Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/233139
Sarasota News Leader December 27, 2013 Page 20 But despite the December ruling, the fight didn't end there. According to documents filed afterward, Winkelman never saw the mediated settlement the attorneys had reached, nor was she notified in advance of the hearing at which that settlement was approved. "Marie Winkelman has never testified under oath; presented evidence; called witnesses; or been given an option by her attorney to have the hearing open or closed," wrote attorney Audrey Bear, appointed to represent Winkelman after the case was originally decided. "Her attorney chose to close hearings, did not present numerous witnesses whom Ms. Winkelman wanted to testify on her behalf, and never presented any evidence to the court of her capacity." Bear's filing argued that Winkelman had been denied due process, and it asked the court to vacate its December incapacity ruling. The case has since been reopened. Bear also challenged the validity of an examination of Winkelman performed by a "Dr. Rivera," who arrived at Winkelman's home unannounced and never stated the purpose for his visit. "Since Rivera's report was made without consent," it should be "stricken from the record," Bear argued, calling for a new round of evaluations. (Bear did not respond to a Sarasota News Leader message.) Newman says one particularly galling document stands out. Barry Spivey, a lawyer with Spivey & Fallon P.A., wrote to the judge in the case, Deno Economou, asking him to deny Winkelman a copy of the audio transcript of a November hearing, which she had requested. The cover of Winkelman's memoir, Keeping a Promise: To Tell My Story of Survival in Warsaw During World War II. Photo courtesy of Beverly Newman "This is a very slippery slope," says Newman, "when we can take away a person's civil rights without due process." Newman calls Winkelman's case "monumental," but it's also not entirely atypical. The Al Katz Center — named for Newman's father, who was placed into a guardianship against Newman's will — is monitoring a handful of cases at any given time. "There's a rush to judgment against elders." %