Progress being made to provide justice for elderly victims, report says
Gene Vittone recalls a case he handled at least a decade or more ago when he was a Washington County assistant prosecutor. The alleged victim was in his 90s, and lucid when Vittone spoke to him early in the day. That changed by the time they were in court a few hours later.
“By the time he got into court, it was like a different guy,” Vittone, now the elected district attorney of Washington County, said, later adding, “Ultimately, I don’t think it mattered with the case, we were able to continue it, and do what we needed to do.”
Still, he pointed to those events as an example of the challenges that can present themselves in court proceedings involving senior citizens.
Now, Vittone is one of the members of an advisory council convened by the state Supreme Court to monitor progress in implementing measures that the court’s Elder Law Task Force recommended in 2014.
More than four years later, a report from that council said the courts other public entities have implemented 70 of the 130 recommendations, whose intended audience ran the gamut from attorneys who practice in the criminal, civil and orphans court to lawmakers and judges, among others.
The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts released a progress report of the Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts last week.
The report details the council’s efforts to combat physical, emotional and financial abuse, address the needs and challenges facing the state’s aging population and improve and protect justice for elders.
“This report is evidence of Pennsylvania’s strong commitment to protecting its elders,” said Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to all those who have contributed to the many successes detailed in the report, and who are effecting real change in the way that our commonwealth combats elder abuse.”
The council has continued that work and has established a Guardianship Tracking System to allow the courts to better monitor active guardianships across the state.
In addition, Vittone said a policy his office implemented in 2017 known as “vertical prosecution” – in which the same prosecutor handles the case and deals with the same victims and witnesses from beginning to end – is proving useful in cases involving elderly victims.
“That helps with these types of cases because you can get them in quicker and get them resolved sooner,” he said.
According to a release from the AOPC, Pennsylvania ranks fourth with the highest population of people age 65 and older and has 2.9 million residents over the age of 60.
In 2010, the state recorded about 21.5 percent of its population age 60 and above. A 2017 population estimation saw that number rise to 23.6 percent. Local numbers are higher across the board in Fayette, Washington, Greene and Westmoreland counties.
According to the 2017 estimates provided by the U.S. Census Bureau the population 60 and over in Fayette County is 27.2 percent; 24.4 percent in Greene County; 26.7 percent in Washington County and 29.1 percent in Westmoreland County.
Greene County District Attorney Marjorie Fox did not return a call seeking information on initiatives in that county.