{"id":1527,"date":"2019-11-17T20:59:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-17T20:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=1527"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:53","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:53","slug":"in-the-clerks-courtroom-a-tender-scene-of-love-and-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2019\/11\/17\/in-the-clerks-courtroom-a-tender-scene-of-love-and-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Clerk\u2019s Courtroom, a tender scene of love and the law"},"content":{"rendered":"
Attorney Rob Pochapsky leans over to whisper in Makeai Respass\u2019s ear. It\u2019s 10 a.m. on a Thursday morning, and the sun is shining on them from a window in the Clerk\u2019s Courtroom at the Durham courthouse.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAre you nervous at all?\u201d Pochapsky asks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Makeai says. She has short brown hair and wears glasses with plastic frames that are somewhere between purple and blue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou know that (Makeai) doesn\u2019t understand what she\u2019s saying, right?\u201d her adoptive mother Julia Respass tells Pochapsky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI presume people have more going on upstairs than they show,\u201d Pochapsky replies.<\/span><\/p>\n Because she has turned 18, Makeai is now responsible to manage her finances, property, and medical affairs. But she has autism, PTSD, Schizoaffective disorder, and seizures, so her mom has petitioned that she\u2019s not capable to manage those affairs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pochapsky speaks softly to Makeai, explaining that the clerk of court will determine whether she is competent to manage her own affairs and whether her mom should become her legal guardian.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c(The clerk\u2019s) name is Archie Smith,\u201d Pochapsky says. \u201cHe\u2019s a good man. What he does is always fair and right. If anyone gets yelled at today, it\u2019s going to be me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But no one yells in court today. It\u2019s a tender family affair.<\/span><\/p>\n On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Smith oversees these little-known incompetency hearings. They occur in a room the size of an elementary school classroom with no bailiff, no court reporter, and usually only one attorney.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They\u2019re not announced on an online calendar and even Smith said he doesn\u2019t know who will be in court until shortly before the hearing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Smith, the clerk of Superior Court, oversees money flow in and out of the Durham courts and serves as judge for special proceedings including guardianship, adoptions and foreclosures. A jovial man, he has a circular face and round cheeks on each side of his white moustache.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The guardianship cases \u2013 he rules on about 150 every year \u2013 range from amicable and tender, to tense and contentious. If Smith deems a person incompetent, he then determines who will become their guardian for financial or personal matters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some are elderly people with dementia. Others are referred from the Duke Trauma Center or the Department of Social Services. And some are people with autism who come once they reach adulthood, such as Makeai.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot on the line: Who will be responsible for the ward\u2019s property, their medical decisions, their finances?<\/span><\/p>\n ‘Sword and shield’<\/b><\/p>\n Pochapsky turns to Makeai with a last note of encouragement before the proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re both Leos. You know what that means? That means we\u2019re smart, we\u2019re strong,\u201d Pochapsky says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear if she understands the reference to her astrological sign.<\/span><\/p>\n Smith walks into the room and sits behind his bench in front of an audience of only four.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cToday is the 31st. It\u2019s Halloween!\u201d he says, to diffuse any tension in the room.<\/span><\/p>\n In these cases, it\u2019s up to an attorney, or guardian ad litem, to investigate whether someone is competent, who should become their guardian, and what that guardian\u2019s responsibilities should be. Today, that\u2019s Pochapsky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou are her sword and shield,\u201d Smith reminds Pochapsky.<\/span><\/p>\n For Pochapsky, that means he investigates potential guardians to make sure the court appoints one who will protect Makeai and won\u2019t exploit their guardianship responsibilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When the court declares someone incompetent, they lose civil rights and freedom. They may lose their privilege to drive, file a court case, or own a firearm. Pochapsky wants people like Makeai to retain as many rights as they can handle.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCivil rights are something most people do not want to give up and shouldn\u2019t have to unless it\u2019s necessary. The objective is to make sure that the court orders whatever level of guardianship is necessary, but not any more,\u201d he says after the hearing.<\/span><\/p>\n He also wants to make sure the guardianship responsibilities fall into the right hands. With Makeai, her mom was an easy answer. But sometimes it\u2019s not as clear who should be the guardian \u2014 especially when it comes to finances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Family dynamics and exploitation<\/b><\/p>\n In some cases, Smith watches families argue over guardianship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cQuite often, there will be confusion as to who \u2014 siblings, children, whomever \u2014 should have control of the incompetenet ward\u2019s finances,\u201d Smith says. \u201cEvery possible permutation of family dynamics comes into play. Families are not as depicted in Norman Rockwell paintings \u2014 the stylized images of the peaceful, happy family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Pochapsky says the biggest fights often involve inheritance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And Smith says that sometimes the finances end up in the wrong hands. Although he can\u2019t predict exploitation, he\u2019s not surprised when it happens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the human condition. There are scoundrels out there.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If there isn\u2019t a family member who could be a responsible guardian of the person\u2019s finances, Smith can give the role to a public guardian, someone who is hired to manage the person\u2019s financial affairs.<\/span><\/p>\n Emotional spectrum<\/b><\/p>\n Smith says the guardianship process has to be compassionate.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSome people I know are sharp as tacks, and they\u2019re almost 100. But for most of us, unfortunately, we begin to decline with time. It\u2019s our duty as human beings to love the ones who have lived with us and are starting to suffer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Likewise, the process protects people like Makeai who are on the autism spectrum.<\/span><\/p>\n Pochapsky says he strives to make sure the people he represents are comfortable. His role requires as much empathy as it does lawyering.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI’ve had a lot of cases that involve people on the autism spectrum. It’s hard to imagine what it’s like being inside their head when they’re sitting in that courtroom. Although it looks rather innocuous to us, it’s gotta be frightening to them,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the courtroom, after discussing the guardianship logistics, Smith looks over to Makeai.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll right Makeai, is it all right to have your mom be your guardian?\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She nods her head yes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In a chair to the right, Julia Respass slides off her glasses and wipes away tears. Makeai looks at her mother intently and walks over. Julia Respass leans down to tie her daughter’s shoe, and then they hug.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Attorney Rob Pochapsky leans over to whisper in Makeai Respass\u2019s ear. It\u2019s 10 a.m. on a Thursday morning, and the sun is shining on them…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-1527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courthouse-project","tag-civil-court","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n