Article Launched: 02/24/2008
While two local Republican lawmakers just introduced two pieces of reasonable legislation this year, the chances of getting the bills past Democrat-controlled committees are slim. Such is the twisted partisan system we've inherited in the state capital which benefits parties more than people.
But regardless of the bills' potential for success, both SB 1259 by Sen. Bob Margett and AB 1999 by Assemblyman Anthony Adams create new tools for combatting a growing societal problem - elder abuse. At the very least, the bills warrant a wide discussion from law enforcement and retirees, if not serious consideration from our representatives in Sacramento from all parties.
When an elderly and mentally impaired San Mateo man's friend began to receive what the friend described as cash "gifts" totaling about $700,000 drawn from the elderly man's bank account, relatives cried foul and police launched and investigation. Ronald Leon Brock was found guilty in 2004 of theft against an elder, but that conviction was overturned in late 2006 when an appellate court judge ruled the district attorney's use of the term "undue influence" was unconstitutional in criminal cases (it is reserved for civil cases). Now, the California District Attorney's Association have teamed up with Margett, the veteran Republican out of Glendora, to make "theft by undue influence of an elder" a criminal offense.
Margett's approach could put the brakes on financial elder abuse, which takes the forms of scams as well as thefts from caretakers, friends or relatives. An expert on such crimes from the San Diego County District Attorney's Office calls elder abuse "the crime of the 21st Century," victimizing more than 2million elderly every year in the United States.
With the elderly a growing segment of the population, they are more likely to become victims of crimes. Losing one's life savings is a devastating loss for anyone, but one that could leave the elderly citizen with no shelter or health services when he or she needs it most and no way to recoup the money. We support giving district attorneys more tools to fight this crime and apply this difficult test to cases that merit it. Under SB 1259, the crime is a misdemeanor but could be raised to a felony, depending on the circumstances. It wisely leaves that decision up to the judgment of each prosecuting attorney.
Adams' AB 1999 would ensure that a gift from an elderly resident of a nursing home is on the up and up. It would require an ombudsman to oversee any cash or in-kind gift from a long-term care facility resident to a caretaker or CEO of that facility who may have a conflict of interest.
Again, the intent is to protect the assets of the elderly. This is a worthy bill that like Margett's, most definitely fits under the state's existing "elder abuse law," which exists to protect a growing segment of the state's population from becoming victims of crimes.
SOURCE: pasedenastarnews
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Many elder abuse cases are not prosecuted as they are still considered "civil matters". Some may even consider the abuse cases as "family dynamics". Come on! My experience with the Frank Punito case - It would have been easier to report a "cruelty to animal" case and get result, than to report an insidious elder abuse case by adult children.
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