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THE KING’S EVIDENCE By Jim Redwine

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Gavel Gamut by Judge Redwine

THE KING’S EVIDENCE

America’s judges still occasionally cite cases decided by the courts of Great Britain in colonial times. A maxim of old English law was, “The King is entitled to everyone’s evidence”. In other words, individuals had but scant claims to privacy from the government. Perhaps we have gone full circle.

With the confluence of technology and terrorism Americans appear willing to accept, or are resigned, to government intrusion into every aspect of our lives. This is the issue to be confronted by Mt. Vernon and North Posey high schools on April 29, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. in the Posey Circuit Court.

At a public forum students from both high schools with the able oversight of their teachers will present a mock trial to members of the Posey County Bar Association. The Bar is once again sponsoring a celebration of Law Day. The public is invited.

Members of the Bar will comprise a jury led by Attorney William Bender, President of the Bar and jury foreperson. Judge Brent Almon of the Posey Superior Court will preside. Students will portray mock trial parties and witnesses who will be represented and examined by student attorneys. This will be the 30th straight year our schools have joined in the celebration of right over might.

The facts of this year’s case are set forth below:

“On Sunday, April 3, 2016 Joel Goodsen who is a senior at Rapture High School in Posey County, Indiana was driving by the front door to the high school. Joel planned to do some running on the high school track. It was 9:30 a.m. The weather was clear. As he was driving Joel was texting his friend Miles Dalby.

Joel momentarily took his eyes from the screen of his iPhone and saw someone he thought might be his classmate, Thelma Louis, spray-painting on the glass door. Joel pulled up Snapchat and took a photo, which he sent to Miles. Joel had his Snapchat timer set for ten seconds.

Miles immediately captured the Snapchat photograph with a screenshot that showed some of the left side of the person’s face and the large word “Bomb” painted on the door. There was other writing on the door, but it was too small for Joel to see or for Miles to make it out from the photograph. Miles encrypted the photo and protected it with a new four numeral and four letter password.

The spray-painter looked up as Joel’s pickup drove by. The person dropped the spray-paint can then sprayed paint remover on the smaller writing and ran to a Honda motorcycle parked beside the entrance. The person was wearing black Isotoner gloves, a black hoodie, black sweat pants and chartreuse tennis shoes. The painter mounted the Honda, pulled a pair of black goggles from the hoodie’s front pouch and left at a high rate of speed. The painting dissolved away as Joel tried to run up to the door to read it. 

Joel called his mother, Marla Goodsen, and told her what he had seen. Joel did not feel confident in his identification so he did not relate his suspicions to either his mother or Miles.

Mrs. Goodsen instructed Joel to call school superintendent Elmer Gantry immediately. She found his telephone number for Joel using the Whitepages app on her iPhone.

Joel called Mr. Gantry who thanked Joel and called his friend Jane E. Hoover, who is an F.B.I. agent stationed in Evansville.

When Gantry called Hoover she happened to be having coffee with her fiancé, Whittaker Chambers of the C.I.A., at Sara’s Coffee Shop in New Harmony. They alerted both of their agencies who authorized the seizure of both Joel’s and Miles’s cell phones if a judge would issue a warrant.

Together they applied for a search warrant from a judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA). The judge issued the warrant and Jane and Whittaker executed the warrant. They seized both cell phones but were unable to access either of them concerning the Snapchat photograph or the captured screenshot from Miles’s iPhone.

Joel did not know of any way to retrieve a Snapchat photograph after it was deleted and Miles could not remember the password he used. Neither Joel nor Miles refused to cooperate.

The Snapchat software was created by Black Briar Computer Company and Miles’s iPhone was designed by Appleby Computer Company. Black Briar refused to develop software to retrieve images from The Cloud and Appleby refused to develop software to find Miles’s password.

Rapture High School along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency filed a civil law suit against both computer companies seeking a court order forcing the computer companies to cooperate.”

Once the Mock Trial is concluded, at 11:00 a.m. a panel of Indiana Appellate court judges will hear oral argument on an actual pending case. The judges are John Baker, Melissa May and Mark Bailey. They will conduct their hearing in the courtroom of the Posey Circuit Court in Mt. Vernon.

This event is also open to the public. Please join the students, the Posey County Bar and the Court of Appeals in commemorating America’s freedom, democracy and rule of law.

Women Allege Gender, Race Discrimination At Salesforce

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IBJ for www.theindianalawyer.com

Two women employed in the Indianapolis offices of Salesforce.com Inc. have filed federal discrimination lawsuits against the cloud-software giant, claiming the company passed them over for promotions on multiple occasions because of their race and gender.

Tanya Blackwell, who turned or turns 45 this year, and Maria Boyd, whose age was not mentioned in court records, each filed civil suits in the past month in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The suits follow complaints Blackwell and Boyd filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, court documents said.

Blackwell, who’s black, and Boyd, who’s Puerto Rican, are seeking damages for “wages, benefits, compensation, and other monetary loss suffered,” although exact figures were not specified in the suits.

Blackwell, who also alleged she was underpaid, no longer works for the San Francisco-based company, which employs about 1,400 in Indianapolis. Boyd’s employment status is not clear.

Andrew Dutkanych, an attorney with Biesecker Dutkanych & Macer LLC in Evansville, represents both women. Asked in an email if more suits were forthcoming, he said, “While additional suits are possible given the systemic nature of the allegations, there are no additional suits presently planned or on the immediate horizon.”

Salesforce declined to respond to the allegations, saying it does not comment on pending litigation.

The allegations run counter to the stated philosophy of Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who’s an outspoken proponent of equal pay and rights for women and minorities.

Last spring, Benioff said the company would analyze and then eliminate its gender pay gap, and in a blog post last month the company said it spent $3 million doing so in 2015. That amounted to raises for about 1,000 women and men out of about 17,000  employees globally.

Blackwell said in a suit, filed Thursday, that she worked for Indianapolis-based ExactTarget Inc.—acquired by Salesforce in summer 2013—since September 2012 as a director of credit and collections. She alleged she was paid less than “similarly situated younger males and non-African-Americans” despite performing similar work. She also said she watched younger, white peers repeatedly get promoted while she remained in the same position for the final 30 months of her job.

She was terminated in April 2015 after her position was eliminated, her suit said.

Boyd filed her suit March 14. She began working at ExactTarget in June 2008 as a contract revenue specialist, and, after two promotions, was a global manager of credit and collections by November 2013. She reported to Blackwell.

Salesforce promotes employees in November and May, the lawsuit said, so in September 2014 Blackwell recommended Boyd’s promotion for the ensuing November round. Boyd was not promoted.

When Blackwell followed up about the reason Boyd was passed over, she was told Boyd’s promotion “fell through the cracks” because officials behind the promotions didn’t receive a signature from a senior vice president, the suit alleges. Ultimately, the suit said, Blackwell was told that Boyd would be part of the next round of promotions in May 2015.

Boyd was not promoted then or in subsequent rounds, according to the lawsuit, which claims the company has “a disproportionate number of males and Caucasians across its upper levels of management.”

While Boyd’s lawsuit didn’t indicate whether she was still with Salesforce, her LinkedIn profile says she’s a global manager of credit and collections at Salesforce’s Indianapolis offices.

Blackwell not only suffered from a lack of pay and promotions, her lawsuit said, but also was assigned to report to one of her co-workers who, like her, was a director. Meanwhile, her male, non-African-American counterparts reported to Senior Vice President Lisa Edwards, the suit said.

On or around April 16, 2015, Blackwell said she spoke with human resources official Angela Whatley about how she perceived she was being treated at Salesforce, and the fact that the company effectively ignored her suggestion to promote Boyd. Five days later, Blackwell’s job was eliminated.

When asked what evidence Blackwell had for her pay discrimination allegations, Dutkanych said in an email, “She was aware of the compensation her peers received.”

According to her LinkedIn profile, Blackwell now is a senior director of global credit and collections at Discovery Communications Inc. in Washington, D.C.

EPA Takes Action to Reduce Exposure To TCE In Art And Crafts Spray Fixatives

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WASHINGTON – After the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) assessment of trichloroethylene or TCE showed risk, the sole manufacturer of a fixative product using TCE voluntarily withdrew it from the marketplace. The EPA is now taking action to ensure no other manufacturers including importers enter the marketplace before EPA has the opportunity to prohibit or limit these uses.

“EPA commends PLZ Aeroscience Corporation for removing TCE from its arts and crafts spray fixative product,” said Jim Jones, assistant administrator for the office of chemical safety and pollution prevention. “EPA is putting into place a level playing field to ensure importers and domestic manufacturers do not re-enter the marketplace before EPA has an opportunity to review.”

In a separate regulatory action under the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA aims to reduce the risks from TCE in aerosol and vapor degreasing and as a spot cleaner in dry cleaning facilities.

Today’s rule, known as a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR), requires anyone intending to initiate manufacture, including the import or processing of TCE for new uses to notify EPA at least 90 days before doing so. The notification will allow EPA to evaluate the intended use and to take appropriate action.

The TCE spray fixative product was used by artists, picture framers, graphic designers and printers to provide a water repellant and protective finish.

EPA’s June 2014 Work Plan Chemical Risk Assessment for TCE identified health risks associated with several TCE uses, including the arts and craft spray fixative use, aerosol and vapor degreasing, and as a spotting agent in dry cleaning facilities. In 2015, EPA worked with the only U.S. manufacturer of the TCE spray fixative product, PLZ Aeroscience Corporation of Addison, Illinois, resulting in an agreement to stop production of the TCE containing product and to reformulate the product with an alternate chemical.

A few current uses of TCE, such as use in cleaners and solvent degreasers, film cleaners, lubricants, mirror edge sealants, and pepper spray, are not subject to the final rule.

This final rule is effective 60 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register. Once published, the publication can be found in the Federal Register docket at www.regulations.gov by searching for EPA-HQ-OPPT-2014-0697.

A pre-publication copy of the final rule and more information can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/trichloroethylene-tce

ST. MARY’S TO OFFER FREE BALANCE SCREENINGS

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St. Mary’s Rehabilitation will offer FREE balance screenings Thursday, April 21, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Washington Square Mall, in the rear St. Mary’s entrance.

Among the older population, falls are the leading cause of trauma admissions and injuries.  A decreased sense of balance is a common risk factor for falling.  The balance screening focuses on assessing balance and identifying factors that may decrease balance and potentially lead to falls. Participants will also have the opportunity to review their medication list with a St. Mary’s pharmacist.

The event is free and open to the public, but an appointment time is required. Participants are encouraged to reserve a spot. Please call 812-485-6910 to schedule a screening time.

The University of Evansville Physical Therapy Department, University of Southern Indiana Occupational Therapy Department, St. Mary’s Durable Medical Equipment, the YMCA, SWIRCA, St. Mary’s Pharmacy, and others will also have information on balance and other health topics available at the event.

Indiana State Police Summer Youth Camps

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Every summer since 1970, the Indiana State Police has offered law enforcement summer camps for Hoosier youth. To date, over 45,000 young Hoosiers have been afforded the opportunity to spend face time with law enforcement officers in a positive environment. Countless camp graduates have gone on to careers in law enforcement and other related fields.

In fact, many of the camp graduates go on to be adult camp counselors, after they begin their law enforcement careers.
The camps are designed to help students get an up close and personal view of law enforcement and the criminal justice system, but more importantly, gain respect for themselves and others. This is all done through programs that reward hard work, dedication and team work.

The camps always include demonstrations by Indiana State Police SWAT, Explosive Ordinance Disposal, Scuba and other specialty teams. Troopers volunteer to put on demonstrations on a variety of topics. The camp staffs are handpicked law enforcement personnel who dedicate their time to preparing youth for their futures.

The Indiana Troopers Youth Services schedule for the 46th year of summer camp programs is complete. Coordinated by the Indiana Troopers Youth Services organization, the camps will be staffed by Indiana State Police officers and officers from other law enforcement organizations.

The 2016 Camp Schedule is as follows:

The Law camps will have two locations:

Vincennes University, June 15th -18th, Sgt. Eric Dunn, Director.
Anderson University, July 6th-9th, Sgt. Tony Slocum, Director.

The Career Camps cover grades 9 -12 with three locations:

Vincennes University- July 15th-18th, Master Trooper Troy Boyd, Director
Trine University- July 15th -18th, Master Trooper Marc Leatherman, Director
St. Joseph College (Rensselaer) – July 17th-22nd, Trooper Danielle Elwood, Director

The ITYS is going to host three Pioneer Camps:

Potato Creek State Park- St, Joseph County, Director Trooper Ben Ennis
Mounds State Park- Anderson, Director Trooper Jeremy Mason
Lincoln State Park- Spencer County, Co-Directors Sgt. Rob Gardner and Master Trooper Tom Campbell

If you know a child that may be interested in attending a camp, or if you would like more information, please visit the Indiana Troopers Youth Services Web Site at http://trooper.org/

The Indiana Troopers Youth Services will host the 3rd Annual Summer Camp Golf Outing on Wednesday, May 18th at Meadowbrook Golf Course in Anderson. This is a big fund raiser for the camps and is open to anyone that would like to play or su

Softball ready for 3-game set against Wichita State

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Big weekend on tap for Purple Aces

On Saturday and Sunday, the University of Evansville softball team welcomes Wichita State to Cooper Stadium for a 3-game set, which will also be Alumni Weekend for the Purple Aces.

Saturday’s action gets underway with a noon doubleheader before Sunday’s final game will take place at 12 p.m.  The doubleheader on Saturday will be carried live on ESPN3 as part of “The Valley on ESPN3” package.  It is the first softball game to be featured on that platform.

Alumni events begin on Friday at 4:30 p.m. when alumni will meet at Cooper Stadium for a campus tour.  A big doubleheader is on tap Saturday when the Purple Aces welcome Wichita State.  The action begins at noon with game one.  In between games, the alumni who are in attendance will be recognized on the field.  Following the second game, the alumni will have the opportunity to enjoy a cookout with the current team.

UE is coming off of a weekend MVC series at Bradley where they picked up a win in the first game, taking down the Braves by a final of 11-2.  Morgan Florey struck out seven batters in the complete game effort as she also notched three hits.  Kristin Koepke hit the first home run of her career while Courtney Land, Michal Luckett and Hayli Scott each finished with three hits apiece.

For the second time this season, Florey was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week.  Florey recorded the first home run of her career in a win over UT Martin and also picked up the win as she pitched 3 2/3 innings.  In one of the best all-around performance you will ever see, Florey went 3-4 with 2 runs, 2 RBI and 2 doubles in the series opener at Bradley.  Rounding out that performance was her complete game performance as she gave up two runs in six innings while striking out seven.

Despite just six at-bats in the last four games, UE infielder Morgan Lambert took full advantage of every trip to the plate.  Lambert recorded hits in five of her six at-bats, finishing the week hitting .833.  She also drew a walk.  She knocked in three runs for the Aces, helping the squad to a 2-2 mark in its last four games.

Infielder Susan Norris hit .364 over the last week and had a stellar effort as UE played a conference series at Bradley.  Her bat came alive in the final two games of the weekend as she went 4-7 with seven RBI and three runs scored in the final two games at Bradley.  In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, she knocked in four runs in a 3-4 performance while hitting a home run.  She homered again on Sunday, going 1-3 with a game-tying home run that made it a 4-4 game in the 6th inning.

Wichita State enters the weekend with a 20-14 mark and are 6-3 in conference play.  A solid offensive team, the Shockers come into the weekend with a .296 team batting average and five regulars hitting .330 or higher.  Macklin Hitz leads that contingent as her .368 average is tops on the squad.

BLC To Conduct Town Hall Meeting In Evansville On Saturday, April 9

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IBLC to conduct town hall meeting
in Evansville on Saturday, April 9
 

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

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 Below is a list of the felony cases filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office yesterday and today.

Drake Alexander Whitney Maintaining a common nuisance, Level 6 felony

Possession of marijuana, Class B misdemeanor

Illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage, Class C misdemeanor

Possession of paraphernalia, Class C misdemeanor

Charlene Yvonne Byram Theft, Level 6 felony

Andrew Nell Berry Possession of methamphetamine, Level 6 felony

Theft, Class A misdemeanor

Possession of paraphernalia, Class C misdemeanor

Quentin Jacob Gregory Dealing in a Schedule I controlled substance, Level 5 felony

Maintaining a common nuisance, Level 6 felony

Possession of paraphernalia, Class C misdemeanor

Christopher James Debose Attempted battery by means of deadly weapon, Level 5 felony

Attempted battery with moderate bodily injury, Level 6 felony

Criminal mischief, Class B misdemeanor

Luis Velaquez-Gonzalez Battery resulting in serious bodily injury, Level 5 felony

Battery with moderate bodily injury, Level 6 felony

Domestic battery, Level 6 felony

Domestic battery, Class A misdemeanor

Michael David McCool Jr. Possession of methamphetamine, Level 5 felony

ANN ENNIS SPEAKS OUT

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ANN ENNIS SPEAKS OUT

When we open a water tap, local county government is involved.  When an uninsured motorist hits our car, local government is involved.  Whether it is sanitary practices of restaurants, a rickety bridge, rehabilitating first time drug offenders or getting married, our county governments are the underpinning that holds our communities together, keep order and assure safety.

The General Assembly directed budgeting when mixed into county and education affairs mucks it up.  Big federal and state government need to stay out of local taxpayer and local government’s pocketbooks, out of schools and away from unfunded mandates.

County councils, county commissioners, town councils, and school boards are hometown heroes.  With much of county and local tax money being sucked up to Indianapolis it is on a detour before coming back home.  County officials then have to work long and hard to find ways to keep our communities functioning.

They do not need or want the glitz and glamor of Indianapolis.  They don’t get entertained by lobbyists. The county voter knows where elected county leaders live, go to church, eat and shop.  As a result, elected county leaders hear the complaints and concerns of everyday people.  The party caucus does not come calling on the county councilman.  The state-wide party campaign committee does not fund the councilwoman’s election.  But these two catch the heat of the voter.

In District 64 at least, the five counties’ officials catch the heat that comes from actions by our remote, un-known, disconnected General Assembly.  The officials tell me they are not called for advice from representatives before those reps. head up-state to vote every winter.  A representative should seek input from the community served.

My experience has been that attending a county council meeting is good for a voter and taxpayer’s morale.  Being a county council person is not necessarily good for the council persons’ morale! They work hard to navigate stripped down budgets after Indianapolis has taken its share and state mandates.

But what you see in town and county councils are hardworking people holding their communities in good social order, while trying to also improve services, function and quality of life.  You see nickel and dimes matter – and even more so when the dollars are in Indianapolis.

That is what you see in the City Halls.  Now, what we must begin to see in the General Assembly are state representatives who are more familiar with their districts’ elected leaders than they are with their respective caucus or lobbyist of the moment.  I pledge to provide that type of representation.

Governor Pence Ceremonially Signs Bills Aimed at Helping Hoosier Farmers and Businesses

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Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence today joined representatives from the agriculture community to ceremonially sign Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 308 and SEA 238 at the Statehouse.  SEA 308 provides property tax relief for farmers. SEA 238 will help make local soil and water conservation districts more impactful when it comes to watersheds and areas of conservation. Governor Pence signed SEA 308 into law on March 24 and SEA 238 on March 22. Both bills go into effect July 1, 2016.

“I was pleased to sign into law Senate Enrolled Act 308 and Senate Enrolled Act 238, and I’m thankful for the bipartisan support in the Indiana General Assembly who helped get these bills to my desk,” said Governor Pence. “Indiana is blessed to have a rich agricultural tradition that starts on the farm and extends to thousands of agribusinesses, and these bills will help ensure the Hoosier farmers and businesses across our state receive the tax relief they deserve, and can better work together on soil conversation practices across our state.”

Governor Pence was joined by Lieutenant Governor Eric Holcomb, Department of Agriculture Director Ted McKinney, Indiana Office of Tourism Development Director Mark Newman, Farm Bureau President Randy Kron and former president Don Villwock.

“I commend the Governor, members of General Assembly and all those involved with the passage of these two laws, which are major victories for Indiana agriculture,” said Ted McKinney, Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. “We have nearly 60,000 farming operations in our state, so by making tax relief available, while strengthening our conservation efforts, these laws go a long way to ensure that Indiana agriculture not only remains strong, but also sustainable for future generations.”

Also in attendance were Senators Brandt Hershman (R – Buck Creek), Susan Glick (R – LaGrange), Eric Bassler (R – Washington), and Representatives Tim Brown (R – Crawfordsville) and Jeff Thompson (R – Lizton).

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