What a joke. Sounds like the final goal of Tom Daschle and/or Logan’s run. A policy not to protect and defend your fellow man. The 911 call received by the Bakersfield Fire Department emergency services dispatcher has resulted in outrage and a Bakersfield Police Department investigation. Talk about elderly abuse.

The February 26th call for emergency services was answered by dispatcher Tracy Halvorson, who during the longer than seven minute phone call pleaded for the unconscious and shallow breathing 87 year old assisted living facility resident to be given CPR.

The nurse on the other end of the call has sparked complete outrage by advocacy groups for the elderly, after refusing to perform CPR for 87 year old Lorraine Bayless, who collapsed in the dining room of the retirement facility.

Halvorson pleaded for the nurse to begin CPR or find someone that would, since she said it was against their policy. The nurse said there was no one at that time that would perform CPR on the woman.

During the entire 911 call that lasted 7 minutes and 16 seconds Halvorson told the nurse calling from the facility that the woman would die, if CPR was not started immediately. She begged her at one point to get a passerby, a gardener or anyone to start CPR.
On the arrival of the Bakersfield Fire Department emergency personnel, Bayless was no longer breathing or had a pulse. She was transported to Mercy Southwest Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Glenwood Gardens executive director Jeffery Toomey said the policy of the assisted living facility, when there is an emergency for nurses to call 911 for emergency medical personnel to provide services.  He said the nurse followed protocol in the situation.
According to Bakersfield Police Department spokeswoman Michaela Beard, there has been an investigation launched to determine if there was any criminal wrongdoing on the part of the independent living facility, in the way they handled the residents need for immediate medical attention.

The death of 87 year old Bayless has prompted advocates to call for legislation to prevent what happened at Glenwood Gardens in Bakersfield from happening again. Assembly woman Mariko Yamada, chair of the California Assembly of Aging and Long-term Care Committee said that she is sad that it took a tragedy of this nature to make people aware.

She said, while it is not clear that CPR would have saved the 87 year olds life, we need to investigate, since it of great concern.California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform founder Pat McGinnis said that independent living facilities should not have a policy that says employees can stand there and watch someone die. McGinnis said how a nurse was able to do that is beyond comprehension.

She said during all her years of advocacy she has never seen anything like this occur before. California Board of Registered Nursing that licenses health care providers spokesman Russ Heimerich said that it is unclear if the woman that identified herself as a nurse to the 911 dispatcher really is a nurse.

Heimerich said that if the woman was a nurse and at work as a nurse, then she should have been offering the appropriate medical care to the 87 year old woman. Glenwood Gardens executive director Jeffery Toomer, offered condolences to the family and said in a written statement that the nurse was following protocol.

Dr. Susan Leonard a geriatrics expert at the University of California, Los Angeles said these facilities are like apartments for seniors, where they basically live on their own and only some basic services are provided by the nursing staff. These are independent residents that only need help with transportation to doctor’s appointments and things of that nature.

Vice President Greg Crist of the American Health Care Association said staff members are required to do CPR, unless there is a do-not-resuscitate order. According to Bakersfield Fire Department Battalion Chief Anthony Galagza Lorraine Bayless did not have an order in place.

Shock torture

In a Muscogee County Superior Court hearing to set rules in the Ricardo Strozier capital murder trial, defense attorney H. Burton Baker objected to his client wearing an electronic ankle braceletThe ankle bracelet is similar to a police Taser gun, in the fact that it can deliver an immobilizing shock, if a deputy triggered it. Baker said the bracelet is a torture device and demanded it removed at the Monday hearing.

Muscogee Sheriff’s Maj. Mike Massy, who represented the division of the sheriff’s office that oversees the courtroom, testified whether the electronic ankle bracelet was necessary for Strozier to wear. Massy said the ankle bracelet is concealed under Strozier’s clothing and is being used instead of handcuffs and shackles.

Baker had already argued that the use of visible restraints would give potential jurors the impression that Strozier was dangerous. Baker questioned Massy, who admitted that Strozier has not been in any trouble in jail, since his arrest, after Jackson’s homicide. He has also not given authorities any reason to suspect he would harm anyone or attempt to flee.

Strozier’s attorney also argued that the six deputies standing by the defendant in the courtroom would have a prejudicial impact. He said it would create the impression that the defendant requires additional guards. Judge Gil McBride ordered the electronic bracelet be removed, but ordered that Strozier have shackles. The judge ordered that photographers in the courtroom are not permitted to record Strozier entering or leaving the courtroom with the leg chains on, so his case would not be prejudiced by potential jurors who might see the images.

The uniformed officers were later dispersed, so that only a few remained by the defendant. Strozier was indicted on 10 felony counts that stem from the murder of Heath Jackson, in a September 7, 2010 fatal shooting. Jackson died outside of his home at 1667 Carter Aveneue, after he confronted an intruder in his house. Strozier was also charged with robbing another man at gunpoint in Columbus, after breaking into his home. he was charged with a break-in at a Virginia Street apartment, where he is alleged to have stolen the gun that was later used to kill Jackson.

The defense is also questioning the demographics of the jury, since a disproportionate grand jury can be ruled a violation of the defendants constitutional rights. District Attorney Julia Slater questioned about the makeup of the panel that indicted Strozier and was told it was a panel of 11 white men, six black women and one white woman.

The proceedings are set to resume at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday and hear pretrial motions through Wednesday. Then there will be another session for motions held February 20 though the 22nd.

Sources:

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/01/28/2361833/heath-jackson-homicide-ricardo.html

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/march2008/032508_torture_bracelet.htm

Party Girl

By Michael P. Ehline, Esq. – Tuesday, Lindsey Lohan pleaded not guilty in the allegations that she lied to police officers about a traffic accident. The misdemeanor charge stems from the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office charge in the June accident involving Lohan’s Porsche hitting the back end of a truck.

The Statutes

CVC Section 31 Says Inter Alia:

“No person shall give, either orally or in writing, information to a peace officer while in the performance of his duties under the provisions of this code when such person knows that the information is false.” http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/genprov/vc31.htm

Lohan was charged with obstructing or delaying an officer, willfully resisting, providing false information to an officer and reckless driving, which is probably, actually Penal Code Section 148, which is defined here.

Lohan was charged on November 9, 2012, for the accident that occurred during the filming of the Lifetime Original movie “Liz & Dick”, when she was on her way to shoot a beach scene. At the time of the collision, when her Porsche struck the rear end of a truck on the Pacific Coast Highway, Lohan told police her assistant was driving. Police believe that Lohan lied about not being behind the wheel. Lohan did not attend the hearing, and was represented by her attorney Shawn Holley, in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom. Holley pleaded not guilty on Lohan’s behalf, after rumor’s had surfaced that Lohan had fired the lawyer, who has represented her in multiple criminal cases.

Holley was asked by Superior Court Judge Jane Godfrey, if she would be remaining as Lohans’ attorney. Holley requested to answer the privately and off the record and made no statements to the media following the arraignment. The 26 year old actress is scheduled to appear in court on January 30, 2013 for a pretrial hearing and a second hearing for a probation violation.

Lohan could face up to 245 days in jail, if the judge determines she violated her probation. Lohan is on probation for the theft of a necklace in 2011. Superior Court Judge Godfrey set a date of February 27th for a trial date on the three misdemeanor counts. This raises a lot of issues for me, such as ability to pay, or whether ethically, a lawyer feels they should stay on a case or not. If this was a bar exam question, I would probably discuss that in an IRAC format.

After the June accident, she was involved in a fight at a New York City nightclub. Authorities said Lohan struck the woman involved in the fight, with her hands.  So there is a battery type charge, and possible civil and criminal penalty there. This new charge, is a pretty serious charge, and appears to be supported by quite a bit of evidence. Being on probation makes things a whole lot worse. Let’s see what the jury has to say.

Other Sources:

http://www.ehlinelaw.com/more-cvc.htm

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/01/lindsay-lohan-pch-crash-court.html