NCJ Number
92225
Journal
Trial Volume: 19 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1983) Pages: 60-67,97-98
Date Published
1983
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Many recently enacted or revised statutes designed to protect the elderly from abuse or neglect can be potential instruments for removing individual rights, stripping individuals of their autonomy, and for depriving people of their assets.
Abstract
Trial lawyers who are asked to represent elderly persons must have a compassionate understanding of the laws and their implications. Protective devices that are potential sources of abuse include guardianship/conservatorship, involuntary civil commitment, and elder abuse statutes. The appointed attorney for clients facing guardianship proceedings has the obligation of resisting unnecessary confinement or guardianship. This is the only assurance for clients of due process to prevent unwarranted loss of liberty. The attorney must make sure that clients realize they are entitled to counsel of their own choice. Necessary actions the attorney should take in preparing for hearings are explained, and approaches to follow in dealing with expert psychiatric testimony are noted. Actions available to clients who have been wrongfully committed or against whom various protection measures have been wrongfully instituted are outlined. These include malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress, and the prima facie tort. A total of 48 notes are provided.