Professor Nina Kohn spoke with ProPublica for the article, “This Guardian Enriched Herself Using the Finances of Vulnerable People in Her Care. Judges Let It Happen.” The article uncovers apparent conflict of interest, profiting at wards’ expenses, and lax judicial oversight in multiple guardianship arrangements that placed Yvonne Murphy in charge of caring for vulnerable individuals.
ProPublica writes: But Murphy’s story illustrates just how culpable judges themselves can be in the system’s breakdown, permitting financial arrangements that experts said were unequivocally improper — even in cases when examiners point out potential problems. Lawyers, advocates and researchers alike say this laissez-faire judicial culture is the product of crushing caseloads, sparse resources and a shallow pool of guardians willing to take the most challenging cases. In New York City, there are just over a dozen judges who handle the 17,411 people in guardianships, data provided by the courts show.
“The easiest way to reduce the workload is not to look for problems,” said Kohn. “The second-easiest way is when you see problems, to ignore them.”