The case of John Phillips aged 82

John Phillips is a retired New York judge who is now 82 years young. During his life as a judge, Mr. Phillips managed to amass a fortune in property. Now he is being confined in a nursing home because someone had him taken before the court and had him declared incompetent as far as looking after himself was concerned.

This declaration of incompetence has meant that John has been forced into a nursing home, whilst the court appointed guardian has had the opportunity to get hold of the property owned by Mr. Phillips.

This is yet another classic case of guardianship abuse. This story highlights the comments that I made concerning the State of Florida, especially Pinellas County where such abuses are rife, and where guardians have been forcing the elderly into a similar situation under the Baker Act, that is administered by a woman who has connections to none other the the same hospice where Terri Schiavo was forced to die. The difference in this story is that this case is in New York State.

Court appointed guardians owe their wards a duty of care, especially when it comes to the protection of property. If this story was to conclude in the same way as the stories in Florida and Michigan, then the asset stripping guardian has only one purpose in mind - rob Mr. Phillips of his estate, and when the money is gone, starve him to death.

These cases highlight the lack of justice that exists in the civil justice system. It seems that greed is constantly the winner in these cases. I cannot understand how the "professional" guardians are managing to gain precedence over members of the family of the victim who is being stricken with such abuse. The family members of Judge Phillips are attempting to come to his aid and they have scheduled a court appearance to challenge the guardian. If this case goes according to script, then the judge will deny the family their right to make the challenge.

For an elderly person such as John Phillips, the declaration of incompetence is almost like a death sentence. In this particular case, it seems that the judge who allowed this to happen and declared this man incompetent to look after himself, has taken the unnecessary step of having this man confined to the nursing home, complete with tracking wrist-band.

To put a tracking wrist-band on a resident of a nursing home is in my view something that could cause the person to go into deep depression. It is an extremely cruel method of control, especially when the person is definitely competent to speak up for himself. One could see the use of a tracking device to be useful for someone with Alzheimer's Disease, but from what I have read about this man, so far, I cannot see the evidence of Alzheimer's Disease that would require that he was to be confined in the nursing home as though he were a criminal.


No matter where these cases appear, there is a lack of justice and once again it illustrates exactly how rotten and decayed the justice system in the USA has become when there is more that can be done for criminals than innocent people who are being forced to be placed into nursing homes, and then watch as the guardian strips them, not just of their dignity but also their wealth. It is time to speak up against this form of injustice.