Grandparents and Guardianship

4-year-old Leah Ashley Johnson's father, Eric Johnson, died Oct. 31 in a car crash near Wyndmere, N.D. Her mother, Heather Johnson, died in a car crash in Rhode Island in November 2005.

At the time of her mother’s death, Leah Johnson’s parents were in the process of getting a divorce.

Now, the little girl is caught in the middle of another family rift.

On the day of her father’s funeral, Leah Johnson’s maternal grandmother, Dale Campbell arrived at the funeral home with a lawyer and court papers.

The papers granted Campbell temporary guardianship of Leah.

Campbell filed papers in Cass County District Court on Nov. 6 seeking temporary guardianship of Leah pending a hearing to determine permanent guardianship.

The papers included a copy of Heather Johnson’s will, which stated that if anything happened to her she wanted her mother to care for Leah.

According to court papers, Eric Johnson did not have a will.

Campbell's attorney, Jason Loos: "the case is an example of why it’s a good idea for parents to have a will that spells out their wishes for child guardianship."

Eric Johnson's mother, Alice Mayer: "You lose your son, but to tell you the truth, losing Leah the way this lady did it is way harder. We raised Leah since the time she was 16 months old."

Full Article and Source:
Grandparents at odds over custody of 4-year-old orphan

Topic: Special Needs Planning

An informational program for students with developmental disabilities, educators, school district administrators, case managers, parents, professionals and other interested parties on the topic of special-needs planning will be from 7-9 p.m. Jan. 15 at Mount Saint Mary College in Hudson Hall Room 102, 330 Powell Ave., Newburgh.

It is free and open to the public.

The guest speaker is attorney Adrienne Arkontaky. Her presentation will focus on special-needs planning, including trusts and guardianship.

Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions afterward.

RSVP to Linnette Boykins at 565-1162, ext. 240, by Jan. 13.

Full Article and Source:
Program to discuss trusts for special-needs families

Famous Producer Sues Lawyer

Producer Jon Peters has sued his former lawyer of "fraudulent, deceitful and criminal acts." The "Rain Man" filmmaker claims Ronald Grigg also stole from him.

As per the lawsuit Peters filed, he hired Grigg in 2006 at a salary of $225,000 a year, at the same time he became seriously ill and was under heavy medication and "vulnerable."

Around that time, the lawyer then went on to appoint himself president of his production company and hired a $60,000-a-year assistant from Peters' own money, doing unrelated legal work for Grigg.

The producer also claims that Grigg stole his computers, which contained confidential information about his film business, and that he was exposed to a lot of "fabricated legal actions that arose from a conspiracy of disgruntled individuals".

Full Article and Source:
Producer Jon Peters Sues Former Lawyer Of Theft And Fraud

See also:
Famous Producer Alleges Fraud, Theft, Date Rape

New Code for Judges

The new year will bring a new code of ethical conduct for Montana judges, mandated by the Montana Supreme Court and updating judicial conduct rules that hadn't been revised for 45 years.

The Code of Judicial Conduct takes effect Jan. 1.

Justice Karla Gray: "while the old canons were couched as permissive guidelines, the new code is a set of specific, enforceable rules. It will give the Judicial Standards Commission much better tools to work with when they receive complaints about judicial misconduct."

Full Article and Source:
Court adopts new code for judges

Doctor-Assisted Suicide

A state district judge has ruled Montana residents have the right to doctor-assisted suicide.

The ruling was issued Judge Dorothy McCarter and makes Montana the third state in which doctor-assisted suicide is legal.

McCarter: "Treating physicians are frequently called upon to determine the competency of their patients for the purposes of guardianship and other legal proceedings. Whether a patient is terminally ill can also be determined by the physician as an integral component of the physician-patient relationship."

Attorney General Mike McGrath said that attorneys in his office will meet to discuss the ruling and expects the state will appeal the ruling. The attorney general's office argued that intentionally taking a life is illegal, and that the issue of assisted suicide falls under the responsibility of the Legislature, not the court.

Oregon passed its Death with Dignity Act in 1997 and Washington voters approved a similar law.

Full Article and Source:
Montana judge rules in favor of assisted suicide

See also:
Montana judge: Man has right to assisted suicide

Montana Becomes Third State to Allow Doctor-Assisted Suicide

Montana Judge Appears to Ignore State Law, Authorizes Assisted Suicide

Americans United For Life Denounces Montana Court's Assisted Suicide Decision, Urges Appeal

Trial Lawyers: Study is Malarkey

The West Virginia Association for Justice president says the "Judicial Hellholes" study is propaganda supported by nothing.

The group, formerly known as the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, was founded about 50 years ago to educate members about legal issues statewide and to provide Continuing Legal Education credits.

Allan Karlin, president of the association: "The study is a bunch of malarkey. The truth is, what it says is not true nor supported by any methodology. It's propaganda to spread a particular point of view."

This is the seventh straight year of the national "Judicial Hellholes" study and the seventh straight year the group has branded West Virginia's legal climate as such. West Virginia has the distinction of being the only full state to receive the designation. Otherwise, the report cites regions or counties within states.

As other regions moved off the list, West Virginia has moved up.

Full Article and Source:
Trial Lawyers: 'Hellholes' Report Unreliable

More information:
For the second time in three years, West Virginia has been singled out as the nation's most unfair legal environment by the American Tort Reform Foundation.
W.Va. again the biggest judicial hellhole, tort reform group says

See also:
Judicial Hellholes

2008 Top Stories

Readers pick top stories - Captive teen in Tracy is number four.

A thin, barely clothed and dirty teenager with a shackle around his ankle rushes into a gym in Tracy seeking asylum from what he says is an abusive home.

Tracy Police Department said its investigation reveals a pattern of abuse heaped upon the teen by a woman who is his guardian, the couple in whose home they are living, and a neighbor.

Full Article and Source:
Record readers pick 2008's top stories: Captive teen in tracy is No. 4

See also:
Fourth Suspect Arrested in Torture Case

Arrests in Torture Case

Act One Under Fire

Just days before it's scheduled to take effect, the ACLU files a lawsuit to strike down initiated Act One. That act would ban unmarried couples who live together from adopting or fostering children.

The ACLU says it doesn't matter if you're single, married, gay, straight or co-habiting, every prospective foster or adoptive parent should be screened on a case by case basis.

But supporters of Act One say the people have already spoken and they're confident the ban will stay on the books.

The ACLU explained they currently have 29 plaintiffs in the suit, and more may follow.

The Family Council Action Committee, the group behind the ban, doesn't think this lawsuit will amount to much.

Full Article and Source:
ACLU Taking Act One to Court

More information:
ACLU files suit over Ark. adoption law

ACLU of Arkansas sues over adoption restrictions

ACLU Asks Court To Strike Down Arkansas Parenting Ban

See also:
Banning Unmarried Couples

Caregiver Stole Thousands

Ronald Polk was charged with burglary, financial exploitation of an elderly person, financial exploitation of a disabled person and 11 counts of forgery.

Polk is accused of stealing 11 blank checks, at a time when he was a caregiver for his neighbor. Polk allegedly wrote the checks to himself and cashed them.

Full Article and Source:
Elgin man accused of forging checks from elderly neighbor

See also:
Cops: Elgin man stole thousands from disabled neighbor