Lawless America: Mary Claire Connors

NOTE: The “NASGA.org” link mentioned in the video is incorrect. The correct link to “NASGA” is as shown above: http://www.StopGuardianAbuse.org.

Source:
Lawless America: Mary Claire Connors
See Also
NASGA: Grace Connors, Pennsylvania Victim

PA Judges Could Face Discipline in Traffic Court Probe

As many as 10 current or former Philadelphia judges, including state Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery, could face state disciplinary proceedings following an investigative report on Philadelphia Traffic Court.

The list includes three sitting Traffic Court judges; five who no longer hear cases or have been suspended from the Traffic Court bench; one Municipal Court judge, Joseph J. O’Neill Sr., who successfully appealed a red-light ticket; and McCaffery, whose contact with the Traffic Court’s director of operations about a ticket for his wife was questioned.

“Judges alleged to have engaged in unethical or inappropriate conduct have been referred to the Supreme Court and the Judicial Conduct Board,” consultant William G. Chadwick wrote in the conclusion of his 35-page report. The report, set up by Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, was submitted last week to Gary S. Glazer, the Common Pleas Court judge now in charge of Traffic Court operations.

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Pennsylvania Judges Could Face Discipline in Traffic Court Probe

Elderly Couple Removed From Longtime Home; Family, Friend Dispute Office of Aging Findings

In May 1964, Nels and Irene Highberg bought their first and only home. It was a modest, brick rancher — no garage — on a pleasant cul-de-sac on the edge of East Petersburg.

The Highbergs raised two sons there. They entertained neighbors there. They grew old there.

After 48 years at 6312 Miriam Circle, the Highbergs — Nels is 92, Irene is 89 — figured they could manage a while longer. Family and friends agreed.

But the county Office of Aging stepped in last summer, saying for safety reasons the Highbergs must move to a nursing home.

“I ain’t going to go,” Highberg said, according to Erick Highberg, the couple’s 54-year-old son.

When a van arrived Aug. 2 to take the couple to Oak Leaf Manor in Millersville, Highberg sat in a chair in the driveway for many long minutes. He got in the van only after a police officer showed up.

“He respected her uniform,” said Erick Highberg, noting his father’s more than 20 years of service in the Navy and Coast Guard.

Mrs. Highberg said in a phone interview she got in the van to see what the nursing home was like. “I didn’t understand we would be locked up here,” she said. “They brought us in here, and they kind of disappeared real quick.”

Now, after more than three months at Oak Leaf Manor, Mrs. Highberg still wants to return home.

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Elderly Couple Removed From Longtime Home; Family, Friend Dispute Office of Aging Findings

Pennsylvania Judges Claim Mandatory Retirement Violates Equal Protection Clause

Six Pennsylvania judges filed a lawsuit today in Harrisburg claiming that a provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which mandates all Pennsylvania justices and judges retire at the end of the calendar year in which they turn 70, violates their rights under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and under Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

The lawsuit, filed by Robert C. Heim of Dechert LLP in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on behalf of Judge John Driscoll, Judge John W. Herron, Senior Judge Benjamin Lerner, Judge Sandra Mazer Moss, Judge Joseph D. O’Keefe and Judge Leonard N. Zito, names as defendants Governor Thomas W. Corbett Jr., Secretary of Pennsylvania Carol T. Aichele, Treasurer of Pennsylvania Robert M. McCord and Court Administrator Zygmont A. Pines.

“Some of our finest and most experienced legal minds are being denied unfairly the opportunity to serve the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, solely because of their age,” said Heim, who is serving as pro bono counsel for the judges. “In today’s world, there is no good reason to think that judges who are 70 are not equally competent as judges who are younger.”

Full Article and Source:
Pennsylvania Judges Claim Mandatory Retirement Violates Equal Protection Clause
See Also:
Judges Say 70 Isn’t Too Old for the Bench

GAO: National Strategy Needed to Effectively Combat Elder Financial Exploitation

Why GAO Did This Study

Elder financial exploitation is the illegal or improper use of an older adult’s funds or property. It has been described as an epidemic with society-wide repercussions. While combating elder financial exploitation is largely the responsibility of state and local social service, criminal justice, and consumer protection agencies, the federal government has a role to play in this area as well. GAO was asked to review issues related to elder financial exploitation. This report describes the challenges states face in (1) preventing and (2) responding to elder financial exploitation, as well as the actions some federal agencies have taken to help states address these challenges.

To obtain this information, GAO interviewed state and local social service, criminal justice, and consumer protection officials in California, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania—states with large elderly populations; officials in seven federal agencies; and various elder abuse experts. GAO also analyzed federal strategic plans and other documents and reviewed relevant research, federal laws and regulations, and state laws.

Source:
U.S. GAO – Elder Justice: National Strategy Needed to Effectively Combat Elderly Financial Exploitation

READ the GAO Report

Ciavarella Seeking New Trial in "Kids-for-Cash" Scandal

Layers of judicial reflection stacked like Descartes’ wax on the bench of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Wednesday.

The court was faced with an odd situation, Judge Marjorie O. Rendell noted, saying it’s “judges judging judges who are judging judges.”

Former Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. is arguing that his convictions related to the bribes he took to place youthful offenders in a privately-owned juvenile detention center in the “kids-for-cash” scandal should be set aside because U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, who presided over his trial, had shown bias against him.

Ciavarella focused primarily on Kosik’s responses to letters from citizens expressing outrage at the allegations and a newspaper article that attributed derisive quotes about Ciavarella’s alleged conduct to Kosik. Kosik denied talking to the reporter, according to court papers.

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Ciavarella Seeks New Trial in “Kids-for-Cash” Scandal

Months After Death, Sherman Hemsley Still Not Buried

Sherman Hemsley died on July 24 from lung cancer, but the late television star has still not been buried due to a legal battle over his estate and his final resting place.

Hemsley, best known for his 11 seasons on the CBS sitcom “The Jeffersons,” left behind an estate of approximately $50,000. He was not married and had no children. According to Fox News, Hemsley left his estate to Flora Enchinton Bernal, his “self-proclaimed business partner and live-in best friend.” There is a will attesting to this. However, a man named Richard Thornton came forward after Hemsley’s death, claiming to be his brother. Thornton filed a civil lawsuit calling into question the will.

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Months After Death, Sherman Hemsley Not Buried

Partisan Judicial Elections and the Distorting Influence of Campaign Cash

Today the Center for American Progress released “Partisan Judicial Elections and the Distorting Influence of Campaign Cash,” showing that the eight states that still elect or nominate judicial candidates in partisan races—Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, Ohio, and Michigan—all rank among the top 10 in total judicial campaign contributions. As the amount of money has increased, these states have seen more divisiveness and partisanship reflected in the justices’ votes. The problem could be spreading, as state parties are now intervening at an unprecedented level in judicial races in two states—Montana and Florida—that have nonpartisan elections.

“As voters across the country go to the polls and are asked to vote for judges just like any other political candidate for president or the legislature, you have to stop and think about how it’s possible that judges can be impartial and fair to everyone if they are elected in partisan elections and funded by special interests,” said Andrew Blotky, Director of CAP’s Legal Progress Program.

Source:

Partisan Judicial Elections and the Distorting Influence of Campaign Cash

Download the report

Chester County Man Found Guilty of Bilking Elderly Parents of $500,000

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) — A Chester County jury has convicted a man on 80 counts of theft and fraud — against his own parents and other family members.

The Davis family had a successful heating oil business.

When parents Boyd and Nelda took ill years ago, their son, Boyd Jr., was granted power of attorney and, through various means, skimmed more than half a million dollars from their bank accounts.

“This is money that he probably would have gotten anyway, when his parents died,” notes Chester County DA Tom Hogan. “It became clear to us that his parents just weren’t dying fast enough for him.”

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Chester County Man Found Guilty of Bilking Elderly Parents of $500,000

Allentown judge will make plea to get her job back

She was removed from bench last year following misconduct trial.

Maryesther Merlo, the Allentown district judge kicked off the bench for misconduct last year, will make a last-ditch plea for her job and pension Tuesday before the state Supreme Court.

Merlo, 52, was the subject of four years’ worth of complaints about erratic behavior, absences and disrespect for lawyers and litigants in her district court in west Allentown before she was charged in the state Court of Judicial Discipline in 2010.

After a three-day trial last spring, the court found Merlo had brought her office into disrepute by violating the state Constitution and the code of conduct for judges. In October, a three-judge panel determined Merlo should be removed from the bench and forbidden from ever holding judicial office again.

Now, Merlo and her attorney, Samuel C. Stretton of Chester County, hope to convince six justices on the Supreme Court that removal from office, a sanction handed down to Pennsylvania district judges only five other times in the last decade, is too severe.

If the Supreme Court upholds the disciplinary court’s decision, Merlo would lose her state pension. A spokeswoman said the State Employees Retirement System has not determined what Merlo’s monthly pension payment would be because she has not applied to receive it.

In a 70-page brief, Stretton explains that although Merlo took responsibility for her behavior and took steps to correct it, the judges who voted to remove her from office ignored evidence that explained her actions.

During her three day trial, attorneys from the state board in charge of judicial discipline called 22 witnesses, including former Lehigh County President Judge William H. Platt and Court Administrator Gordon Roberts, who testified their efforts to address her work habits fell on deaf ears.

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Allentown judge will make plea to get her job back