleaded guilty as charged Tuesday to using cocaine.

There was no plea or sentencing agreement with the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office, and no sentence-cap commitment from the judge. Sentencing by Muskegon County Circuit Judge Annette R. Smedley was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 24.

Nolan, 55, of Norton Shores pleaded guilty Tuesday morning, June 18, to cocaine use with a double penalty as a second or subsequent offense. That’s a high-court misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison.

Because it’s not a felony, there are no state sentencing guidelines. That will leave the sentencing decision completely up to Smedley.

At some point after sentencing, the State Bar of Michigan will decide on suspending Nolan’s license to practice law. Some suspension is expected, with the length of time being up to the bar’s Attorney Discipline Board.

The Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office is legally required to notify the State Bar about Nolan’s conviction now that he has pleaded guilty. Nolan’s attorney, Edward G. Anderson, said he also has notified the bar about the plea.

Nolan is already prohibited from practicing law on an interim basis. The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board on May 6 temporarily placed Nolan’s law license on “inactive status” with the sole exception of the Maurice Darnell Clemons murder case, which concluded with Clemons’ sentencing Monday, June 17.

“I’ve been in recovery for a long time. I had a very brief relapse,” Nolan said after his plea. “I got right back in the (recovery) program, and I’m going to do the best I can to help anybody else with this kind of a problem. That’s my goal, to use my experience and the platform to try to help other people if I can.”

Legally speaking, “whatever the consequences are, I’m just going to accept,” Nolan said. “I’m doing what I have to do to take care of myself, and doing the best I can to help out my two former associates.” Attorneys Matthew Kacel and Kevin Wistrom, Nolan’s former associates, have been taking many of the cases Nolan formerly handled.

Nolan previously lost his law license for seven years over earlier convictions, regaining it only in late 2009. Since that time, until his arrest this year, he was active as a criminal-defense attorney.

Full Article and Source:
Terry Nolan, prominent Muskegon attorney, sentenced for cocaine use

Pauper v Probate: Notice of Perjury and Referral for Prosecution and Disciplinary Action

IN THE FIRST CIVIL COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION

 

Pauper v. Probate Court
(The Biggest Business in the World)                                                                                           

                                                                     Case No. : PD1; Filed: November 8, 2011

JUDGE “WE, THE PEOPLE…”, PRESIDING 

 

Notice of perjury by David E. Tate and Paul T. Housch 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Pauper v Probate - Notice of Perjury and Referral for Prosecution and Disciplinary Action

 

See Also:
NASGA:  Danny Tate

Etowah Co. man indicted for allegedly abusing nursing home resident

MONTGOMERY, AL (WBRC) - Attorney General Luther Strange's office says that a former Etowah County nursing home employee has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a resident.

James Dean Justice, 44, of Altoona, was arrested July 24 and has been released on bond. Justice has been indicted for abusing a protected person, which is a class C felony. The alleged abuse took place Dec. 26, 2012.

The investigation into the case began after Altoona Health and Rehabilitation, Inc. reported the incident to the AG's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Justice had been employed there as a certified nursing assistant.

Full Article and Source:
Etowah Co. man indicted for allegedly abusing nursing home resident

O'burg Man Charged In Theft From Priest

Jessie Austin

An Ogdensburg man will be arraigned Monday in St. Lawrence County Court after allegedly stealing more than $17,000 from a Catholic priest living at St. Joseph's Nursing Home.

34 year old Jessie Austin is free on $3,000 bail after being named in a 10 count indictment earlier this week charging him with one felony count of fourth degree grand larceny and nine felony counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument.

Court documents show Austin is alleged to have stolen and cashed several checks belonging to the Community Bank account of 82 year old Rev. Edward Papp from December 2012 to April 2013.

Full Article and Source:
O'burg Man Charged In Theft From Priest

Columbus Nursing Home Operator Arrested — Nooner Has History Of Arrests, Tax Evasion

A Saltillo man who operates an assisted living facility in Columbus was arrested Thurs., July 18.
Dennis “Denny” Nooner Jr, of 198 Knight Drive, Saltillo, was arrested by deputies with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and charged with felony false pretense and driving with a suspended license. According to http://homeplacecolumbusms.com, Nooner is listed as the owner of the assisted living facility, Home Place, located at 208 Yorkville Road E. in Columbus.

The website for Secretary of State Delbert Hoseman shows Nooner as an officer for Columbus Home Place and Dogwood Home Place Assisted Living, LLC in Saltillo. Home Place in Columbus is listed as a dissolved LLC and Dogwood Home Place is listed as intent to dissolve the limited liability corporation.

 According to a spokesperson for the LCSO, Nooner was arrested for writing a fraudulent check in 2011 for $6,000. The check was written to Merchants Foodservice on an account at Renasant Bank.
Nooner was indicted November 1, 2012, by the Lowndes County Grand Jury for false pretense. Nooner was arrested in Lee County and extradited to Columbus where was booked into the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center. Nooner, 52, was released on a $5,000 bond.

Full Article and Source:
Columbus Nursing Home Operator Arrested — Nooner Has History Of Arrests, Tax Evasion