"Will Francis Layton come forward!" the court bailiff announces.
There's suddenly a mumbling of voices and running. Distant scuffling can be heard. They've brought Frank in from jail for his hearing on the PFA violation that Kat complained about from two months ago. Someone whispers to the judge and he gets up out of his seat, steps down from the high platform that his desk rests upon, and disappears through the doorway.
"Matt, I've never seen anything like it." Guy Newman, Frank's friend and attorney from his previous, more normal life, states sadly. "They put Frank in that holding cell and it was like he was a caged animal. He was actually climbing the walls."
"So what happened?" Matt wanted to know.
"Well, he was trying to rip the bars out of the wall, and the guards were actually afraid to get near him; and that doesn't happen too often, I can tell you. There was no chance that they were going to bring him into that courtroom for his hearing."
Matt let out an audible sigh, "So what's next?"
"Psychological exam." Guy explains. "Everything is on hold until we find out if your brother's competent to stand trial. In my opinion, he's not, and they'll have to drop charges. Where does that leave us, I don't know."
Matt was dumbfounded by this news. It seems like just when there's hope that Frank is improving, he suddenly gets much worse. Our plans to bring Frank back home are dashed by this new aggressive behavior that we didn't count on. Frank is to stay in jail until a full psychological exam is completed and a new court date is set. At that point the judge will follow the recommendations of the court-appointed psychiatrist.
Dr. Arthur Boxer is a very well respected psychiatrist on the Main Line of Philadelphia. He's got a CVA a mile long, serving on many boards and educational institutions along with his own private practice. He also works for the state as the court's appointed psychiatrist. We were very fortunate to have this opportunity for a complete mental exam for Frank from such an experienced and knowledgeable doctor. According to Dr. Boxer's report, Frank had a complete lack of knowledge and understanding of his present circumstances and environment. His condition, FTD, caused him to not be held accountable for his activities as he lacked the ability to comprehend his actions which led to this situation. He was rendered incompetent to stand trial with no hope of becoming competent in the future.
There wasn't exactly a hearing, just a meeting in the judge's chambers with the DA and Guy Newman, who has been extremely generous to Frank. He donated his professional services at no charge for his old friend for any criminal charges like the PFA and DUI. There are still incredibly good, caring people in the world. The judge will not release Frank to us unless we can assure him that someone will be caring for him 24 hours a day. Since that's impossible, the only option for Frank's release is to a nursing home. I called every place I could find on the internet within our area. I thought it was hard before he was arrested to find care for him, but to find a nursing home that was interested in accepting someone from prison is nearly impossible. This is what I'm most angry about now. Kat is so hateful and spiteful, that six years after Frank filed for divorce, she's still punishing him.
This arrest is only because my cousin Angelo filed for spousal support and Kat doesn't want to pay. If Angelo had any experience working as a lawyer he probably would have known the court would not award spousal support to a man that is not caring for the children in any way, but that's another story. Due to his lack of experience working as an attorney, Angelo was on the wrong path with this case the entire time. We felt we were doing him a favor of giving him a job when he needed it, but he mistook our generosity for desperation and became someone we didn't know.
At the time we felt that since Frank had been found incompetent, the hearing would go our way and Kat would be ordered to help support him in some way.
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