KEEPING JAMES BROWN’S DRUMMER OUT OF JAIL. ONE TIME Y’All

By Attorney David Engler

Michael Georgiadis was a brand new puppy lawyer in Trumbull County back in the early 80’s. Like most new lawyers he cut his teeth on getting court appointments.  Every person has a right to lawyer and one will be appointed to them if they cannot afford to pay a lawyer.  It is a constitutional right.

Attorney Georgiadis who has now been practicing for 30 years told me the story of his early brush with celebrity criminal law. Judge Bernard sat on the Girard Municipal Bench and it was clearly his court.  No one dared challenge him for the position or his son who followed in his footsteps.  Some people were born to be Judges precisely because they never judged anyone until they had heard the facts, considered the law and then most importantly applied their well-earned common sense.  If you asked prosecutor and defense attorney alike who their favorite Judge would be; the Bernard father and son will always be at the top.

Attorney Georgiadis, skinny as a rail, meets his new client.  The Defendant, a black man in his late 50’s is accused of stealing from a K-Mart some merchandise that could be easily converted into cash.  He got caught red-handed. Mr. Jones had been down on his luck, he told his new court appointed attorney in court that morning. He  needed some cash to catch a bus back to Detroit or maybe it was for a fifth.  Detroit where was he had made his way to standing almost in the ray of fame of his band leader, the one and only Godfather of Soul,  Mr. James Brown.  Jones was the Godfather’s  drummer.  Of course Jones did not carry a certificate with him to prove his claim and the young lawyer had no way of knowing if this were true, but Jones had a quality of celebrity to him even if his clothes were ten years too old and alcohol and drug use had etched his face into that of a much older man.

The Great Judge Bernard presided in a court the sat on the second floor of Girard City Hall. It was cramped and normally hot at all times the year. It had a fake wood panelling that made you think you were in someone’s rec room.  The prosecutor’s office looked like a closet and was a place where justice needed to be dealt quicker than 5 card stud because everyone had someplace else they needed to be.

The case of State v. Jones is called and up comes Attorney Georgaidis and his maybe one time famous client, Jones. “What do you want to do Counselor?” asked the Judge. After a few stumbles about burden of proof and whether Jones actually made it out of the store with the goods…Georgiadis says to the Court, “Well really your honor my client simply wants to get back to Detroit and try to resume his career where he was the drummer for James Brown.  “Really”, says the Judge. “Is that true Mr. Jones?”  At that little encouragement Jones grabs two pencils from the bailiff’s desk which sat to the right of the judge’s Bench but somewhat lower and he proceeded to perform a rather nice drum solo on the judge’s Bench moving down to the right.  Once he got to the corner of the Bench and the Jury Box he gave a slick spin with pencils in hand then continued the beat down the entire length of the wood rail in front of the then empty jury box.  When he got to the final post he finished with a flourish, gave a final spin then went into a deep leg split.  The deputies, other defendants waiting with their attorneys , court clerks and the Judge gave a well-earned applause.

“That is enough for me”, said the Judge.  “I will find you guilty of the charge of theft but suspend all jail and fines and order you to return to Detroit at once”. “But you honor… thank you but I don’t have any money for the bus ride.” At that Judge Bernard reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty and ordered the prosecutor and the young defense lawyer to do the same.  “Son”, the Judge said to Attorney Georgiadis “take this man to the bus stop and buy him a ticket to Detroit”.  Attorney Georgiadis dutifully complied and once at the bus stop, bought the ticket and gave Jones the extra change. “Thanks” said Jones, “Stay real.”

That night Georgidis’ young wife asked if he made any money today.  Michael said “No it actually cost me $20 but the Godfather of Soul has his beat back.”

Attorney David Engler

Phone: 330-729-9777

http://www.DavidEngler.com Attorney Engler’s website

Areas of Practice: Family Law, Elder Law, Domestic Relations, Bankruptcy, Criminal

Racist Mom in the House…What Do You Do?

By Attorney David Engler

She was tall with dark skin and high cheekbones. Her friends told her she could be a model. She married a salesman who was as light as she was dark. The romance lasted. Two children that should be on Benetton ads made the family four.

One of the famous images from Benetton’s advertising campaign.

His temper was short from working 12 hours days selling cars. Hers was even shorter. And as the realities of bills and a belief that one didn’t understand the other grew; it slowly churned into the stuff of disrespect.

The divorce came along after seven years and the marriage ended. She went to live with the two kids in a public housing development where the rent was $50 per month. Everyone in the streets knows how to work the college training grants and the for-profit “colleges” encourage the scam. Sometimes if you play it right you can withdraw and still get your money. Food stamps bring in another $600 per month and the Earned Income Tax credit brings a family of three $5000 per year. Add those numbers to a required job, a part-time position at a nursing home and you have a pretty comfortable lifestyle.

The father was still trying to hold onto the marital home bought in the early days of the real estate boom. Money was easier in 2003. He made decent money but after paying taxes, utilities, mortgages, insurance and child support there was less than $200 a pay.

She might have had it easy but she never lost her anger over the split. She was sure it was because she was black and he was white. Trevor’s white dad didn’t understand that giving a child a beating with a switch was a cultural difference. With the black mother talking ‘stuff’ all day long in front of the children the father became sick worrying that his son would grow up believing that whites were the devil. His daughter was already a teen and did as the mother directed. It happens plenty going the other way as well. Sometimes a new step-parent moves in with the children and he is a raging racist. A large, poisonous, portion of the racist’s time is spent thinking about race.

The father believed that racism was as bad as a mother on drugs or a parent that would allow domestic violence to be witnessed weekly. He filed a motion with the Court stating that there had been a change of circumstances and the “best interests” test would demand that the child be relocated to his home. Months of court went by but he was right and “won”. The boy is now being raised out in the country going to a great school and whether he is black or white never comes up. He’s a boy playing with cars in the mud and seeing his mother every other weekend.

Racism is not an opinion that deserves equal weight or the need to turn the other cheek. If someone moves into your house and is a racist, then don’t let him or her in if he or she wants to share their ugliness with your children. If it is your child in that home then you can file a motion seeking a change of custody. It is no less dangerous than someone blowing smoke around an infant. It has no place around children, lest we never want to see racism end.

Attorney David Engler
Phone: 330-729-9777
http://www.DavidEngler.com Attorney Engler’s website
Areas of Practice: Family Law, Elder Law, Domestic Relations, Bankruptcy, Criminal

Another Horrible Improbable New Statistic in Trumbull County

By Attorney David Engler

A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds. More than 5 children die every day as a result of child abuse. Approximately 80% of the children that die from abuse are under the age of 4. And more than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way.

Out of these terrifying statistics there are none documenting the lightning-hitting-the-same-person-twice-odds of a child being sexually abused during a supervised visit at the Children Services Agency and oh, by the way, her older sister was murdered by a foster mother approved and monitored by the same Children Services Agency!

The official response to date has been tepid. It was a combination of how can we stop the sickness of people like the baby’s parents and we-will-ask-the-State-to-review-our-policies boilerplate whitewash.

The Director should voluntarily place himself on administrative leave and the Board, County Commissioners or County Prosecutor should call for a Federal investigation. The Board is a recipient of Federal funding.

To be sure the alleged perpetrators involved in this tragic mess are all broken, poor, with multiple mental health diagnoses, criminal histories, likely victims of abuse themselves and barely literate, if that. But the one clear fact is that the 13 month old little girl was innocent. Now she is an improbable and horrible statistic.

Attorney David Engler
Phone: 330-729-9777
http://www.DavidEngler.com Attorney Engler’s website
Areas of Practice: Family Law, Elder Law, Domestic Relations, Bankruptcy, Criminal

Take the Oral Histories Now of Your Ward…

By Attorney David Engler

There is nothing more lasting than memories. It is one of the cruel ironies that the diseases of the elderly like Alzheimer’s and dementia often rob our loved ones or wards of the past. I have advocated in the blog post: “Let Grandma Facebook” that we should try to teach seniors how to get on Facebook as an incredible tool for socializing. Without socialization, we start to diminish.

I have included the photo of my friend Ray who is blessed. He is 85; plays golf three times a week, travel the world with his wife and can tell a story. I was lucky enough this past weekend to learn how he spent the last months of World War II.

It was easy enough to get in to the Army. No one really checked birth certificates, so being 16 or 17 was no problem. Ray enlisted and soon found out that his $30 dollar a month would be bumped up with a bonus of $50 if he agreed to jump from a plane and become an Army Ranger 11th Airborne Division. It was the end of 1944 and the war was going full-scale. Growing up in Brier Hill on the Northside of Youngstown and being one of 8 children during the depression meant that patriotism came easy. You grew up on a street where every kid was poor and didn’t know it. Every family on Sunday went to their respective ethnic church. Ray’s family was Polish so St. Kashmir was the place to pray. It also had a ping-pong table. He had played his cousins and every other kid on the Northside for years. He had a quick defense and could play from 8 feet off the table. No nickels or pennies wasted in a pinball machine, when 6 hours of fun was available at the Church.

By the time he finished basic training in Alabama and jump school at Fort Benning, he was deployed to Okinawa. He was one of the elite but by the time his company arrived the Emperor had surrendered after the Atomic Bomb was exploded and the Russians had invaded. It was September of 1945. The Japanese were completely compliant. They did as the Emperor directed. Sure there were holdouts on islands that did not get the message and one fought all the way until 1970(true!).

Ray was stationed in Sendai where the tsunami recently killed thousands. There was not a great deal of danger and the troops needed entertained, so there were Ping Pong tournaments. Ray took on all comers, even the Japanese. The picture I have attached is Ray holding the 1946 Pacific Rim Championship Ping Pong Paddle. He is like a real life Forest Gump, except Forest was shot at. The winner got a trip to stay at the Emperor’s Palace for two weeks. Imagine being 20 years old and living in a palace. There was no shortage of anything. America had won and Ray was the greatest Ping Pong player on this vanquished island-nation.

Ray is lucky because he has shared these stories with his children and grandchildren, but there is no reason they should not be captured with our camera phones, blogs and HD recorders. On the net, the memories can live forever on sites like Facebook, Tumblr and WordPress. Take the extra few minutes at your next visit and capture the video memories of these American treasures, our seniors.

Attorney David Engler
Phone: 330-729-9777
http://www.DavidEngler.com Attorney Engler’s website
Areas of Practice: Family Law, Elder Law, Domestic Relations, Bankruptcy, Criminal

Is That A Size 18 Dress You are Wearing?

By Attorney David Engler

Last week I saw an old friend who was wearing the stress of the morning on her face. Now my friend is a well-educated and savvy professional who rarely finds herself flummoxed. However, take this 60-year-old woman and have her Alzheimer’s-diagnosed mother ask her the same question everyday about her dress size and she gets reduced to a 12-year-old school girl remembering a disapproving mother.

It is remarkable how a parent who is ill from dementia or Alzheimer’s can cause such severe stress to the caregiver. All of the family fault lines are exposed. The siblings who live out-of-town can make a call and be seen as the good child and the parent will let you know it. Once the decision to move them from their home is made, the parent will hold the decision maker responsible. I asked her if her mother knew what day it was and she responded that she knew because a new day was every morning when she stopped at her care home before going to work. It takes true love and a sense of responsibility to shoulder this task.

Moreover, the family needs to understand the emotional and financial toll it takes on the family. It is exactly this toll that goes in to our change basket and adds up as we develop resentments for the other family members who we believe get off easy and do not understand the commitment.

In advance, if possible, or with the help of a neutral party like a family counselor or attorney experienced in elder law issues, a family should call for a retreat to strategize the needs of an aging parent. We come together to celebrate births and we should come together to celebrate and plan for the remaining years of our parents. There are many issues that need discussed, like the cost of care and what documents are necessary to provide for Medicaid eligibility.

The first meeting should be without the parent unless they are clearly competent and understand that the goal of the meeting is to plan for an uncertain future. All of the baggage needs to be checked at the door of the meeting room and fully examined for explosives (figuratively). The professional can help with the communication tools that seem to be so elusive when dealing with family.

The goals for all, needs to be focused. I like to start with a positive reinforcement of the 3 most beautiful things we can say about our parent. We then need to have everyone list what 3 goals they would like to take away from the retreat. In advance, an assessment of finances is prepared and an understanding of the condition faced by the parent.

Once again it does not seem to matter how many degrees a person has because when it comes to dealing with a person with Alzheimer’s, rationality goes out the window. When your 86-year-old mother says your butt looks big, we lose perspective. That is why it is important to create a situation where the family can seek an agreement with each other, understanding, and an appreciation for the caregiver at the bedside.

By the way my friend is half of a size 18 dress.

Attorney David Engler
Phone: 330-729-9777
http://www.DavidEngler.com Attorney Engler’s website
Areas of Practice: Family Law, Elder Law, Domestic Relations, Bankruptcy, Criminal