AL State Bar Rejects Complaint Against Lawyer Richard Horne in Fake Will Case

The Alabama State Bar has determined that there is insufficient evidence to discipline lawyer Richard Horne, whom a local insurance agent had accused of ethical lapses related to a will that a jury determined was a fake.

A one-page letter from the general counsel’s office of the State Bar informed the complainant, David Stroecker, that it was not taking action.

“The Disciplinary Commission has completed its review and consideration of this matter, and has determined that there is insufficient basis for a finding that there has been a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct,” the letter states. “Accordingly, the Disciplinary Commission has dismissed the complaint.”

Stroecker, a Mobile insurance agent whose stepdaughters contested the will, said he was surprised and disappointed by the bar’s decision. He said he plans to appeal and added that State Bar officials told him they would consider an appeal if he had new evidence. He said he plans to present the Alabama Supreme Court ruling upholding the Probate Court judgment.

Full Article and Source:
State Bar Rejects Complaint Against Lawyer Richard Horne in Fake Will Case

See Also:
Allegations of Faked Will, Crumbling Finances, Dog Prominent Lawyer

GA: Bill Allows Judges More Power to Search Criminal Histories

House Bill 850 didn’t make it out of the state Senate before the 2012 legislative session ended.

But that’s OK with Forsyth County Probate Court Judge Lynwood “Woody” Jordan Jr., who helped author the bill, because the language still made it through the legislative process.

“It didn’t make any difference, because what happened was they did a little bit of horse trading there at the end,” Jordan said. “There was another bill, House Bill 257, which was on the floor. And Renee Unterman, a senator from Gwinnett who was handling that bill for me in the Senate, offered an amendment which included my language. That was added and it passed.

“The name of the game is to go ahead and get it through. … It doesn’t really matter how it gets there, just that it does.”

If signed by the governor, Jordan’s portion of the bill would allow judges to request national background checks on individuals seeking to be guardians or conservators.

Currently, probate judges can request a background check. That check, however, covers only criminal history in Georgia.

Full Article and Source:
Bill Allows Judges More Power to Search Criminal Histories

Abolishing Judicial Immunity

I realize that abolishing judicial immunity opens up an entire new “can of worms”, but this must be accomplished.

(I am busy “holding the wolves at bay” in all the various suits, etc. I face as a result of my ill-founded and illegal conservatorship)

When I have more time to consider this topic, I will present to you how we can effectively abolish judicial immunity and control the “tsunami” of law suits that would tend to follow.

Abolishing judicial immunity would have an immediate and definitive impact on judicial conduct, and do more for correcting the now-listing ship of our judiciary than any new form of “COJ” [Court of the Judiciary] could accomplish, though I do believe I’ve offered a substantial proposal of composition for a new governing body that represents Constitutional intent, and we would still need a judicial governing “watch dog” body.

I believe abolishing judicial immunity is consistent with the founding father’s intent [TN Constitution Judicial Election and Selection], and would ultimately stream-line government as well as bring immediate correction, governed by conscience as opposed to rule.

Full Article and Source:
Pauper v Probate: Abolishing Judicial Immunity

Documents Uncovered by Judicial Watch Detail Big Pharma Campaign Access to Democratic Governors During 2012 National Governors Association Meeting

Press Release: Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has uncovered documents detailing private events involving Democratic governors during the February 2012 winter meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA). These events were widely attended by unions, drug companies and other health concerns.

The events included a Pfizer-sponsored evening reception and dinner for members of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) Chairman’s Board, which include donors of $100,000 or more to the organization. The reception provided attendees with personal access to the Democratic governors. A second, private reception held the following night included donors of $250,000 or more to the DGA, as well as members of the chairman’s board. Both events were closed to the press.

The documents, obtained by Judicial Watch pursuant to a March 7, 2012, request submitted to the office of Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin under the Vermont Public Records Law, were received on March 16, 2012. The records show:
•Pharmaceutical companies attending both of the privately held events for major donors to the DGA included Allergan, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Pfizer. Amgen, Lilly, and Merck attended only the first event. Bristol-Myers Squibb attended the second reception open to donors of $250,000 and above.
•Donors attending both receptions from the health care industry included Aflac, Amerigroup, Norvo Nordisk, and the United Health Group. American Health Care Association and eHealth attended only the first event. Blue Cross Blue Shield attended the second reception.
•Union organizations and trade associations attending both receptions included International Council of Shopping Centers, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, National Education Association, and the United Food and Commercial Workers.

Full Press Release and Source:
Documents Uncovered by Judicial Watch Detail Big Pharma Campaign Access to Democratic Governors during 2012 National Governors Association Meeting

OK Insurance Agent Accused of Defrauding Elderly

A former Collinsville, Okla., insurance agent was arrested March 28 in Florida for allegedly exploiting a group of senior citizens in Oklahoma for money.

Marshall Virden, 54, allegedly convinced senior citizens in Broken Arrow, Okla., during an investors’ seminar, to cash in their annuities and invest it in gold. Instead of purchasing gold, Virden allegedly embezzled the victims’ money, according to a Newson6.com report.

Authorities said there could be dozens of victims and many may not yet know they’ve been scammed.

Virden allegedly convinced at least one elderly couple to cash out their annuities and buy more than $20,000 worth of gold before pocketing the cash, according to media reports.

Full Article and Source:
Okla Insurance Agent Found in Fla Accused of Defrauding Elderly

In Major Victory for Adult Protective Services Lawsuit Judge Allows Case to Move Forward

In the case alleging ongoing failures in Adult Protective Services brought by representatives of the elderly and disabled community, Judge Kupersmith ruled that can go forward in part, and rejected the state’s attempt to have the case thrown out. The Judge found that the plaintiffs raised serious concerns about whether Adult Protective Services is meeting the plain requirements of the law. Furthermore, Judge Kupersmith found that concerns about Adult Protective Services’ failure to do its duty to respond to allegations of abuse neglect and exploitation warrant review by the Court.

“This is a major victory for the Plaintiffs and for vulnerable Vermonters that are at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation,” said Barbara Prine, Vermont Legal Aid, lead counsel for the Plaintiffs. “The Court sent a clear message that the allegations in this case deserve judicial scrutiny and that the State should not be allowed to rely on procedural technicalities to deny judicial review of the important issues raised by this lawsuit.”

While the case will move forward, the Judge did dismiss Plaintiffs on a second claim regarding the failure of the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living to fix the problem in May of 2011, through the signed Corrective Action Plan. Although the Department had agreed to the terms of plan, the Court ruled that this was not an enforceable contract.

The Judge also did not allow the Plaintiffs to bring the case solely as citizens of Vermont. Instead, the judge ruled that Plaintiffs Disability Rights Vermont and Community of Vermont Elders will have 30 days to amend their original complaint to describe how the failure of Adult Protective Services impedes their ability to fulfill their organizational mission, and forces them to devote significant resources to identify and counteract APS’s deficiencies.

Full Article and Source:
In Major Victory for Adult Protective Services Lawsuit Judge Allows Case to Move Forward

TN Legislature Enacts New Discipline System for Judges

After years of sometimes heated argument, the House sent to the governor Monday night compromise legislation that puts into place a new system for disciplining judges for misdeeds on the bench.

Final approval came on an 88-5 House vote without any debate. The Senate had approved SB2671 unanimously earlier.

Though the votes came with virtually no discussion, the debate over the past three years has included repeated charges that the present Court of the Judiciary ignored judicial misdeeds and operated in unwarranted secrecy. Former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner was offered by critics of the current system as a prime example of its shortcomings.

Source:
Legislature Enacts New Discipline System for Tenn. Judges

Court Upends 9-Year Fight on Housing Mentally Ill

A federal appeals court, ruling on procedural grounds, struck down on Friday a judge’s order that New York State transfer thousands of mentally ill adults in New York City from institutional group homes into their own homes and apartments. In doing so, the court brought a nine-year legal battle to an abrupt end without resolving the underlying issues of how the state cares for such patients.

Though the lower court judge had ruled the current system violated federal law by warehousing people with mental illness in far more restrictive conditions than necessary, the appellate panel said the nonprofit organization that began the litigation, Disability Advocates, did not have legal standing to sue.

The panel, comprising three judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, acknowledged that its decision essentially reset the long-running battle to its starting point.

“We are not unsympathetic to the concern that our disposition will delay the resolution of this controversy and impose substantial burdens and transaction costs on the parties, their counsel and the courts,” the opinion said.

Cliff Zucker, the executive director of Disability Advocates, who less than two years ago was celebrating the lower court’s order for immediate changes to the system, said he would now seek to reach a settlement with state officials. “We are hopeful that this administration has recognized that this is a problem that needs to be solved and we’ll be able to solve it without recommencing litigation,” he said.

Barring such a deal, it is also possible that the Justice Department, which intervened late in the case on behalf of the plaintiffs, could file a new lawsuit, Mr. Zucker said.

Disability Advocates brought the lawsuit in 2003 after a series of articles in The New York Times described a system in which residents were poorly monitored and barely cared for, left to swelter in the summer and sometimes subjected to needless medical treatment and operations for Medicaid reimbursement.

Full Article and Source:
Court Upends 9-Year Fight on Housing Mentally Ill

KY: Women Ordered to Pay $118K Resitution

Two women from Hardin County paid $118,000 restitution and were sentenced for their roles in financial exploitation of an elderly woman from Clinton County.

Hazel F. Martin, 74, and Iris Hodge, 63, both of Radcliff, were sentenced in Hardin Circuit Court to serve weekends in jail for the next year for their roles in taking money from the accounts of Marie Farmer, who was at the time of the thefts hospitalized or living in a nursing home, according to a news release from the state attorney general’s office.

Martin, who had power of attorney for Farmer, admitted that she had used her position to take more than $100,000 from Farmer’s accounts. She pleaded guilty in August to four counts of knowing exploitation of an adult, over $300.

Hodge admitted she had facilitated the thefts by letting Martin deposit checks drawn on Farmer’s accounts into her own account. She pleaded guilty to one count of receiving stolen property, under $10,000, and four counts of facilitation to exploitation of an adult, over $300.

Farmer died while the case was pending. Martin and Hodge paid full restitution to her family, the attorney general said.

Source:
Hardin County Women Pay $118,000 in Restitution for Exploitation

See Also:
Women Plead Guilty to Exploitation

The Case of Gary Harvey: An Unsolved Mystery

In January of 2006, Gary Harvey, of Horseheads, NY, fell down his basement steps. It was an accident that would forever change his life, the life of …… his wife and even people who then didn’t know him or Sara at the time. He suffered a traumatic brain injury. The world suffered the loss of his presence and the loss of innocence. Soon, trusting people would find themselves faced with the harsh reality they had thought to be mere extremists chatter.

The bubble burst. The fantasies dismantled. It was time to see the realities of how it really works, or can really work. (Some get waivers from the new mindset rules or procedure — many don’t — Gary Harvey was one of the don’ts.)

From what it appears, an attorney that was suppose to represent Sara (and therefore Gary) bailed just before the hearing. One would think this would call for one of those continuances that can be given out and often is. Instead, Sara stood alone before the court and with challengers who were well versed in the way the court and system works. She hadn’t a chance. Gary became a ward and it wasn’t Sara that was to be the guardian.

Long story short…

Six years and bit later, here we are and there Gary is.

Guardianship abuses can even involve the courts and system once setup to protect the vulnerable but that have become too powerful and without true accountability.

Sara has spent hours upon hours trying to find a way to get her husband home, where he would want to be, yet she is treated as the bad guy by the system. This makes sense how?

The system peoples petitioned the court to kill off Gary by starving and dehydrating him to death. With this in mind, they feel what need to protect Gary and from what? What is it that they think Sara could possibly do to her husband that is far worse than starving and dehydrating him to death?

Perhaps none of this is a matter of caring well for Gary or protecting him from potential outside harm. Perhaps, instead, the need for the system people to hold on to Gary is something we should all wonder about and demand an answer to.

Simply put… why can’t he go home to live or die? It doesn’t make sense that he can’t! It simply doesn’t!

Full Article and Source:
The Case of Gary Harvey: An Unsolved Mystery

See Also:
Help Bring Gary Home