by David Bloomberg
As discussed last issue, psychiatrist Bennett Braun, a leader in the repressed memory movement, was supposed to have a preliminary hearing before an administrative law judge in regards to the complaint filed against him by the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. Instead, his attorneys filed three motions seeking to have the case thrown out. One motion claimed the statute of limitations had expired; the judge ruled it has not. The second motion claimed the charges lacked specificity; the judge ruled against it as well (it seems strained to say a 23-page complaint lacks specificity). The third claimed there was some bias against Braun; the judge threw that one out as well.
The new date set for a hearing is November 9, and Braun must file any new motions before the 7th. To speed up the haring process, prosecutor Thomas Glasgow said he volunteered to work through the weekend to respond immediately to any such motions.
In addition to Braun, the department also filed new charges against one of his colleagues, Dr. Elva Poznanski. Poznanski was chief of child psychiatry at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center when the two Burgus children were institutionalized there. The department filed a 19-page, 8-count complaint against her with charges similar to those filed against Braun, such as causing the children to believe they had been abused and engaged in satanic activities. Her preliminary hearing is also on November 9.
It also looks like more complaints may be filed against other doctors who used recovered memory therapy. Glasgow would not name anybody, but said they are definitely investigating others. He also said that the complaint against Braun may be amended to include a large amount of new information he has received from other former patients after the first news story broke. He said that many were unaware there was any place they could file their complaints until now.
