Sunday, June 21, 2015

Dealing with the disabled and the elderly is problem in our society


Dealing with the disabled and the elderly is problem in our society.   A suspected Ebola patient can summarily be incarcerated, isolated and deprived of his/her rights at the drop of a hat.   An autistic individual who has lapses of self control *****.    The list is endless.   We expect the wisdom of Solomon from our citizens and particularly those in authority - and predictably we do not get it.    I personally have no answers and I also judge by the clear light of hindsight.   However, there are two distinctions that have to be made:

1) when a mistake is made it must be corrected immediately and the remedy administered fairly and humanly. and 
2) the element of exploitation has to be addressed and dealt with.

This latter situation is my issue.   

What has me very upset is the fact that we have developed a cottage industry here in Illinois and apparently in Texas, California, Ohio, Penna, etc wherein corrupt political and judicial officials have found a way to profit from the disabilities of fellow citizens.   This nefarious situation is what I call elder cleansing and what Dr. Sugar has been referring to as guardianship for profit.   This insidious corruption is unfortunately aided and abetted by lawyer disciplinary commissions such as the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.    Even more nefarious is the fact that the Supreme Court of the State rubber stamps the criminal action of the lawyer disciplinary Commission.    Thus, the Constitutional protections of both the concerned citizens and the victims are trampled upon.

If only the hypocrisy ended there!     

We have laws on the books to address this very situation.   Those laws are inconvenient as they expose some of the most powerful and clout heavy political and judicial figures as common criminals of the most despicable kind - i.e. those who prey on the elderly and the disabled.

Illinois has a bunch of cases that stand out.   Sykes is a textbook laboratory of corruption.   Not only was there never any jurisdiction but Mary was not incompetent.    The appointment of two guardian ad litem was a clear tip off.  AND the vigor of the thieves in first entering Mary's safety deposit box and not inventoring a single gold coin - (total valued at over a million dollars) and then the hammering of Gloria Sykes.    Few miscreants would have had the temerity to openly and notoriously isolate, abuse, and exploit a senior citizen as the Sykes miscreants did!    Jerome Larkin created the ridiculous spectacle of prosecuting both JoAnne and me for demanding an HONEST INVESTIGATION!  In doing so he exposed his own culpability and the amorality of himself, the attorneys who he employed, and others.   It was a repeat of the history of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia!

In my opinion this terrible case and the thousands just like it are deplorable examples of what should never happen, but happens because of our inability to own up honestly to our prejudice inhumanity and vulnerability.    

I can understand and even rationalize some of these scenarios; however, the actions of the 'guardians for profit' 'elder cleansers' and those who affirmatively aid and abet them - such as Larkin, Black, Smart and their ilk  I cannot have sympathy or even an understanding.    

NB.  Please do not get me wrong - I do not condone the negligent act or biased act toward the elderly (or any other group of people).   The hater should be punished.   The for profit bigot such as the guardian for profit has no redeeming social value).

     
 

 

Palo Alto police alleged to have kidnapped autistic daughter 12 years ago

The city of Palo Alto will go to trial next month over a lawsuit filed by a couple who says a police detective abused her power and wrongfully took their autistic daughter away from them 12 years ago. But the Palo Alto city attorney’s office contends that the police officer was just doing her job.
The daughter, now 42, now lives in the San Andreas regional center in Campbell, a state run home for the developmentally disabled. The police officer accused, Detective Lori Kratzer, no longer works for Palo Alto police, but the city is still on the hook in the lawsuit.
The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 3 in San Mateo County Superior Court, according to the couple’s Lawyer, David Beauvais.  Thecity council is scheduled to discuss the lawsuit, which stems from a November 2001 incident, in closed session on Monday.
In November 2001, Jeffrey and Elsie Golan lived in a trailer at 809 San Antonio Road in Palo Alto with their epileptic, developmentally disabled, autistic daughter Nancy, who was 31. They were starting businesses at the rented office space.
‘Happy, simple, gregarious’
Nancy spoke a few words, but could dress, feed herself and go to the bathroom on her own. “She was generally a very happy, simple, gregarious, lovable, charming, outgoing person… capable of feeling and experiencing all normal emotions.” according to the lawsuit.
Nancy was well cared for, according to the suit.  Her parents watched her around the clock, took her on long walks and try to get her out to interact with other people whenever possible.
“Nancy always came first,” the Golins’ lawsuit stated.
On Nov. 15, 2001, Nancy Golin woke up from taking a nap in the family’s van and wandered away while her mother was in the bathroom.  It wasn’t the first time she had walked away without warning, in fact it happened dozens of times before, by all accounts. The Golins called police, who searched all night with dogs but didn’t find her.
Police declare home a crime scene
In the morning, police, taking direction from Kratzer, swarmed the couples abode. There were as many as 20 police officers and 10 patrol cars there, according to the Golins lawsuit. Police photographed the van, looked for the Golins daughter in a nearby dumpster and took photos of the van, which they referred to as a “crime scene,” according to the Golins lawsuit.
Police also investigated the couple, but didn’t read them their Miranda rights or formally arrest them, the Golins’ Lawsuit said.
Kratzer told the couple that police needed to take Nancy to Stanford hospital for a checkup, according to the lawsuit. The couple claims that the detective never indicated that she was taking Nancy away because she suspected they weren’t caring for her.
After being brought to Stanford for a mental evaluation, she was put in the psychiatric ward. A year later, she would be placed in a residential care facility. She would never live with their parents again.
Nancy’s living conditions at issue
Accounts by the Golins’ and the city about the families living conditions differ. Kratzer’s report paints a bleak picture of Nancy Golins living space as a portion of a dark office with a small heater, stacks of boxes and a portable toilet.
Kratzer also said that the van Nancy slept in reeked of urine and after she returned home she had soiled clothes, oily hair, body odor and seemed like she hadn’t bathed in a long time, according to the Palo Alto’s response to the lawsuit.
Kratzer also questioned whether the Golins were mentally stable. Police records showed that the Golins had been involved in three domestic violence calls, while Jeff had been arrested nine times and Elsie had been arrested three times, according to the city’s response to the lawsuit. The lawsuit did not say what they had been arrested for.
But the Golins insisted that they took care of Nancy and organized their lives around her. “Elsie was living in her motor home with Nancy…Nancy’s family was not homeless or poor and Nancy was not neglected or endangered,” the couples lawsuit states.
In January 2002, Nancy Golin was taken away from her parents by the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office and transferred to a residential care facility. Her parents could visit, but weren’t allowed to take her home according to Palo Alto.
Couple arrested
The Golins were arrested and charged by the DA with felony dependent adult abuse. Jeff Golin pleaded no contest, but the record was later expunged after he served six months of probation. The charges against Elsie Golin were dismissed entirely in December 2002, according to Palo Alto’s response.
The city contends in it’s answer to the lawsuit that Detective Kratzer was justified in taking Nancy away to have her evaluated because she kept wandering off and it seemed like it wasn’t a safe situation for her.
“The undisputed fact that a severely developmentally disabled person had been out all night, could not tell her parents or police what happened, could not relate her physical condition, and could not care for herself, necessitated a 5150 hold,” Palo Alto’s response said. A “5150 “hold refers to the authority of police to take a person against their will to a hospital for a 72 hour mental evaluation.
Palo Alto attorneys are also arguing that because Kratzer believed that she was following the law and had probable cause to arrest and take Nancy to Stanford for an evaluation, she can’t be found guilty of wrongdoing.
Nancy, now 42, is still living at the San Andreas Regional Care Center in Cupertino where she receives medical care, but her parents still want her back, according to Beauvais. He said that they are hoping to win the lawsuit and use it as evidence in a new case in Santa Clara County to get her back.
Other defendants
According to Palo Alto, Stanford is named in the lawsuit. Among other things, the Golins accused Stanford for generating misinformation about Nancy’s condition and not giving her the correct treatment when they took her there for treatment before the 2001 incident.
Santa Clara County is also accused of violating Nancy’s rights, in part for its role in putting a “conservator” in charge of Nancy who they believe allowed her to be kept in bad conditions at a home after she was taken away from them.
It also names Jamie Buckmaster, a program manager for the counties Adult Protective Services Department and Malorie M. Street, a Santa Clara County Public Defender.
The lawsuit also names Georgianna Lamb and Lisa Wendt, both of whom worked as Nancy’s conservator, and Andreas Regional Care Center.
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