Saturday, February 1, 2014

At 100 Years Old, Judge Jean Murrel Capers is Still Trying to do it Her Way

I saw the judge moments before she saw me.

Her eyes where shut and she was waving her hands in the air. She was passionately singing along with a group of a dozen seniors. It was a song from the 1940s that I had never heard. The joyful noise created by the lively group wasn't what you would call easy listening, but the room was warm and inviting. The afternoon sing-along session at Judson Manor felt like a retirement home tribute to a bygone era.

When she finally spotted me, Judge Jean Murrell Capers smiled and hurriedly reached for her walker. The sudden movement made this former tennis champ appear unsteady, though. Sometimes, she still attempts to move too fast. Her mind and her body have yet to come to a firm agreement on the realities of her age.

She turned 100 years old Friday, and I visited to write a festive column about the event. The judge was beautiful as ever. She appeared happy. I told her as much.

But moments into our conversation she told me that my observation couldn't be further from the truth. She said she was depressed and considers herself a "kidnapping victim" and an "unhappy ward" of the county.

The judge can be fairly dramatic, and her humor sometimes runs surprisingly dark, but the smile had left her face. I could tell she was serious. She was about to teach me another important lesson.

It is a lesson about a final fight for dignity and the independence of a senior citizen who has outlived everyone in her circle except Alice Murrell Rose, her 96-year-old "baby sister."

Life as the judge knew it ended last month. That's when people who care about this Cleveland treasure realized that she needed help, even if she did not accept that fact. They sought that help at Cuyahoga County Probate Court, which appointed a guardian for her.

At an instant, the former Cleveland Municipal Court judge's decision-making authority was taken away and given to someone else. Her guardian now approves decisions as basic as where she lives and when she can venture out into public.

That's what the former Cleveland Municipal Court judge now wrestles with after a lifetime of complete control and making decisions for others. She is not used to decisions being made for her. She is used to coming and going as she wants.

Full Article and Source:
At 100 Years Old, Judge Jean Murrel Capers is Still Trying to do it Her Way:  Phillip Morris

Drugs That May Cause Memory Loss

For a long time doctors dismissed  forgetfulness and mental confusion as a normal part of aging. But scientists now know that memory loss as you get older is by no means inevitable. Indeed, the brain can grow new brain cells and reshape their connections throughout life.

Most people are familiar with at least some of the things that can impair memory, including alcohol and drug abuse, heavy cigarette smoking, head injuries, stroke, sleep deprivation, severe stress, vitamin B12 deficiency, and illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease and depression.

But what many people don't realize is that many commonly prescribed drugs also can interfere with memory. Here are 10 of the top types of offenders.

1. Antianxiety drugs
2. Cholesterol drugs
3. Antiseizure drugs
4. Antidepressant drugs
5. Narcotic painkillers
6.  Parkinson's drugs
7. Hypertension drugs
8. Sleeping aids
9. Incontinence drugs
10. Antihistamines

Full Article and Source:
Drugs That May Cause Memory Loss

Former PA Public Defender Suspended From Practice

A former public defender has been suspended from practicing law for allegations that he violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for Pennsylvania lawyers.

According to a state Supreme Court order on disciplinary action against local attorney Ronald Langella, he has been suspended from the Pennsylvania Bar for five years. The case went before the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and the suspension decision was made Jan. 15.
Langella was dismissed from his public defender position in 2008, but McKean County officials declined at the time to say why. He maintained a private practice in Bradford after his dismissal.
According to a legal notice published in Tuesday’s edition of The Era, his suspension is effective Feb. 14.

Langella has been accused of violating the rules in six ways. According to court records, he failed to “act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client,” failed to “keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter,” failed to “promptly comply with reasonable requests for information,” failed to “take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client’s interests” after the end of representation of that client, failed to communicate the fees to a client whom the lawyer has no regularly represented and failed to hold a client’s “funds and property separate from the lawyer’s own property.”

Langella, who was already serving a private reprimand and five-year probationary period due to a previous disciplinary case, failed to comply with his probation conditions by failing to file monthly reports on his oversight of his IOLTA accounts — accounts that hold money for clients or third parties — and failing to pay the court costs and restitution, according to court records.

Full Article and Source:
Former Public Defender Suspended From Practice

Read the Suspension Order

Friday, January 31, 2014

Court develops guardianship program

In response to the increased number of indigent county residents in need of guardianship assistance, Shelby County Probate Judge William R. Zimmerman and his staff, Chief Deputy Clerk Patricia Rosengarten and Deputy Clerk Carla Busse, have developed a volunteer guardianship program.

A guardianship becomes necessary when an adult becomes incompetent and no longer is able to make medical and personal decisions. The volunteer program will assist these individuals by coordinating appointment of guardians. To be eligible, the incompetent adult must be indigent, a resident of a local nursing home, and have no family members available to be a guardian.

The Probate Court has recruited local attorneys and social workers to serve as volunteers in this program. All volunteers have completed a BCI and FBI background check. To date, the following attorneys and social workers have agreed to participate in the program: Rich Wallace, Jim Thieman, Tonya Thieman, William R. Zimmerman Jr., Joseph Chrisman, Curtis Henschen and Kathy Lindsey.

Full Article & Source:
Court develops guardianship program

Volunteers needed to help victims of financial exploitation and scams


If you have good people skills and can volunteer four hours a week, then your services are needed to help the Seniors vs. Crime program. This program is offered as a special project of the Florida Attorney General, which needs volunteers to take complaints from seniors who feel that they are victims of financial exploitation and scams.

Volunteers are especially needed in the West Palm Beach area.

Full Article & Source:
Volunteers needed to help victims of financial exploitation and scams

Lawyer appeals discipline for comments about judge


WATERBURY — A Connecticut lawyer facing a four-month suspension of his law license for criticizing a state judge has been granted a stay of the punishment while he appeals to the state Appellate Court.

The Register Citizen of Torrington reports that Robert Serafinowicz's license was to be suspended Jan. 2, but a state judge in Waterbury granted a stay citing the length of the suspension.

Serafinowicz filed a complaint against Judge Burton Kaplan after an Ansonia police officer he represented was acquitted of stealing a garden hose. Serafinowicz said Kaplan "plays favorites," is "a disgrace to the bench" and doesn't give people a "fair shake."

Full Article & Source:
Lawyer appeals discipline for comments about judge

Thursday, January 30, 2014

The Taking of Marie Winkelman 1-2-3

Who is Marie Winkelman? Marie is the author of a book about her experiences as a Holocaust survivor in Poland titled "Keeping a Promise:  To Tell My Story of Survival in Warsaw During WWII."

“On December 4th, 2013, a beautiful and brilliant 88-year-old Holocaust Survivor named Marie Winkelman was put into guardianship in the Sarasota, Florida Probate Court – without a hearing – based upon a mediation agreement,” states Beverly Newman, President of the Al Katz Center.
Marie is the second victim of elder abuse in Sarasota County, Florida. The first was Al Katz, the father of Beverly Newman, another Holocaust Survivor.

The similarity of the two cases is striking and presents a pattern of what some believe constitutes “judicial cronyism.” It is a system that takes the liberty and property of its victims – usually the elderly.

“Marie is a recent resident of Bird Key who still lives independently and keeps her home in immaculate condition. The mediation agreement was prepared by Federal Mediator Gary H. Larsen, which Marie did not see until after the mediation. Her fortune of many millions, which she earned through decades of hard work and prudent investments, is now in the hands of a company named Sabal Trust Company with which she has never had any contact. Through the mediated agreement, she is given a monthly allowance of her own money, despite the fact she has always spent her money judiciously,” notes Newman.

What makes Marie’s case different is the possible collusion to have Marie found incompetent not by strangers but by Robert Szychowski who is married to Marie’s step-daughter Corinne. This is the highest form of betrayal by the one person Marie trusted the most. She trusted Szychowski so much she signed a Durable Power of Attorney (POA) giving Szychowski control over every aspect of her life and wellbeing.  Marie made Szychowski her “attorney-in-fact” (my Agent) granting him “The power to exercise or perform any act, power, duty, right or obligation whatsoever…”

Full Article and Source:
The Taking of Marie Winkelman 1-2-3

See Also:
NASGA:  Marie Winkelman, Florida Victim

The Secret meeting that changed Holocaust Survivor Marie Winkelman’s life – Hopefully not Forever!

 

Cloaked in secrecy, a mediation meeting in a lawyer’s office was held on November 25, 2013, under order of the Sarasota County Probate Court, to determine whether or not 89-year-old Holocaust Survivor Marie Winkelman was or was not capacitated and if or if not she needed to be put into Florida’s vast guardianship system, which controls the lives of scores of thousands of elders. This is the third part of an investigative series on Marie’s guardianship case. Please go here to read Part I and Part II.

Although Marie escaped death in the Warsaw Ghetto, where everyone in her large family (except one baby) was murdered, she has thus far not been able to be freed from a guardianship where most believe she never belonged.

What could possibly go wrong with court-ordered mediation?

The litany of answers to this question is nearly endless, beginning with something akin to “blackmail,” as one of the participants in Marie’s mediation described the circumstances under which the fateful Mediated Settlement Agreement was signed after hours of lawyer talk. Unlike litigation in an open courtroom, with a precise record made of the day’s actions and discussions, under oath or not, mediation is the antithesis of due process. There is no record even allowed of the mediation proceedings. A confidentiality statement must be signed by every participant. No judge is present, and the public is excluded. No witnesses testify. No evidence is presented. No appeal is possible once an agreement has been signed by all of the participants.

So how can you mediate someone’s incapacity, which, of necessity, requires due process protections?

Full Article & Source:
The Secret meeting that changed Holocaust Survivor Marie Winkelman’s life – Hopefully not Forever!

See Also:
Marie Winkelman's Case Demands Litigation, Not Mediation, To Protect Her Life, Liberty and Property

Arrest made in 2007 nursing home death

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A cold case from 2007 came to a surprising end Monday.

The death of 84-year-old Marcelline Vale went unsolved for almost seven years until Monday, when her alleged killer confessed to the story.

David Satterfield, 34, is now charged with Vale's murder.

Police say Satterfield turned himself in Monday after asking police for a ride to the homicide office. He told police he was a certified medical technician working rounds at Parkway Medical Center the night of July 4, 2007, when he said he injected Vale with a large amount of insulin, knowing she wasn't a diabetic. Vale died four days later of an insulin overdose. WHAS11 asked detectives why Satterfield decided to come clean after almost seven years.

Full Article & Source:
Arrest made in 2007 nursing home death

Judicial watchdog seeks judge's discipline


— State Rep. Bob Evans, who represents a trial judge in disciplinary matter, is asking the Mississippi Supreme Court to make no decision in the case until after the 2014 legislative session ends in April.

Evans, in a motion filed Friday, says state law allows the Supreme Court to suspend activity in cases where a lawyer for one of the parties is a member of the Legislature. Evans, D-Monticello, represents District 91 in the Mississippi House.

The Supreme Court has not ruled on the motion.

Evans represents Chancery Judge Joe Dale Walker in the disciplinary proceedings filed by the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance. The commission is seeking an interim suspension with pay for Walker while its inquiry continues into alleged inappropriate actions regarding a conservatorship in Walker's court.

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/01/24/5283541/judicial-watchdog-seeks-judges.html#storylink=cpy

Full Article & Source:
Judicial watchdog seeks judge's discipline

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/01/24/5283541/judicial-watchdog-seeks-judges.html#storylink=cpy

West Allis lawyer charged with embezzling from clients


A West Allis lawyer who told authorities in 2012 that he was stealing from clients has finally been charged criminally for his conduct.

Randy Wynn faces two counts of embezzlement over $10,000, but the criminal complaint indicates his illegal take over four years was closer to $800,000. Wynn, 61, made his initial appearance in court Thursday afternoon.

A year ago, Wynn told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was under investigation. He blamed the thefts on a gambling addiction and said he finally reported himself to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office and the state Supreme Court in November 2012.

"I'm cooperating 100% with everybody," Wynn said then. "I don't want to come off as someone who is running from this. ... No one caught me doing anything." He declined to comment further Thursday and referred questions to his attorney, Steven Kohn.

By July, he said he expected to be charged and deserved whatever punishment he gets, even prison. In August, his license to practice law was suspended, although a dissenting justice said he should be disbarred immediately.

Full Article & Source:
West Allis lawyer charged with embezzling from clients

Health Law Adds Coverage For Developmental Disability Services


A little remarked upon requirement in the health law expands treatments for people with cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental disabilities. But some advocates and policy experts are concerned that insurers may find ways to sidestep the new requirement.

The health law requires that individual and small group plans sold on or off the health insurance marketplaces cover 10 essential health benefits, including “rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices.”

Health plans of all kinds typically cover rehabilitative services, such as physical, occupational and speech therapy to help people who had an accident or illness, such as a stroke, recover their ability to walk, talk and function in their daily lives. But before the health law passed, coverage of similar services for habilitative purposes — that is, to help people learn or maintain functional skills, rather than regain them — was often excluded.

Insurers would “say they’re not medically necessary,” says Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University who authored a recent paper about the law’s habilitative coverage requirements. “They’d say patients are not recovering function, but rather developing function, and that was an education issue.”

For years, Elizabeth Hecht and Scott Simmons have struggled to get their son, Will, the habilitative care he needs. Will has cerebral palsy, and as a child needed speech therapy to learn to speak intelligibly and physical therapy to learn to stand and walk with assistance, among other things. Now 25 years old, Will needs periodic therapy to help his body remain as functional as possible and avoid pressure sores, as well as to help him learn to use a speech-generating device so he can communicate better, says Hecht.

The couple’s insurance, through her job at an academic research center for people with developmental disabilities in Madison, Wis., generally doesn’t cover habilitative services. But it has covered some of Will’s therapy as if it were rehab, says Hecht. Services were frequently approved only after the couple filed an appeal following a denial, however.

“It becomes exhausting,” she says. “He could have two to three denials at one time, so we had to set priorities.”

The law’s new coverage requirement doesn’t apply to large employer group plans like the one covering Will. But Hecht says she hopes that the new rules may eventually encourage broader coverage overall.

“It’s a wonderful recognition of the needs these people have and a great first step in addressing them,” she says.

But advocates fear that insurers may avoid providing benefits to the extent needed by people, many of them children born with serious developmental problems that require life-long care. That’s because instead of clearly defining habilitative services and spelling out what must be covered in individual and small group plans under the law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services permitted states and insurers to decide.

Under the health law, each state had to identify a “benchmark plan” that would serve as a basis for defining the essential health benefits offered there. In the final essential health benefits rule, HHS said that if a state’s benchmark plan doesn’t define habilitative benefits, states can choose to do so themselves. If they don’t set specific rules, they can either require insurance plans to cover those benefits at “parity” with rehabilitation services so that they’re similar in scope, amount and duration, or leave it to the insurers to determine how to cover the benefit and report that to HHS. Regulators will review the rules in 2016.

“We were pretty disappointed” with the language in the final rule, says Kim Musheno, director of public policy at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, a membership organization of academic programs that advocates for disability issues.

Based on an initial tally, fewer than half of states have explicitly defined the services that are covered under habilitative services or required parity with rehabilitative services, says Katie Keith, director of research at the Trimpa Group, which consults with the advocacy group Autism Speaks on health law issues.

Strong advocacy by groups representing patients with autism has resulted in coverage by private insurers of at least some habilitative services. Thirty-four states now mandate coverage of intensive therapy called applied behavioral analysis for children with autism, says Lorri Unumb, vice president for state government affairs at Autism Speaks.

Full Article & Source:
Health Law Adds Coverage For Developmental Disability Services

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Linda Kincaid Reports: Elder abuse: Monterey County Public Guardian denies right to attend hearings

The Monterey County Public Guardian seized control of San Francisco resident Margarita Zelada and her estate. Since March 2013, Margarita has been unlawfully confined in Monterey County, forcibly isolated, and denied nearly all contact with loved ones and advocates.

The Public Guardian allows Margarita no contact with her daughter, occasional brief contact with her niece in Texas, no contact with elder rights advocates, and no contact with legal counsel of her choice. The Public Guardian denies Margarita her right to attend court hearings on her case and denies her right to oppose the abuse she has suffered.

On January 29, 2014, the Monterey County Probate Court will review Margarita’s case and hear the Public Guardian’s petition for authority to forcibly administer chemical restraint. Niece Bonnie Lind repeatedly asked that Margarita be allowed to attend the hearing on her case and be allowed her right to oppose forced chemical restraint.
December 10, 2013
Jennifer Empasis and Chris Campbell,
I would like to request my aunt, Margarita Zelada be allowed to attend her conservatorship hearing scheduled for December 18, 2013. According to the Notice of Conservatee’s Rights, Margarita has a right to take part in important decisions affecting her life, property and way of life. Please do not deny her this basic right.
January 24, 2014
Jennifer Empasis and Chris Campbell,
I would like to again request that my aunt, Margarita Zelada be allowed to attend her conservatorship hearing that had been re-scheduled for December 29, 2014. Ms Giovannini let me know on Wednesday, December 11, that she had a call in to Ms Zelada’s legal counsel to discuss, but I haven’t yet heard the outcome. According to the Notice of Conservatee’s Rights, “The conservator must give due regard to the preferences of the conservatee and to encourage the conservatee’s participation in decision-making.” I ask again to please allow my aunt, Margarita Zelada to attend her own hearing.
California’s Notice of Conservatee’s Rights states a conservatee has the rights to:
Be represented by a lawyer;
Ask the judge to replace the conservator;
Ask the judge to end the conservatorship;
Exercising those rights presumes the opportunity to meet with legal counsel and to address the judge. The Public Guardian consistently violates Margarita’s most basic rights.

The Public Guardian denied Margarita her right to attend her May 8, 2013 and June 17, 2013 hearings, when the court awarded conservatorship of Margarita’s person and estate to the Public Guardian.

The Public Guardian denied Margarita her right to attend her November 20, 2013 hearing, when the Public Guardian petitioned to strip her right to have contact with advocates.

The Public Guardian has not responded to requests to honor Margarita’s right to attend her January 29, 2014 hearing, when the Public Guardian will petition for authority to forcibly administer chemical restraint.

The Public Guardian reports to the Board of Supervisors. Readers may send comments to the Board of Supervisors at the following email addresses.

Monterey County Board of Supervisors
District 1: Fernando Armenta, district1@co.monterey.ca.us
District 2: Louis R. Calcagno, district2@co.monterey.ca.us
District 3: Simón Salinas, district3@co.monterey.ca.us
District 4: Jane Parker, district4@co.monterey.ca.us
District 5: Dave Potter, district5@co.monterey.ca.us

Full Article & Source:
Elder abuse: Monterey County Public Guardian denies right to attend hearings

See Also:
Linda Kincaid Reports: Elder Abuse by Monterey County Public Guardian: Home Vacant, Daughter Homeless

CA Conservatorship Ward Margarita Zelada on the Monterey County Public Guardian

NASGA:  Margarita Zelada, California Victim

How bad does a judge have to be to jeopardize the gavel?


Could Judge Thomas H. Kelley's summary charges jeopardize his position on the York County Court of Common Pleas?

"It depends," said Art Heinz, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

"A summary charge still demonstrates a failure to comply with the law," Robert A. Graci, chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board said. "It is something the court could sanction. It could be actionable conduct."

Neither Heinz nor Graci would or could by law comment on Kelley's summary charges and what they mean for him.

Investigations by the Judicial Conduct Board are confidential and only sanctions handed down by the Court of Judicial Discipline are made public.

"There is a strict code of conduct for judges and it governs their behavior on and off the bench," Heinz said.

Canon 2 in the state's Code of Judicial Conduct states that "Judges should respect and comply with the law and should conduct themselves at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary."

"In general terms, they need to act in a manner that should not call into question the integrity of the judiciary," Heinz said. "They need to act in a manner that fosters public confidence in the judiciary."

Full Article & Source:
How bad does a judge have to be to jeopardize the gavel?

Monday, January 27, 2014

Linda Kincaid Reports: Elder Abuse: Monterey County Public Guardian Seeks Order for Chemical Restraint

The Monterey County Public Guardian is seeking authority to forcibly administer antipsychotic (psychotropic) medications to conservatee and elder abuse victim Margarita Zelada.   The FDA has repeatedly warned against administration of psychotropic medications to elderly patients.

Violation of Margarita’s rights is nothing new for the Monterey County Public Guardian. A request for chemical restraint is the latest in a series of violations of rights and denial of due process.
In March 2013, the Monterey County Public Guardian had Margarita forcibly removed from her daughter’s home in Pacific Grove, California. Witnesses reported that ten police officers stormed the house with guns drawn. They pulled Margarita from her bed, rolled her in a sheet, and strapped her to a gurney. A waiting ambulance took Margarita from her daughter’s home, never to be allowed to return.

Since March 2013, the Public Guardian allowed Margarita only three short visits with her daughter. During those visits, Margarita had strong words for her false imprisonment by the Public Guardian.
"The most important thing for any person is their liberty. I want my liberty. I am in prison.
They lie. They lie!
They are thieves and liars."
The Public Guardian responded to Margarita’s comments by terminating visitation with her daughter. The Public Guardian sought and obtained a court order to strip Margarita of her right to meet with elder rights advocates. The Public Guardian has denied Margarita all visitation since November 15, 2013.

The Public Guardian reports to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. Readers may contact the Board at the following email addresses.

Monterey County Board of Supervisors
District 1: Fernando Armenta, district1@co.monterey.ca.us
District 2: Louis R. Calcagno, district2@co.monterey.ca.us
District 3: Simón Salinas, district3@co.monterey.ca.us
District 4: Jane Parker, district4@co.monterey.ca.us
District 5: Dave Potter, district5@co.monterey.ca.us

Full Article and Source:
Elder Abuse :  Monterey County Public Guardian Seeks Order for Chemical Restraint

Prescription for danger: Medication errors inside nursing homes lead to hospitalization, death


 WXYZ) - Roy Rach was supposed to spend just a few days at St. Joseph’s Caretel Inn.

In the winter of 2011, the 81-year-old had gotten out of the hospital after being treated for an abnormal heartbeat.  Doctors prescribed him a few days of rehab.

"He was alert and happy when he went in there," remembers his daughter Karen Rach.

"And how did he leave?" Channel 7's Ross Jones asked.

"He left in a stretcher in a diabetic coma," she responded.

Karen remembers standing over her father’s hospital bed, hoping he’d wake up.  But at Caretel, according to state records, his diabetes had gone untreated.

"We were hoping we’d be able to get a chance to talk to him again," Karen recalls.

Her father died just days after Thanksgiving.  His family says a hospital helped saved his life, but his nursing home ended it.

Full Article & Source:
Prescription for danger: Medication errors inside nursing homes lead to hospitalization, death

Adult abuse registry would protect elderly and disabled, advocates say


At age 18, Crystal Johnston’s autistic son, Daniel often struggled to communicate with her. But after noticing he wasn’t eating or sleeping well, she eventually learned that a staffer at a camp for the disabled had been accused of striking and threatening Daniel.

Adult protective services substantiated the abuse, she said. And though no criminal charges were filed, Johnston presumed that the abuser would at least be prevented from working again with other vulnerable adults.

“I was like, ‘Great, at least he’ll be on a list. People will be found out this guy is trouble.’” she said, recalling the incident from five years ago. “Then I found out there is no list. There’s just a paper that goes in a file that nobody has access to.”

Full Article & Source:
Adult abuse registry would protect elderly and disabled, advocates say

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Tonight on T.S. Radio!

Our guest, Laura Francais-Eugene, will be joining the show at 7:30 CST. Laura has been battling the probate system in Washington D.C. on behalf of her mother and this will be a follow-up interview on the events that have occurred in the interim.

Laura was removed as guardian for her mother for notifying SSA that a judge had awarded those benefits to a conservator contrary to federal law.

Laura has been threatened with lawsuits, found the locks changed on her mothers home to prevent visitors from entering and contrary to DC Code 22-933 Criminal Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult which specifically states NO ISOLATION. On 12/16/2013 a hearing was held.

Judge was stunned that the court appointed attorney and the Guardian Ad Litem both recommended hat Laura be the successor conservator/guardian.

THE JUDGE REFUSED!!!

Tune in to hear the whole story!

5:00 pm PST … 6:00 pm MST7:00 pm CST 8:00 pm EST

LISTEN to the show live or listen to the archive later!

See Also:
Jenny Horace, Washington DC Victim

Brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman taken off ventilator

Courtesy Lynne Machado
FORT WORTH, Texas (CNN) —A wrenching court fight -- about who is alive, who is dead and how the presence of a fetus changes the equation -- came to an end Sunday when a brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman was taken off a ventilator.

The devices that had kept Marlise Munoz's heart and lungs working for two months were switched off about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, her family's attorneys announced.

"May Marlise Munoz finally rest in peace, and her family find the strength to complete what has been an unbearably long and arduous journey," the lawyers, Heather King and Jessica Janicek, said in a written statement.

Full Article & Source:
Brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman taken off ventilator

See Also:
Judge Orders Hospital to Remove Pregnant Woman From Life Support

Judge Orders Hospital to Remove Pregnant Woman From Life Support


Erick Munoz, 
the husband of Marlise Munoz, 
at the Tarrant County courthouse
 in Fort Worth on Friday. 
Larry W. Smith/European 
Pressphoto Agency

FORT WORTH — A Texas judge ruled Friday that a Fort Worth hospital may not keep a brain-dead pregnant woman on life support against her family’s wishes, and ordered doctors to take her off the machines by 5 p.m. on Monday.

The ruling gives the family of the woman, Marlise Muñoz, their first legal victory in a two-month battle over the fate of her body that has raised an emotionally charged national debate over end-of-life care, abortion and a Texas law that prohibits medical officials from withdrawing life support from a pregnant patient. 

The judge, R. H. Wallace Jr. of 96th District Court in Tarrant County, ruled that Ms. Muñoz, 33, who has been on life support at John Peter Smith Hospital since November and is now 22 weeks pregnant, was legally dead, agreeing with the family’s lawyers that the hospital had erred in its decision to keep her on life support. The hospital had said the Texas law addressing life support for pregnant women prevented it from granting the family’s wish, but the judge said the law did not apply to Ms. Muñoz because she is dead.

Judge Wallace set the 5 p.m. Monday deadline, saying he wanted to give the hospital time to file an appeal.

Full Article & Source:
Judge Orders Hospital to Remove Pregnant Woman From Life Support

Judge Walker responds to suspension motion


The saga from the 13th District of Chancery Court continues to unfold, as Chancellor Judge Joe Dale Walker responded to motions from the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance this week.

Walker responded to the commission’s recommendation that he be temporarily suspended from the bench pending investigation into the matter of a conservatorship and the ultimate building of a house for Victoria Denise Newsome of Magee.

Walker’s motion asserts that because the court officer, Keely McNulty, invoked her Fifth Amendment rights and refused to testify at the Show Cause Hearing in the case, she “labeled herself a legal miscreant and, therefore her word was doubtful.”

“Miscreant” is a term for a person who performs criminally or breaks the law. McNulty had been appointed by Judge Walker as Guardian Ad Liteum and Conservator for Victoria Newsome.

Despite the fact that McNulty is at legal odds with Judge Walker, she is still employed with the chancery court and circuit court as a staff attorney and being paid indirectly by Simpson County taxpayers. She draws $48,250 annually from the Office of Administrative Courts, according to documents dated January 7, 2013. She was given a raise to $53,750 on August 15 according to court documents.

 
The recommendation to suspend Judge Walker comes based on two issues: the unofficial conversations between the judge and McNulty and the lack of court orders approving actions of the court, specifically spending funds belonging to Victoria Newsome without court orders.

Full Article & Source:
Judge Walker responds to suspension motion