USI Approves Plans for Doctor of Education Program
The University of Southern Indiana Board of Trustees approves a Doctor of Education or Ed.D. program. The degree would be offered through the Pott College of Science, Engineering and Education. The program now has to receive approval from the…
CHANNELING DONALD TRUMP
Making Sense by Michael Reagan
Maybe I’m channeling Donald Trump. Or maybe he’s been reading my columns – or my mind.
All I know for sure is that when he gave his great speech to Congress Tuesday night he did exactly what I suggested he should do that morning in my column in The Hill – stop being Donald Trump.
Quoting my father, I wrote that there comes a time when the president-elect has to become the president – and then start acting like one who represents the whole country, even his enemies.
I said the president should be a conservative, make conservative appointments and run a conservative government.
But I also suggested that he immediately stop catering only to his base and tell us in his speech where he wants to take the country and how he plans to take us there.
President Trump did all that and much more in his widely applauded speech Tuesday night, which was a great turning point for his administration to move forward on his agenda. Â By spelling out his core goals, and asking the House and Senate to create the legislation to put them into place, Trump proved to Congress he wants to lead.
On Tuesday night he set the cornerstone for his administration’s agenda.  Like Trump Tower, he now has to begin rebuilding and rehabilitating America from the infrastructure up.  Many of our bridges and roads are in shambles. We take off and land at airports that would shame a Third World country.
In Studio City, Ca., not far from my house, a 90-year-old pipe burst and caused a sinkhole that swallowed cars but thankfully no people.
President Trump is absolutely right to want to throw a trillion public and private dollars at the crumbling infrastructure of the country – the more private the funding, the better.
He is also absolutely right to want to rebuild and build-up our military after eight years of neglect by the Obama administration.
As my father used to say, we fought four wars during his lifetime – none of which were fought because America was too strong.
President Trump understands that. So does Secretary of Defense James Mattis.  So does his disgruntled fellow Republican, Senator John McCain, who’ll someday applaud the president if he stays on course to rejuvenate the Army, Air Force and Navy.
The president’s signature campaign issue, enforcing and reforming our awful immigration policy, will face a huge political fight and a lot of compromising.
He’ll need to find the area where we can all come together. Nobody is going to get 100 percent of what they want, so everyone – including the president’s base — has to be willing to give a little.
President Trump’s other aims – lowering taxes on people and corporations, cutting regulations on businesses and repealing and replacing ObamaCare – are goals conservatives have been dreaming about for years.
He has a real chance of accomplishing many of his goals and the goals of conservatives in the next 200 days, but he can’t do it alone.
He’s going to need the advice and help of thousands of people.
So if I could give one more bit of advice to President Trump, which comes from a placard that was on my father’s desk, it is, “There’s no telling what a man can accomplish or where he could go if he doesn’t worry about who gets the credit.â€
My father knew it’s never about taking credit, Mr. Trump, it’s all about getting things done.
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Experienced Applicants File For Supreme Court Vacancy
Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com
Sixteen men and five women applied to succeed Indiana Supreme Court Justice Robert Rucker, the Judicial Nominating Commission announced Friday.
More than half the candidates have been interviewed by the commission for past appellate court vacancies, and several have been finalists or semifinalists to serve on the Indiana Supreme Court or the Indiana Court of Appeals. The applicants include eight judges, six law firm partners, four solo practitioners, a lawmaker, a state attorney, and a recently suspended lawyer who’s suing the Indiana Supreme Court.
The applicants are:
Rucker will retire this spring after 26 years on the bench. Initial candidate interviews will take place March 20-22 with semifinalists interviewed April 17-19. Gov. Eric Holcomb will select the next justice from three finalists chosen by the commission.
Hostetler and Kincaid were two of the three names the commission forwarded to Gov. Mike Pence last year, when he chose Geoffrey Slaughter as the state’s 109th justice, replacing Brent Dickson. Carmichael, Rusthoven and Washburne were semifinalists last year for the position.
Likewise, Granger was a semifinalist for appointment to the state’s high court in 2012, when Justice Mark Massa was appointed to the bench to replace former Chief Justice Randall Shepard. Goff, meanwhile, was one of three finalists nominated for a seat on the Indiana Court of Appeals that ultimately was filled by Judge Robert Altice.
Hardman, Medlock, Oss, Owens and Weissmann also have been interviewed for past Supreme Court vacancies, and Creason has been a candidate for a past Court of Appeals vacancy.
Meanwhile, the commission has an application from an attorney the Supreme Court suspended last month for filing lawsuits the court deemed frivolous. Andrew U.D. Straw, an Illinois attorney who formerly worked for the court, has sued the court claiming discrimination on the basis of disability.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathryn Dolan said the commission planned to meet Monday in executive session to determine eligibility of candidates, after which an interview schedule will be determined. According to the court, when the March interview schedule is made public, applications and photographs will be available online here. Attachments, including writing samples and transcripts, will be available in the Supreme Court Law Library.
Fiona is a 3-year-old female brown tabby. She’s prim, proper, and plump, and needs a VERY special kid-free, dog-free home! Call for details. Fiona is the VHS’ longest resident and needs a home very badly. Her $30 adoption fee covers the cost of her spay, microchip, vaccines, and FeLV/FIV test. Contact the Vanderburgh Humane Society at (812) 426-2563 or adoptions@vhslifesaver.org for adoption details!
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Jennifer and Chad Wininger, Evansville, son, Kayson Robert, Feb. 18
Erin and Jeremy Grabert, Evansville, son, Nash Steven, Feb. 18
Sadia Masoud and Muhammad Noor, Evansville, daughter, Anaya, Feb. 18
Terah and Scott McDaniel, Evansville, son, Zander Lane, Feb. 18
Danielle Durham and Anthony Landers II, Evansville, son, Asher Justice, Feb. 19
Jessica and Nathan Wildeman, Evansville, daughter, Grace Anne, Feb. 20
Brandi Holder and Colton Heck, Boonville, in, daughter, Gracelyn Mae, Feb. 21
Erika Boner and Logan Lloyd, Princeton, Ind., son, Carter Bruce William, Feb. 21
Katie and Harold Graff, Wadesville, Ind., son, Levi Turner, Feb. 21
Nicki and Adam Thurston, Haubstadt, Ind., daughter, Lilly Kate, Feb. 22
Chelsey Barrett and Nicholas Elliott, Evansville, son, Elijan Royce, Feb. 23
Andrea Williams and Patrick Bennett, Evansville, son, Brigham Lee, Feb. 23
Samantha Greenwell and Walker Choate, Princeton, Ind., daughter, Amethyst Jane, Feb. 23
Megan and Andrew Bartley, Evansville, daughter, Amber Nicole, Feb. 23
Arika and Kody Nix, Chandler, Ind., son, Kamryn Tyler, Feb. 23
Diamond Spinks and Thomas Vincent, Evansville, son, Carter Lee, Feb. 23
Rosanna and David Wichman, Evansville, daughter, Rosemary Catherine, Feb. 24
Kristen and James Decker, Gentryville, Ind., son, Orion Anthony, Feb. 24
Gavel Gamut
By Jim Redwine
www.jamesmredwine.com
(Week of 06 March 2017)
DON’T TREAD ON HER
Should you be among the vast legions of loyal Gamut readers who read and preserved last week’s column you will no doubt have committed to memory the conversation between our contemporary Adam and Eve, ergo Jim and Peg, concerning the glories of spring.
Unfortunately, another of those readers was Peg. Usually she just types up my burnt offerings as rapidly as she can without deigning to take the slightest note. However, since her name was mentioned she actually read and was not amused by last week’s “Fair and Balanced†exposition of hers and my differing approaches to the Earth’s yearly awakening. Peg has demanded a retraction in lieu of filing a lawsuit or worse.
I spent at least five seconds resisting her unreasonable and incessant demands then remembered what Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) wrote:
The Female of the Species
WHEN the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When Nag the basking cobra hears the careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can.
But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When the early Jesuit fathers preached to Hurons and Choctaws,
They prayed to be delivered from the vengeance of the squaws.
‘Twas the women, not the warriors, turned those stark enthusiasts pale.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
Man’s timid heart is bursting with the things he must not say,
For the Woman that God gave him isn’t his to give away;
But when hunter meets with husbands, each confirms the other’s tale—
The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
Man, a bear in most relations—worm and savage otherwise,—
Man propounds negotiations, Man accepts the compromise.
Very rarely will he squarely push the logic of a fact
To its ultimate conclusion in unmitigated act.
Fear, or foolishness, impels him, ere he lay the wicked low,
To concede some form of trial even to his fiercest foe.
Mirth obscene diverts his anger—Doubt and Pity oft perplex
Him in dealing with an issue—to the scandal of The Sex!
But the Woman that God gave him, every fibre of her frame
Proves her launched for one sole issue, armed and engined for the same;
And to serve that single issue, lest the generations fail,
The female of the species must be deadlier than the male.
She who faces Death by torture for each life beneath her breast
May not deal in doubt or pity—must not swerve for fact or jest.
These be purely male diversions—not in these her honour dwells—
She the Other Law we live by, is that Law and nothing else.
She can bring no more to living than the powers that make her great
As the Mother of the Infant and the Mistress of the Mate.
And when Babe and Man are lacking and she strides unclaimed to claim
Her right as femme (and baron), her equipment is the same.
She is wedded to convictions—in default of grosser ties;
Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him who denies!—
He will meet no suave discussion, but the instant, white-hot, wild,
Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.
Unprovoked and awful charges—even so the she-bear fights,
Speech that drips, corrodes, and poisons—even so the cobra bites,
Scientific vivisection of one nerve till it is raw
And the victim writhes in anguish—like the Jesuit with the squaw!
So it comes that Man, the coward, when he gathers to confer
With his fellow-braves in council, dare not leave a place for her
Where, at war with Life and Conscience, he uplifts his erring hands
To some God of Abstract Justice—which no woman understands.
And Man knows it! Knows, moreover, that the Woman that God gave him
Must command but may not govern—shall enthral but not enslave him.
And She knows, because She warns him, and Her instincts never fail,
That the Female of Her Species is more deadly than the Male.
(Thanks to my friend Sam Blankenship for directing me to this warning.)
Anyway, Gentle Readers (at least of the male persuasion), I am confident you will agree with me on two points: (1) Peg was dead wrong; and, (2) I would be foolish to say so!
For more Gavel Gamut articles go to:
www.jamesmredwine.com
Justices Reverse Suppression Of Man’s Admission To Driving Under The Influence
Oliivia Covington for www.theindianalawyer.com
The Indiana Supreme Court has reversed a motion to suppress evidence of a man’s admission to driving under the influence at a sobriety checkpoint, holding that the brief and public nature of the checkpoint did not require police officers to give the man a Miranda warning.
In the case of State of Indiana v. David Brown, 49S05-1606-CR-348, David Brown, who was driving a motorcycle, was stopped as part of an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department field sobriety checkpoint and was ultimately arrested after officers observed that he had red, watery eyes, struggled to retrieve his license, slurred his speech and smelled like alcohol. Further, Brown admitted to officers that he had been drinking.
The state charged Brown with Class C misdemeanors operating while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of at least .08 but less than .15 grams per 210 liters of breath. During a bench trial, Brown’s counsel asked an officer if he had Mirandized Brown before asking him if he had been drinking, and the officer indicated that he had not done so and further indicated that Brown was not free to go when the question was asked.
Based off that testimony, Brown’s counsel objected, holding that the officer had committed a Miranda violation. The state, however, argued that a Miranda warning was not necessary because the sobriety checkpoint was not a custodial situation.
The Marion Superior Court ultimately granted Brown’s motion to suppress, prompting the state’s initial appeal to the Court of Appeals. The appellate panel dismissed the appeal after determining sua sponte that the state had no statutory authority to appeal because Brown never filed a written motion to suppress.
After agreeing to hear the case in June, the Indiana Supreme Court held in a Thursday opinion that Indiana Code 35-38-4-2(5) permits the state to bring its appeal because the grant of Brown’s motion to suppress had the effect of precluding further prosecution in the case.
Justice Steve David, writing for the court, noted that although Brown initially raised the Miranda through an oral objection, he eventually filed a “Memorandum of Law in Support of a Motion to Suppress.†Because the suppression order was so broad as to including “’any statements by (Brown) as well as any evidence obtained thereafter,’†the order “effectively excludes all evidence the State would need to prove these charges,†David wrote.
Further, the justices held that under Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 439-40 (1984), the sobriety checkpoint did not trigger a Miranda warning because it was temporary and brief in nature and public. Specifically, the officers were working in a well-lit Arby’s parking lot and were instructed that they had only two minutes to discern impairment, thus meeting the Berkemer requirements.
“This is not to say that there cannot be a set of circumstances where a detention as part of a sobriety checkpoint is so lengthy and/or private that it triggers Miranda,†David wrote. “However, looking at the circumstances in this case, including the short duration of the stop and the public nature of it, we cannot say that Brown was in custody for Miranda purposes.â€
Justice Robert Rucker concurred in result with the majority, writing in a separate opinion that he believes motorists detained at sobriety checkpoints are entitled to Miranda protection. However, Rucker acknowledged that the U.S. Supreme Court “has declined to expand Miranda’s reach to cases involving routine traffic stops and its reasoning is applicable to the case before us.â€
Air quality forecasts for Evansville and Vanderburgh County are provided as a public service. They are best estimates of predicted pollution levels that can be used as a guide so people can modify their activities and reduce their exposure to air quality conditions that may affect their health. The forecasts are routinely made available at least a day in advance, and are posted by 10:30 AM Evansville time on Monday (for Tuesday through Thursday) and Thursday (for Friday through Monday). When atmospheric conditions are uncertain or favor pollution levels above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, forecasts are made on a daily basis.
Ozone forecasts are available from mid-April through September 30th. Fine particulate (PM2.5) forecasts are available year round.
| Friday
March 3 |
Saturday March 4 |
Sunday March 5 |
Monday March 6 |
Tuesday March 7 |
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| Fine Particulate (0-23Â CST avg) Air Quality Index |
good | moderate | good | good | NA* |
| Ozone Air Quality Index |
NA* | NA* | NA* | NA* | NA* |
| Ozone (peak 8-hr avg) (expected) |
NA* | NA* | NA* | NA* | NA* |
*
Air Quality Action Days
Ozone Alerts are issued by the Evansville EPA when maximum ozone readings averaged over a period of eight hours are forecasted to reach 71 parts per billion (ppb), or unhealthy for sensitive groups on the USEPA Air Quality Index scale.
Particulate Alerts are issued by the Evansville EPA when PM2.5 readings averaged over the period of midnight to midnight are forecasted to reach 35 micrograms per meter cubed (µg/m3).
Current conditions of OZONE and FINE PARTICULATE MATTER are available in near real-time on the Indiana Department of Environment Management’s website.
National and regional maps of current conditions are available through USEPA AIRNow.
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