Supporters of John Phillips today will ask for a court order that would transfer the former civil court judge to the care of a niece in Brooklyn from a Bronx nursing home.

For the small group of friends who have staged protests and filed legal complaints on behalf of Judge Phillips, today’s expected court appearance in Brooklyn represents the culmination of a grassroots effort to return the popular political figure to Brooklyn, where they say he belongs.

More than a year after his move to the Bronx, Judge Phillips’s absence from the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn can be learned of even on the street corner: Graffiti calling for Judge Phillips to be freed can be observed along Bergen Street.

Judge Phillips’s departure from public life has generated numerous accusations since 2001, when the former judge, martial arts instructor, and theater owner was alleged to be incapacitated and put under the care of a guardian. Judge Phillips and various friends say that some of his multimillion-dollar real estate holdings have been sold off and that revenue is missing.

Judge Phillips, now 82, was placed under care of a guardian after doctors expressed concern that he was incapable of managing his estate and his personal health, a transcript of his 2001 court appearance shows.

At one point in that proceeding, Judge Phillips protested the possibility of a guardianship, citing his dedication to healthy living and his plans to run against Charles Hynes for the office of Kings County district attorney.

In 2003, Judge Phillips’s ability to manage his own affairs deteriorated, one of his guardians, Emani Taylor, said. When Judge Phillips stopped bathing because his home’s ceiling had collapsed into his bathtub, Ms. Taylor said she placed Judge Phillips in a nursing home and then a second one.

It was an undignified end of independence for a lawyer who had once led a political club and, despite being outside the Democratic Party establishment, managed twice to be elected as judge. He called himself the “Kung Fu judge” and retired from the bench in 1995.

From a pay phone at his nursing home, Judge Phillips said he hopes to return to Brooklyn. There, legal papers show, a niece of Judge Phillips has offered her services as a caretaker.

Ms. Taylor said Judge Phillips has already demonstrated a willingness to leave through his habit of “eloping,” or frequent wanderings. She said she expected that if he moved to Brooklyn he would not spend his time in quiet retirement.

“I don’t think he’ll ever run again for district attorney,” a longtime supporter of Judge Phillips, Deotha Woodburn, said. “His whole agenda now is to get out, have an investigation started, and file lawsuits for the wrong that has been done to him.”

Judge Phillips was adamant about his future plans.

“I’m going back to practicing law, general law,” he said.

A clerk at the appellate division confirmed that Judge Phillips is still registered with the court to practice law, although he owes a $350 fee by the end of this month.