Ohio Amish argue against guardian in chemo case

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A court was wrong to appoint a guardian to make medical decisions for an Amish girl whose parents stopped her chemotherapy against doctors’ wishes, and the guardian should be allowed to resign, the family’s attorney said in court filings this week.

The lawyer for Sarah Hershberger’s family argued for a reversal of the appointment in a filing in their state court appeal.

Ohio’s guardianship statutes appear to let courts substitute their judgment for that of suitable parents while ignoring the parents’ ”moral and constitutional interests,” Maurice Thompson wrote in his filing with the Ninth District Court of Appeals in Akron. The court should take a narrower view that limits such second-guessing and is consistent with constitutional safeguards of their rights, he wrote.

To do that, the court must hold “that the decisions of suitable parents may not be attacked by anyone anytime in an Ohio Probate Court, and that these careful and gut-wrenching life and death decisions cannot be second-guessed and overruled where the parents are suitable, and simply seek to try a less invasive treatment first,” wrote Thompson, who leads the libertarian 1851 Center for Constitutional Law in Ohio.

Clair Dickinson, an attorney for guardian Maria Schimer, said Thursday that he will submit a response to Thompson’s filing later, but he declined to reveal what it might say.

Hershberger and her parents fled their Medina County home more than two months ago so she wouldn’t be forced to resume chemotherapy for her leukemia. Instead, they decided to use natural medicines, such as herbs and vitamins.

The Hershbergers shun many facets of modern life and are deeply religious. They have said they stopped chemotherapy not for religious reasons but because it was making Sarah too sick and they feared it could end up killing her.

Full Article and Source:
Ohio Amish argue against guardian in chemo case
Unclear if Amish Girl Resumed Chemo Amid Fight With Hospital, Whereabouts Unknown

Ohio Appeals Court Again Sides With Hospital Seeking to Send Amish Girl Back to Chemotherapy

OH Judge Delays Decision on Guardian's Request to End Effort to Forced Chemo for Amish Girl

Elderly woman found locked in squalor

Investigators say a 93-year-old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s was found locked in a bedroom in squalor by investigators checking out a tip of possible drug activity.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Inv. Trent Wilson said that 61-year-old Ida Elizabeth McNeill, her daughter 33-year-old Meredith Onata McNeill, and 32-year-old Mark Gunby were all arrested late Monday on drug charges after meth and drug related objects were found in the home off North County Line Road in Lithia Springs.
 

The McNeills also face elder abuse charges, as well as three counts of cruelty to children. Gunby faces the same charges, as well. From the conditions described in a bond hearing Thursday, it’s remarkable that the woman was still alive. Wilson said the women claimed that because of the victim’s disease, they locked her in for her own protection.

“As a part of the search of the home and in clearing the scene, investigators located a locked room on the lower level of the house,” Wilson said. “When there were able to gain entry, they found the 93-year-old victim locked inside. The room was locked, with windows boarded up and the only way she could get out was if they let her out.”

 

Wilson said that Ida McNeill indicated that her mother was suffering from Alzheimer’s and that was the way that they had decided to keep her from roaming off. But Wilson said the conditions of the home were some of the worst he has ever seen. There was no restroom inside the room and the signs of neglect were obvious.

 

“She told us that she put the locks up about four to six months ago and judging from what we found, it doesn’t look like there had been much cleanup during that time,” Wilson said. “There were at least 14 cats inside the home and dogs inside along with the child children who were 2, 7, and 9. Judging from what we found ,it appeared that we were dealing with a hoarder.”

 

Wilson said there was trash scattered about the residence and animal feces was also present in multiple locations. Dirty dishes, discarded food, soiled laundry, pet hair and multiple bags of trash filled the living space, Wilson said. Investigators immediately called the Department of Family and Children Services, which took custody of the children, while Adult Protective Services is making sure the elderly victim is being cared for and is assessing her health, Wilson said.

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Elderly woman found locked in squalor

Supreme Court Upholds Ruling in Guardianship Case

A state representative from Stoddard has lost his second appeal to the N.H. Supreme Court to recoup legal fees in a guardianship dispute over his elderly mother.

On Friday, the N.H. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mary Louise Eaton and her guardian, son Michael R. Eaton, in a dispute with Daniel A. Eaton.

Since 2010, Daniel A. Eaton of Stoddard has tried to reclaim $45,000 he said he spent in legal fees trying to become his mother’s guardian. The issue in the current appeal was solely about whether Eaton had authority to act as his mother’s power of attorney.

The high court also ruled against Eaton in the guardianship matter in April 2012. 

He and another brother, Dean J. Eaton of Keene, had each sought guardianship of their ailing mother, who has dementia, in 2010. 

At the time, Daniel Eaton said his mother had asked him to become involved in the guardianship proceedings, telling him she would pay for his legal fees. He maintained he was acting on her wishes. 

However, Eaton’s brothers disagreed, saying that Daniel Eaton was acting in his own interest.

This belief was first upheld by the 8th Circuit Court Probate Division in Keene in 2010.

In 2012, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys sided with Daniel Eaton, arguing that denying the payment of $45,000 created “financial disincentives” for filing guardianship petitions, court documents stated.

According to state law in guardianship cases, “the court costs and fees for the counsel and resource person shall be borne by the proposed ward.”

But a lawyer for Daniel Eaton’s brother Michael maintained that Michael was the guardian, whereas Daniel was a petitioner. As such, he did not have the same rights as a guardian in the case and was not entitled to the money.

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Supreme Court Upholds Ruling in Guardianship Case

Well-known Milwaukee criminal defense attorney suspended again

For the second time in two years, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended Milwaukee lawyer Bridget Boyle, this time for six months, meaning she will have to reapply for her license to practice law, if the court doesn't hit Boyle with yet another suspension before then.

The referee in a  pending discipline matter has recommended an 18 month suspension, a sanction Boyle has argued  would "very well contribute to the demise of her realistic ability to practice law."  The Supreme Court has not set a date for a decision in that ethics case.

In a decision Thursday, the court noted that Boyle's discipline history and the nature of her rules violations demanded the six month suspension and reapplication, overriding the four-month suspension recommended by the Office of Lawyer Regulation and the referee in her professional discipline case.

"It is imperative that to resume the practice of law in Wisconsin, Attorney Boyle must show this court that she has taken steps to avoid similar misconduct in the future," the court wrote.

In May 2012, the court suspended Boyle for 60 days and ordered she pay about $5,000 in restitution and $11,000 in costs.  The suspension followed a February order from the 7the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that banished her from practicing in the federal courts in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.

Thursday's Supreme Court order cited many of the same types of violations that led to Boyle's 2012 suspension -- lack of communication with clients, including about fees; charging an unreasonable fee; and failing to reimburse unearned portions of fees.

The court ordered Boyle to repay a former client in the current disciplinary case $2,500.

The case involved ten counts involving two client matters  from 2007 to 2010. In one, Boyle took on a criminal appeal in federal court for $20,000 without detailing what efforts she expected to make in  the case. The client later complained that Boyle did not do much of anything on his case, and refused to answer dozens of letters and calls from prison.

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Well-known Milwaukee criminal defense attorney suspended again

Two Houston Sisters Expose Guardianship Abuse and Neglect

Two Houston Sisters join Candy to expose severe neglect and abuse of the guardianship system by Silverado Care Facility in Kingwood, Texas and the guardians appointed to the case.

This will be an eye opening expose of 1,000,000 reasons why you do not want to ever agree to a public guardianship for your loved one.

Join us as we delve into the rule, rather than the exception--abuse, neglect and exploitation.

LISTEN to the archive of the show

AND
  

Join Sherry & Candice as we host Sharon from Garland, Texas to tell a story of abuse and neglect by Harris County Court Appointed Guardians that will leave your speechless. The story unravels in Texas.

LISTEN to the archive of the show

See Also:
NASGA - Willie Jo Mills, Texas Victim

Distraught Autistic Woman (Ward) Speaks Out

"She's a nuisance. She complains about her guardian abusing her. True, various professionals witnessed the abuse...they even documented it.  She set about restricting the last shred of the woman's few remaining freedoms, even diverting authority over medical decisions from the woman's dedicated physician to herself...demanding that any medical decisions go through HER (a social worker) before making any decisions about the woman's treatment, and demanding that the woman herself-the patient- have NO input into her own care. She became obsessed with abusing the tremendous power she had been granted over the vulnerable woman's life...over her every move. She was actively and intentionally tormenting the Autistic woman.

She even went so far as to kill the Autistic woman's dog - a sweet, loving, 3 year old Sheltie named Ben with no prior history of any health problems."

Source:
CRAZY PSYCHO AUTISTIC WOMAN WHINES ABOUT ABUSE

Remembering the Wrongfully Isolated on This Holiday

As we do on every Christmas, we light a candle for those of our loved ones who have been wrongfully separated from us through guardianship and/or conservatorship abuse. NASGA remains firm is its resolve to make the growing barbaric practice of guardians isolating elderly or disabled persons from family, friends, clergy, and/or advocates (without court order) recognized and punished as the crime it is. 

 We so deeply appreciate your support and your efforts on behalf of the many victims of guardianship abuse and their families who have been attacked and suffer deeply from the nightmare of guardianship abuse.

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

This video was made in the UK -- but it's just as relevent for all nations!

Source:
YouTube:  Happy Christmas and Merry New Year

The Forgotten Ones: Compassion for the Elderly

The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt. ~ Frederick Buechner

*Please make the call and volunteer to visit the lonely and forgotten elderly. They need our love so desperately.

 

Source:
Facebook - The Forgotten Ones - Compassion for the Elderly