Stealing My Mother From Me: The Horrors of Conservatorship

Theft, lies, deception, and the wrongful death of our loved ones by deceitful predators, all for the almighty dollar 

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Some states call it conservatorship. Others call it guardianship. But whatever you call it, it can be deadly. It can lead to theft, lies, deception, and the wrongful death of our loved ones by deceitful predators, all in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Consider my mother’s story. Guardianship and the legal system stole her from me. It stole her money, my money, the money designated for my disabled brother, and the house where I took care of her for years. Because of the conservator in charge, the lawyers and judges involved, and others embedded in this toxic system, she lost any say in anything. So did I. 

She was put on at least one antipsychotic drug that, according to black-box warnings, shouldn’t have been prescribed for someone with dementia. She died. And for three days afterward, no one bothered to tell me. By then those in charge had demonized me. Shoved me aside and left me in the dark. She had been pulled away from me, the one who had looked after her best interests and held her power of attorney. 

How this all happened is a long, difficult, complicated story, and I won’t be able to tell it in complete detail. But I want to start with who she was, what she meant to all who loved her, and why she deserved decent treatment by all. 

Norma Claire Duffy Farrant was born in Kansas City, MO, on October 29, 1929. She was the youngest of six children, growing up in the Great Depression in a family of eight that struggled to survive. She and her siblings all served their country, with her mom and her three sisters all working in the munitions plants and her brothers fighting in our country’s World War II. Luck was with them, as they came out alive and uninjured—but for the terrors they envisioned. At one point my Uncle Bill was in a tank with four others, and one of them put his head out. It was shot off, ending up in his lap. Horrific. My uncle was awarded the Bronze Star. And my mother, like all of her siblings, wanted a better life for herself after the war. 

She learned accounting and then, changing course, attended a teaching college in Warrensburg, MO. Shortly thereafter, she and her sister Virginia decided to move to Hollywood, CA, where she landed a teaching job in an elementary school and at night taught English to immigrants. Mother married in 1958, giving birth to three children: me; my disabled brother, whom I’ve assisted for years; and our sister, now estranged. Ten years later, my parents were divorced, and in 1969 my mother moved us from Hollywood to Newbury Park, CA, where she purchased her first home with a Veterans Administration loan and taught in high schools. 

For roughly 45 years, until an injury forced her to retire, she gave her life to her family and teaching others. She worked hard to give us better lives while sacrificing her own happiness. Mother never remarried. She did everything for us. She cared about her family and others, putting her children first and herself last. 

That’s the kind of person my mother was.

But somehow—and this is where her story turns complicated and hard—she stopped being seen as a human being by those with power. Once she got roped into the system and bounced from one elder care facility to another, she became nothing to them. Not a veteran. Not a teacher who had spent her lunch hour with kids and then tutored them after school. Not a loving mother who had sacrificed everything for her kids. 

She became, instead, someone to exploit.

A long saga begins 

It all started the first week in April of 2015, the day after my mother and I took a trip to Salinas, KS, to pick up a grandfather clock. 

My truck broke down, and we were stuck overnight. By the time we got home she hadn’t slept well for the past few days, keeping me up, too. Back home the next day, she sliced her finger in the kitchen—all kinds of food out, an electric mixer in the sink. Just chaos. When I asked her what happened, she said she was trying to kill herself. 

Trying to kill herself? Clearly, she wasn’t. But I was doing my best to love and assist my aging mother with whatever aid I could find, and I had to take this seriously. 

So I band-aided her finger and put her to bed, figuring her past few sleepless nights hadn’t helped. 

A little while later, I checked in on her and asked again what had happened. Her reply was the same. Was my mother truly suicidal? I didn’t know. But this seemed like a cry for help. I felt I should do something about it, and so I tried to find the nearest place that might assist in a crisis. We were living in rural Missouri, and I could only find one location close enough to help. They indicated they would admit her. After we arrived we were assigned a counselor, but after about 15 minutes, the counselor said my mother could not be admitted and suggested I take her to an emergency room some 40 miles away. 

So began a nearly unending story of back-and-forth phone calls, car drives, interviews, questionnaires, assessments, and directives to this facility, then that facility. One place was maybe going to admit her, then another—all while I was removing sharp items from the home so Mother would be safe. And she was still keeping me awake. 

At one point, the counselor called back and indicated a hospital would take her. I was not ready for this, as I was so exhausted, and I asked her to call back after I had a few hours of sleep. She called again. Please, I told her, I need a bit of sleep before I drive her there, as the hospital was some 110 miles away. Okay, the woman said. But Mother was keeping me awake, so I called again and asked if she could be picked up. I was told she would be taken directly to the hospital. 

Norma and Duane Farrant about eight years ago.

Instead, a case worker arrived and about 10 additional people, most of them just gabbing away on my porch. While my mother was trying to take a shower, several barged in. The lack of thoughtfulness in their behavior alarmed me. And why send all these people? I felt lied to, as my mother and I were both disrespected by their presence. She had been through hell, and these unwanted people were making the situation much worse. 

Two days later, after yet more complications, mother was settled into the hospital. But before long, her insurance announced they wouldn’t cover it (my mother “didn’t meet the criteria”), and so I went home and—following the hospital’s guidelines—secured the windows, the doors, the fridge. I also informed Senior Services of my actions. I told Mother if she wanted to go outside, we would have to go together. 

A friend helped me out, but there were problems. Mother kept spitting her pills out, over flowing the toilet, tossing her camera and glasses into the trash and she told me she was blind, then later apologized and said she wasn’t.  “I knew that,” I said. 

Clearly, my mother needed help. I needed help, too. I couldn’t do this alone. But where could we find that help? What were we to do? 

Becoming the bad guy

Less than two weeks after picking up Mother from the hospital, I had made multiple calls in search of someplace, somewhere, that could provide some kind of aid. No return calls. Spent and tired beyond description, I did what so many people caring for loved ones in distress do with no other recourse, not anticipating the harm it can cause: I dialed 911 and requested an ambulance and specifically told them to keep it to a minimum of people. 

It was my last option. Initially, it seemed like a good move. A sheriff showed up—a decent man—along with the paramedics. Two hours later she was settled in at a hospital, a different one from the previous place. They said she would be there for two days before being moved to a residential center I’d suggested. I told them I had a POA health directive for her, and I’d be there in the morning. Great! She was getting some help, or so I thought. 

When I showed up the next morning, she wasn’t there. Without my permission or even knowledge—without even calling me, though they later lied about that—they’d shipped her off to an entirely different hospital some 90 miles away. Off I went to this other hospital, where I was allowed just half an hour with my mother. 

From there, things only got worse. And worse. And worse. 

In the subsequent days I made so many phone calls, and got so frustrated, that finally a caseworker took my frustration the wrong way… and called someone to report that I was suicidal. 

Suicidal?

Angry, yes. Fed up with this system that was built to (supposedly) help people in distress but only makes things worse for their families and themselves, absolutely. But, no, I wasn’t suicidal. 

When a cop showed up with a caseworker, he said they wanted to talk to me about suicide. I told them to leave, as I’d had enough of their kind. When I tried to shut my door, the cop wrestled with me, trying to keep me from going inside. Over the next 10-plus hours they terrorized me, shutting off my power and—according to reports I later dug up—surrounding my 19-acre property with six police cars that flashed their lights and blasted their PA system into the early hours of morning. 

According to these same reports, guns were drawn and pointed in my direction. 

Throughout the night, the 911 operator called repeatedly, maybe 100 times. I told them to stop. I told the cops to leave me alone. They were trespassing and terrifying me, as I had no intentions of harming myself. I even called a news station, as I was in fear. 

Finally, around 4:30 a.m. I agreed to see a psychologist; a nice woman who agreed there was nothing wrong with me and sent me home. But that wasn’t the end of it—not the demonization and even criminalization of me as I tried to help my mother, and not the end of her ordeal, either. It was only the beginning. 

With no sleep and a sick chihuahua to boot, I called the hospital to check in and see when I could pick up my mother. They told me I couldn’t, not after what happened the night before. When I demanded to know why and requested a meeting to discuss Mother’s condition, they refused. The next day, speaking with a lawyer in legal aid offices, I learned of a court hearing. This was news to me. Why wasn’t I told? According to the lawyer, they had me down as the “bad guy.”

That was me: the bad guy. The guy trying to get answers. The guy trying to get some help for his mother. 

No one would give me any information. Not the hospital, family services, or the courthouse where I’d filed a petition for a hearing. What the hell was going on here? I wasn’t allowed to bring my mother home and had no clue what was going on, which was destroying whatever sanity I had left. And my mother, too, had no idea what was going on, as I hadn’t picked her up. She was there alone. 

Again, things got worse. And worse. And worse. 

The rules didn’t matter

For 11 months, my mother was held in a toilet of an institution. For 11 months, I could not see her or hear her voice. For 11 months, she was on a “no call” list, and she wasn’t allowed to speak with any family or friends, the cruelest punishment for a woman who did not deserve it. Who does this to people? And why? 

Eventually, my mother was ordered to California to live with my estranged sister. Five months later, she came back to Missouri. Soon after that, my sister filed for conservatorship. Instead, professional conservator Angelique Friend was appointed, and thereafter the California probate courts stepped in—despite the fact that we were in Missouri, and despite my power of attorney—and took my home, which mother had signed over to me in a quitclaim years before, though her name was erroneously never removed from the deed. They took my mother’s interest in another home and, over time, depleted her estate down to zero. (Poppy Helgren, who wrote about her late father’s own nightmare experience, endured under the same conservator.)

Around that time she was placed in an elder-care residential facility that I could tell, right from the start, was a house of horrors. On my first visit there, I found her with her hair completely shaved off, with scabs and bruises on her face. Mother was wearing hand-me-down clothing. She had no cane, no walker, no hearing aids, no glasses. People aren’t supposed to be placed in facilities without such things. But the rules didn’t matter, or so it seemed. 

All of this was done against my objections and against the wishes and instructions of my mother. She never asked or wanted to be under the control of a conservator and expressed her desires in a video, in the paperwork, and on the phone with me, pleading with me to pick her up time and time again. But she wasn’t heard by anyone in charge. She wasn’t even allowed to appear in court. Also disregarded: the Farrant family living trust with a “special needs” clause, intended to help my disabled brother in his time of need. Unknown to me, a judge allowed her trust to be modified, by proxy—drastically changed it—and the estate was completely depleted. I ask: How do you find a person incompetent, mentally ill, but then change her living trust, indicating she agreed to said changes? What a joke the legal system is. 

Aside from a couple of emails in late 2015 or so, Angelique Friend never communicated with me. I had virtually no knowledge and no say, any longer, about anything involving my mother’s care. 

This felt so strange to me. I’d taken care of my mother’s bills for about 13 years, and looked out for her person for more than 11. From that day forward, she never had a late payment or did without food, housing, or anything else. I helped take care of her bills as well as my brother’s, and I kept close tabs on her health. 

After she was removed from me, I couldn’t. Again, I had no say. When she was placed on the antipsychotic Risperdal, she became a zombie, of sorts; she would not talk much at all. According to the drug’s black-box warning: “Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death.” But they put her on the antipsychotic anyway—possibly others, too—and no one was telling me anything. No one informed me of the risks. 

And in the 88-plus years of Mother’s life until then, she was never diagnosed with schizophrenia, traumatic seizures or heart troubles, all three of which were mentioned on her death certificate alongside breast cancer. She did have a history of that. The rest of it was not the truth. No hallucinations or cardiac problems, at least, not until she was prescribed antipsychotics. And seizures? She never had those. Not that I knew of, so I assumed this was a lie, too. But then again, did they ever tell me what was going on? NO!

She left the world, and I was left in the dark

This is what I knew: My mother wasn’t broken until she was kidnapped and trafficked by the court system and fed black-box drugs. Before that she was a present, caring person. Before that she was loved. She wasn’t neglected. She didn’t have bruises and cuts and scabs on her face. She didn’t have an infection in both eyes. She wore clothes that were clean, that fit her, that weren’t worn thin. She had a home. She wasn’t moved from facility to facility, state-to-state, becoming yet more controlled and neglected and ill treated along the way. At one point she was housed in a center that was later revealed to employ a rapist. 

An anonymous staff member at one of the facilities did inform me, near the end of her life, that she had suffered several falls and had only seen a dentist a couple of times. No work was done on her teeth except to remove them all. And at no point did the conservator inform me of anything—not the falls and E.R. visits, not the doctor or dental visits. Not her life-threatening bout of COVID. Nothing. 

And then she left this world. Did someone tell me? The facility? The conservator? Anyone? Of course not. After three days of phone calls, checking how she was doing, I was informed that she’d died three days before. It took me years to obtain any of her medical records; I’m convinced this was a stalling tactic to prevent any lawsuit before the statute of limitations ran out. 

Over the years, my brother and I filed complaints against the conservator and others, and we petitioned for a criminal investigation into her death. I directly contacted a homicide detective in Ventura County, CA, describing my concerns and what I regard as a cover-up in her egregious abuse and lack of care. I noted that I had previously filed a complaint of elder abuse. 

Nothing has come of anything, even after some 40 plus letters and phone calls. Not one person helped, and many just didn’t bother to respond. 

Our beloved mother was mistreated, cheated, abused mentally, and alienated from her family by her conservator and the courts that pulled her away and vilified me—making me the enemy, making her more isolated, exposing her to so much harm—until she passed away on November 7, 2021. 

She is in Heaven with her family and friends. But she shouldn’t have arrived there so soon. For that I blame the black-box drugs. For that I blame the conservator, the courts, the system that made me the enemy and did enormous damage to the woman who brought me into this world—the woman I loved and looked out for, seeing to her needs. 

Instead, people in this system of “care” lied, cheated, and stole, ignoring my mother’s health, desires, and well-being until it killed her. This is what happens—not just to her, but to many. Documents get ignored. Cronies get appointed, all of them enmeshed within a corrupt network that leads toward the destruction of families.

The system stole my home, too. And now, on Medicaid, I’ve got little to live on. I don’t even have the money to get my Mother a nice headstone. I pray someday I can afford one. 

God bless her. May she finally rest in peace.

***

Mad in America hosts blogs by a diverse group of writers. These posts are designed to serve as a public forum for a discussion—broadly speaking—of psychiatry and its treatments. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own.

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34 COMMENTS

  2. If anyone can help place a headstone for my dear mother, it’s much appreciated. Living on SSI has made life very difficult.

    Thank you for any help, you can give.

    God Bless you, Mother, I am happy to see you with your family and friends in heaven above, away from the corruption of the Probate Caball.

    Please send any donations to us at PAYPAL ACCOUNT: [email protected]

    Thank you, so much for your interest in my mother’s horrific end of life.

    Link below.

    Duane & Joshua Farrant, your loving sons.

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    • Duane, Your mother was stolen from you yes, but honestly that suggests weakness, vunerability, passive and a victim like cry for help and justice. Well sir the law is not in your favor if you are the plaintiff with the word STOLEN. It doesnt even address the true crime! Your mother was Kidnapped. You see Duane there is a big difference a huge difference a enormous difference of stolen and kidnapped.

      In California, there is no statute of limitations for kidnapping. This is because kidnapping is a serious crime that is punishable by life in prison or death.

      Statutes of limitations are time limits that give the district attorney (D.A.) the opportunity to file charges against a suspect. The purpose of a statute of limitations is to encourage prosecutors to investigate crimes quickly while memories are fresh and evidence is still available.

      Is there a statute of limitations on kidnapping in the US?
      A statute of limitations is the time limit that a conviction can occur for the crime. And, no, kidnapping does not have any because it is extremely harmful and serious. Also, even if the previous captives have been released, there’s the danger that the captor could kidnap again.

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  4. Thank you for sharing your story about how horrendous those conservatorship / guardianship contracts are, Duane. I was handed over one, combined with a ‘take a percentage of gross’ thievery contract, all dressed up disingenuously as an “art manager” contract.

    Thankfully, I knew enough to NOT sign that truly appalling contract. But I have no doubt those contracts are pure evil. It still makes me shudder, just to think of how evil they are, as are the people who utilize them to steal from and destroy innocent others’ lives. I’m so sorry about what happened to your beloved mother, and you, Duane and Joshua.

    By the way, I like your email address … “blindmencansee” …. Much of my artwork goes from painting people with black eyes … to painting my, and humanity’s, awakening journey … where one’s eyes become wide open, sadly due to awakening to the evil within our society. God bless.

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  5. I watched THE most scary movie EVER!!!! Called, ” I Care a Lot” which addressed this whole issue. I was totally unaware that this was going on. This is totally outrageous and frightening there has to be away to stop it!! Laws must be passed!! In the movie it was a racket between the doctor the social worker and the judge. Made me think being poor isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

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    • We need to have a Congressional hearing/s on guardianship and referrals to law enforcement. People need to call their elected representatives and demand a hearing! It is the way the laws are manipulated and exploited. Guardianship is simply predatory. People don’t need guardianship. They need care. It is a crime syndicate. Another movie which is excellent is ‘The Bad Guardian’ which aired on Lifetime TV a few weeks ago and is now streaming.

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      • This has been going on for too long! Here are to links to our US Senators and Congress members. Please look up your senator and congress member and ask them to propose a hearing with victims. Guardianship is illogical. It does not protect. It happens in secret. Court cases are sealed to the public and gag orders are routine. Whenever there has been a high profile case, ie Britney Spears and Wendy Williams most recently, the perpetrators step forward and present misinformation and disinformation to the public. A 2021 audit by a guardianship fraud program in Palm Beach county estimated that $273 billion has been taken by guardians! Last month Lifetime TV aired ‘The Bad Guardian which is an extremely realistic look at the everyday corruption of America’s guardianship racket.

        http://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

        https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

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        • You are correct; it is a racket. I watched a documentary a while back. This construction worker won a multi million dollar lawsuit. A court all of a sudden tried to deem this man incompetent due to some made up neurological deficit from the construction accident. It was exposed that the same lawyer that helped him win his case was in on this scheme; including the judge and the court appointed guardian. I’m trying to look back to find that interview and post it. Greed will make you do anything.

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  6. Thank you for relating your truly horrific story, Duane, for the courage it must have taken to remember all these things, and for trying for years to find something good in a system that has gone all wrong. I had heard of such travesties in conservatorship before, but your story really hit home, it felt so personal and so devastating. I really appreciated your explaining in detail what happened because it’s what could happen to anyone! Hoping you can find some peace now. Take care.

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  7. Duane:
    Thank you so much for sharing. Guardianship/conservatorship is completely unreasonable and makes so sense because it does not protect people! It is designed for predators set on draining family assets! We have to keep on exposing it so we can end it. Again, thank you.

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  8. The Santa Clara County Office of Public Guardians and their cabal network inc. Kaiser Permanente and County DA Larry Kubo stole my mother,her money, her life insurance policy, our home of 30 years STOLEN! They destroyed and killed my mother and I suffer everyday from these county criminals. They actually have a motto these sobs MEDICATE, ISOLATE AND STEAL THE WHOLE FUCKING ESTATE!

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  10. Ck this out!!!+

    Instructions to Physician or Psychologist for Completing the Medical Declaration

    TO: Medical Professionals

    FROM: Don Moody, Public Administrator/Guardian/Conservator of Santa Clara County

    Please review the following instructions as you complete the attached Capacity Declaration. This form is intended to be filed with the court. In most cases, it will substitute for your testimony under oath as a witness. The form presents to the court and interested parties your professional medical opinion as to the capacity of the individual concerned. We ask that you respond completely to each question, and respect the formal nature of the document. The form itself has been approved for use in conservatorship matters by the Superior Court and cannot be changed by this office. We thank you for the time and effort necessary to complete this form, in support of an important legal proceeding.

    Page One of the Declaration

    Sections 1 and 2: state your (the doctor’s) name, office address, and phone number clearly here.

    Section 3 must be checked to indicate your qualifications.

    Section 4: state the patient’s name here, and in 4(a), state the date the patient was last seen. This is critical. Check the appropriate box in 4(b).

    Section 5: Can your patient attend a court hearing? If the client cannot attend, it is very important to check these boxes and explain why, because otherwise the client has a constitutional right to attend court. If no explanation is given, then the client must be in court, and we must arrange transportation or postpone the hearing.

    Page Two of the Declaration

    Section 6 – very important – the law states that the proposed conservatee cannot be found to lack capacity unless he or she has some functional deficits (PC 811). Therefore, if you reach the conclusion that the patient lacks capacity, some functional deficits must be found to support this conclusion. Please note: checking “a” means no impairment. Checking “e” means “I have no opinion”. Checking “d” means so impaired as to be incapable of assessment; b’s and c’s are moderate and major impairment.

    Page Three of the Declaration

    Section 6F is critical. This is where the client’s diagnosis is set forth. This must be provided in cases where dementia powers are being sought. It is important and helpful to know what disease or injury is causing the patient’s incapacity – stroke, head injury, Alzheimer’s dementia, mental illness, Parkinson’s, etc. This area is also where the level of care can be addressed. We would appreciate the physician’s recommendation here. For example: is the patient ready for discharge from an acute-care hospital? Should the patient go to a skilled nursing facility, a board and care home, or go home with in-home care?

    Section 7 – must be checked and initialed by the doctor. This documents the doctor’s opinion as to capacity to consent for medical treatment. Check A for has the capacity, B for lacks the capacity.

    Attached Page for Conservatorship of the Estate

    Conservatorship of the Estate Attachment – capacity to enter into financial transactions is now addressed in a separate attached page. It states “Capacity Declaration – Conservatorship of the Estate Attachment” at the bottom of the page. Be sure to check the box at the top, and mark either “a” or “b”, as to whether the client either has or lacks the capacity to enter into financial transactions and contracts. If paragraph “b” applies, then initial in the space provided, and sign at the bottom.

    Attached Page for Dementia Powers

    Dementia Powers are also addressed on a separate attachment – “Dementia Attachment to Capacity Declaration – Conservatorship.” If either placement or medication consent authority is to be sought, the box must be checked at the top declaring that the proposed conservatee does have a diagnosis of dementia.

    Section 9a (1)-(5): Dementia powers for placement. We only need to seek this power if we want to confine the proposed conservatee in a locked or secured dementia facility. Do not fill this out unless it is your recommendation that the client should be placed in a locked or secured dementia facility. The client must be diagnosed with dementia in Section 6F, and the box checked above. All boxes in 9a must be addressed, and the doctor must address the specific placement issue in 9a (1) – why do we need to house the person in a locked unit? Typical reasons are: wandering, getting lost, or attempting to leave a facility, and placing their health or safety at risk. Section a(4) should be checked, and a(5) should be marked “is” the least restrictive environment appropriate.

    Section 9b (1)-(5): Dementia powers for medications. If the doctor intends to prescribe, or has prescribed, any psychotropic medications, including Aricept, for the treatment of dementia, then these boxes must be checked and the blanks filled in. Otherwise, the conservator cannot consent to the administration of the medications.

    Signature and Dates Required

    There are four signature-and-date blocks – bottom of page one, bottom of page three, bottom of both attached pages. Please sign all four places – be sure to date, print name, and sign. The estate attachment must be completed – we cannot file for probate conservatorship without it. The dementia powers attachment must be signed, and must be completed before we can obtain dementia powers – again, date, print name, and sign.

    Conclusion

    If there are any questions regarding the completion of this form, please call the Public Guardian’s Office and ask for Victoria Fedor-Thurman, Supervising Deputy Public Guardian at (408) 5772630. We will be happy to review your medical declaration in draft form before you submit the original. This may save time and avoid returning the form if there are any changes needed. Again, thank you for your cooperation.

    Sincerely,

    Don Moody
    Public Administrator/Guardian of Santa Clara County

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  14. On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”
    PREAMBLE
    Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
    Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the commonpeople,
    Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
    Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
    Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
    Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
    Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
    Now, Therefore,
    THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
    proclaims
    THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
    Article 1.
    All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
    Article 2.
    Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
    Article 3.
    Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
    Article 4.
    No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
    Article 5.
    No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
    Article 6.
    Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
    Article 7.
    All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
    Article 8.
    Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
    Article 9.
    No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
    Article 10.
    Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
    Article 11.
    (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
    (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
    Article 12.
    No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
    Article 13.
    (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
    (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
    Article 14.
    (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
    (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
    Article 15.
    (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
    (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
    Article 16.
    (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
    (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
    (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
    Article 17.
    (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
    (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
    Article 18.
    Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
    Article 19.
    Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
    Article 20.
    (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
    (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
    Article 21.
    (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
    (2) Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
    (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
    Article 22.
    Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
    Article 23.
    (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
    (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
    (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
    (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
    Article 24.
    Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
    Article 25.
    (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
    (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
    Article 26.
    (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
    (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
    (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
    Article 27.
    (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
    (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
    Article 28.
    Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
    Article 29.
    (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
    (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
    (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
    Article 30.
    Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

    Prepared for Internet by the Information Technology Section
    Department of Public Information
    © United Nations 1998

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  16. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” It’s a quote routinely attributed to Edmund Burke.

    Posting your Mad In America website is questionable at best.
    WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THIS MAD IN AMERICA WEBSITE?
    Duane?
    Anybody?
    CRICKETS are recorded from 4:25 3/14/2025 until someone has a answered this simple question.
    With respect to no one I trust no one and if you cant this question then your untrustworthy by point of fact.

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