Have you ever been told "You're only one person?" I have, when I tried to get legislators to take action about clearly erroneous decisions by judges. Through this blog I hope to inform people about corruption by those employed in all three branches of government.
Here's a Bangor Daily News story about Victim Services and how only half of the funds that are needed have been approved. The money helps not only victims of domestic violence, but victims of other crimes. From the story:
A recent survey of callers to the National Domestic Violence Hotline found that 39 percent of those who also called police actually felt less safe after calling them; 40 percent said they believed it made no difference.
If you ever thought that your vote didn't matter much, read this story
Lucas Lanigan won re-election by one vote; and surprisingly it was right after he was charged with choking his wife! Prior to that, Patricia Kidder was ahead of him. Have Americans grown so distrustful of politicians that some just automatically align themselves with criminals?
That's what happened with the presidential election isn't it? We elected Donald Trump, a convicted felon, whose sentencing was pushed back until after the election. But Trump isn't happy about getting no punishment...what's called an unconditional discharge. The decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to go through with the sentencing, was as narrow as can be, 5-4. He plans to appeal Judge Juan Merchan's decision even though he received no punishment just because he doesn't like the label of "felon."
I don't know how Americans can have confidence in our government. He legally can't possess a gun but he's allowed to run our country. Other felons get penalized when convicted of similar crimes; the president shouldn't be above the law. And by the way, people use automobiles as weapons, so if someone really isn't safe to own a gun, should they be allowed to drive a car?
Back to Lanigan, this story says after posting a $3000 bail, he is not to have contact with his wife. My guess is that they are violating the order secretly. When two people don't want to or can't completely end a relationship, there should be mediation, supervised visits, monitoring of telephone conversations. As it is, even a phone call would be in violation of the order.
That could be why the Cardilli family didn't call police and Isahak Muse is dead, and Chelsea Cardilli's brother incarcerated...though it appears to me Mark Cardilli Jr acted in self-defense. There was a court order in place that the then teenager, and her boyfriend (Muse) not have contact. And if you read the 28 page decision by Justice O'Neil granting Mark Cardilli a new trial before the Somali community staged a protest, you'll see that Muse was intoxicated and wouldn't leave when asked to, and punched Cardilli in the face several times. O'Neil heard testimony from experts on self defense before making his decision.
After protesters got a meeting with the attorney general of Maine, A.G. Aaron Frey appealed O'Neil's decision to the Maine Supreme Court, and it reinstated the conviction. The decision and sentencing had been by Governor Mills' sister, Nancy Mills, in a bench trial.
The governor appoints judges, and the legislature confirms them; and from my experience, complaints to the oversights commissions and to our legislators, no matter how clearly wrong their decisions and behavior was, get dismissed. One of Cardilli's lawyers was Sarah Churchhill. She did not do enough to argue for self-defense. She was later appointed as a judge, and set Leein Hinckley free..and well here's that story.
The non-profit that organized the march in Sanford is Finding Our Voices, and they are listed in my side bar, and I posted the founder, Patricia McLean's interview with Randall Liberty of the Maine State Prison under my blog's cover photo. His father, was an abuser who was in and out of prison.
Well, I will try to end this lengthy post on a positive note. I just learned that there's a new state office that's been created in Maine: you can click on the name to read about the Office of Injury and Violence Prevention, a part of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
🗓️ I am scheduled for a docket call on 2-24-25 at 1:00 pm, hopefully by Zoom which I've requested, as I live 330 miles away. The case, AROCD CR 2024 20209, was transferred from Fort Kent District Court to the Superior Court of Aroostook County, located in Caribou.
🧑⚖️Follow my blog and get updates about mine and my son’s cases. Shane’s been incarcerated now for over two years without effective counsel, without evidence of self-defense being investigated and taken into consideration, and without other individuals being charged...or at least their involvement be considered as a mitigating factor. After he accepted a plea bargain, Shane was sentenced by Justice Stephen Nelson on 11-08-22 in Aroostook County Superior Court; Nelson may well be the judge who presides over my case.
The chief justice of the Maine Supreme Court, the mayor of Lewiston, chief of police, District Attorney, and others have admitted to the people that the system is failing, collapsing, imploding! I'd like to know "What do they think a total collapse will look like?" An attack on the prisons?
We can't count on those employed in the justice system. We need common people, but intelligent ones, to evaluate cases, and order the release of prisoners whose rights of due process were violated, and who don't appear to be a danger to the public.
I sent a three-page letter to the court today, four if you include the text message sent from our former tenant/roommate Kevin Thibeault. I requested a lifting of the bail conditions keeping me from being at my property, a dismissal of the case, an appearance by zoom if not dismissed, and I requested the evidence against me...there is none.
I sent a copy to the District Attorney as well; he's in the same building. If the D.A. doesn't dismiss the charges, the presiding judge should file a complaint with the Board of Bar of Overseers against him, for malicious prosecution. Most oversights committees just dismiss complaints they receive from the common man, or woman.
Oh, and I asked for an investigation of the police officer; I threw that in even though I know the judge won't address it. I didn't want to write a separate letter, so I simply added Lieutenant Brian Harris of Troop F to the cc at the end of the letter to the Superior Court, and sent a copy to him in Houlton.
I wanted to send something to the Superior Court in Caribou, for him, and for myself before we go visit him; however, I haven't done that yet. Anyway, I don't have much confidence that doing that will result in him getting a post-conviction review, or a new attorney, or a resentencing based on the evidence below.
Shane claims he made a request already and was denied both post-conviction review and a new attorney. I've asked him for copies of what he sent...but he didn't keep copies apparently. If I was closer, I could access the information at the Superior Court in Caribou. I'm 4.5 hours away. Shane took a plea bargain to aggravated assault, and was sentenced to 22 years, all but 9 suspended. That's quite harsh considering Justin Steggall's criminal history, which I believe I've posted about already...and apparent behavior just days before the shooting.
Shane says he has never even seen the evidence I have. Jail rules won't allow me to bring him any paperwork, and when I mailed the below screenshot/evidence to him, it was sent back to me, due to prison rules not allowing prisoners to receive screenshots.
I received the text only after Shane was incarcerated. I sent the screenshot and other evidence to Governor Mills, and asked for her help. She has a duty to ensure that the laws of Maine are faithfully executed. I got no reply.
He told me that there was nothing they could do. In order to change a court's decision you'd have to go back through the courts, apparently.
Those who are interested in the charges against me, I will be posting separately about that. The state still won't drop the ridiculous charges of Attempted Disorderly Conduct, and has transferred the case to Superior Court in Caribou.
Docket # is AROCD-CR-2024-20209. Officer Ted Martin wasn't present at my arraignment. Will he appear on Monday for the Dispositional Conference?
I am being prosecuted for the alleged crime of Attempted Disorderly Conduct...as listed on the notice which I previously posted, along with the criminal threat that was sent to me on June 6, 2024. Maine State Police Corporal Ted Martin never investigated the threat.
It's important to let those in charge of malicious prosecutions know that the public is watching. Please join the meeting if you are able to, or attend in person! I made an error when I posted the link to the arraignment last month... I apologize I didn't include the meeting information. I thought it was in the link.
Here is the link info to the Dec. 2 conference/zoom meeting:
https://courts-maine-gov.zoom.us/j/93153373327
The passcode is 282 696.
Qualified immunity—the affirmative defense available to government officials sued in damages for violations of federal law—is under renewed assault.
Last month in an article at the Hill, The Supreme crisis of Chief Justice John Roberts, Jonathan Turley mentioned that a recent poll found that less than half of Americans have a favorable view of the United States Supreme Court. That's largely due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. But we the people have even lower approval ratings for Congress which is part of the Legislative branch, at only 18%, and the media is only trusted by 32% of people, Turley reported.
As for police, who are part of the executive branch, their approval rating is about the same as that of the justices, only about half. In U.S. Confidence in Institutions Mostly Flat, but Police Up, by Megan Brenan at Gallup:
Faith in the police fell in 2020 to 48% after George Floyd was murdered while in police custody. After increasing to 51% in 2021, confidence in the police dropped again in 2022 and dipped further last year, to a record low of 43%.
Don't expect a decision anytime soon about the intertidial land controversy which the Maine Supreme Court heard today. Intertidal is the word used to describe the land between the low and high tide marks. Here's a Maine Public story by Kaitlyn Budion, at Maine Public: Moody Beach dispute reaches Maine Supreme Court. The justices will probably take forever because they have to first determine if Peter Masucci et al. (and others) have standing because according to the story he's "asking the court to overturn a 1989 decision which says that private land ownership extends to the low tide mark."
Apparently, the signs that were put up are offending people. Here's a story by AnneMarie Hilton, at the Morning Star, with photos of the signs. From Maine's highest court hears arguments for public access to intertidal land case:
If the court clarified that intertidal land is not an easement, but rather subject to the public trust doctrine — which preserves certain natural resources for public use — Parker said they could expand the definition of “fishing, fowling and navigation” without overturning the 1989 ruling.
That's how this issue could be resolved, according to a Maine assistant attorney general, Lauren Parker. The decision in 1989 was by the Maine Supreme Court. I don't know if the court has ever overturned one of their own decisions...that is admitted it made a mistake.
At schools throughout Maine this week the Maine Supreme Court justices are hearing the cases so students can watch. I wanted to attend the event, but couldn't; the public wasn't invited! Upon arriving, I was asked my name by a woman with a list. I wasn't on it, so I couldn't sit and watch. What? I didn't have any weapons on me. There seemed to be enough space on the bleachers, though I don't know how many students were going to be attending. Nobody seemed to know that. A man who must have been with the justices and the court said it was not their policy. "An email went out to parents and others," I was told at the main office where I went to ask what the situation was.
Funny thing is they want to show the students what the Maine Supreme Court justices do...but they're teaching students about a system which is failing! One of the most obvious failures is that justice is not swift; and that's one of the reasons our ancesters separated from Massachusetts 100 years ago! It was taking too long for people here to have their cases heard because of the distance from the court.
I just added a tab for Maine Policy Institute to the top of my page. This morning, I wrote to them using their online form and saved it in Google Documents before sending it. Here's one paragraph from it.
I will not appear on October 7, 2024 to the scheduled arraignment in Fort Kent. I refuse to accept the jurisdiction of a court that is part of a failed system - a system that has failed to provide effective counsel to my son in nearly two years, and to other individuals it is constitutionally required to appoint counsel to. At attorney rates of $300 per hour in the private sector, the state can't compete and can neither afford to pay $150 per hour to provide counsel under the current definition of "counsel".
The officer was apparently intoxicated when he crashed into cars and shot a man in the head on June 6, 2024. Here is a bit from the Associated Press story by Karen Mathews on October 2, 2024:
According to the lawsuit, Tran’s alcoholism and mental health problems were known to his police superiors and should have disqualified him from serving as an armed officer, but he was nonetheless carrying a department-issued 9mm pistol that he used to shoot Patel.
A judge on Tuesday granted Cynthia Young’s petition to become a special administrator of Robert Card’s estate so she can have legal authority to obtain the records for herself, others who lost loved ones, and attorneys preparing lawsuits. The move was not opposed by Card’s son, who is his sole heir.
He told the justices that he let his personal life interfere with his duty to the court and had let his mental health deteriorate and had become overwhelmed by the number of cases he was handling
I don't only blog about the injustices in our justice system, and the other rotting branches of our government...however it's usually related somehow.
I decided to share the story below about Paleontologist Melanie During because I liked it, and the message at the end of her video...which I created a tab for at the top of my blog.
Geophysicist Glen Penfield was working at an oil company when he discovered the 6 mile wide crater left by the asteroid that hit earth 66 million years ago; he is mentioned at the Intelligencer, where I first read about Melanie and a controversy between her and another paleontologist she worked with, Robert DePalma.
Penfield discovered the crater in Yucatan, Mexico, and could have named it the Yucatan Crater, but Kerry Howley who wrote the story, titled The Asteroid-in-Spring Hypothesis, reports:
He named the crater Chicxulub specifically “to give the academics and NASA naysayers a challenging time pronouncing it after a decade of their dismissals.”
NASA and scientists who had more education than Penfield wouldn't listen to him.
It's just so hard to imagine that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, and so amazing that scientists can pinpoint the exact season the asteroid hit earth 66 million years ago!
If you want an easier read about the extinction of dinosaurs, check out this one at the Natural History Museum. Melanie is from the United Kingdom, and I just discovered a podcast which Melanie is a guest on, titled Terrible Lizards.
I don't think the time of year will matter much if we are hit by another asteroid like Chicxulub, because I think it's impossible to prepare for. So let's work on something easier, like stopping global warming; it's already destroyed many species.
Peter Murray, a Portland-based attorney, has practiced law for 55 years. When he started as a trial lawyer, he took criminal cases even though it wasn’t his specialty. Other trial lawyers would do the same. But handling criminal cases has become “infinitely more complex in the last 50 years,” he said. Part of the reason is the numerous types of charges in a single case, Murray said. But the primary reason is cases rarely go to trial anymore. They end in plea bargains, meaning much of the criminal defense work is done outside a courtroom.
“Plaintiff was coerced and compelled to comply with defendant Fields’ advances” given his “position and power and because she could not afford to pay for the ankle monitor and did not want to return to Letcher County Jail,” the suit says.
From a January 10, 2024 story at The Mountain Eagle titled Ex-deputy sheriff is sentenced; one victim tells of 'nightmares'
Fields pleaded guilty to third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy, two counts of tampering with a prisoner monitoring device and second degree perjury. The three charges related to the second woman were dismissed because she is now dead, but the civil case is continuing with her estate as plaintiff along with Adkins.
Fields will serve six months in jail and is required to register as a sex offender and complete outpatient sex offender treatment.
Ben Fields only had to serve 6 months of his sentence. Sabrina Adkins is the surviving defendant, and here's the PDF of that civil case filed 2.5 years ago, and the sheriff is named as a defendant.
I also found this story from an NBC News story in 2018, but I don't know if it's the same man: South Carolina Deputy Ben Fields Fired After Body Slamming Student: Sheriff
The school resource officer who was caught on camera violently flipping a South Carolina high school student at her desk has been fired, authorities announced Wednesday.
From the Portland Press story, Lawsuit, settlement for Taser use at York jail cost nearly $800,000:
When Dunnigan sued in October 2019, he alleged that while he was at the jail, Daigneault kneeled on his chest and pressed his Taser to him for almost one minute while Cram and another officer held him down, his head bouncing against the cement floor.
Brian Dunnigan's lawyers received even more than he did, $415,000! In March of 2023 some defendants were dismissed from the case. Here's the motion granting it, and explaining what happened to Dunnigan in 2018 after he was arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief at a bar in Ogunquit...charges that were later dropped.
If Dunnigan hadn't filed the lawsuit, the charges probably wouldn't have been dropped, and he would've been jailed and/or fined. I'm wondering how he was able to pay the lawyers. Very few cases are taken on contingency, except for those that are so shocking, and in which lawyers expect a huge award when they win.
Tankerley had been indicted by a grand jury last year on two counts of manslaughter, two counts of aggravated criminal operating under the influence, and single counts of criminal speed and driving to endanger.
I have to wonder if this man has ties to someone in a position of power. I can't determine if Tankerley was appointed an attorney. It was Deputy District Attorney Francis Griffin who got him the sweetheart deal, approved by Justice Robert Mullen. Why would Mullen approve such a lenient sentence?
Griffin made a motion Monday to dismiss the first six counts and move ahead with a sentence based on Tankerley’s plea, which Superior Court Justice Robert Mullen allowed.
Many people are being killed by automobiles which are operated by people who are intoxicated, or for whatever reason are driving dangerously. Their licenses should be suspended until they're rehabilitated.
If you want to know if someone is incarcerated, for how long, and when they will be released, you can find the information at the website for the Maine Department of Corrections, under Adult Resident/Adult Community Corrections Client Search.
I thought I'd try to find out more about the prosecutor, and found another story at the CentralMaine website: "'Staggering' departures at Kennebec-Somerset region district attorney's office." The story is from 2012, 13 years ago, and I did discover who Griffin has a tie to:
On Thursday afternoon, Griffin took the oath of office, which was administered by his uncle, Maine Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Joseph M. Jabar.
And what kind of judge is or was Jabar? There's more information about Jabar in a recent story at MaineWire, in January of 2024: BREAKING: Mills to Send Moderate Maine Supreme Court Justice Jabar Packing.
Governor LePage reappointed Jabar after Jabar asked him to, so that he could reach 20 years of service, giving him a better retirement package. You can access the letter from that story, and from this one at NewsCenterMaine titled:Governor says Supreme Court justice is ignoring promise to retire.Gov. Janet Mills (D) will not be reappointing Justice Joseph M. Jabar, a longtime Maine jurist who has served in the Maine judiciary under Govs. Angus King (I), John Baldacci (D), and Paul LePage (R), according to three sources familiar with the matter.
Should we change the law to make the removal of judges easier, including those in the Supreme Court of the United States who overturn pivotal cases such as Roe v. Wade?
I just added a tab at the top of my page, regarding LAS and Karin Huffer who passed away in 2018. Also added a tab for Equal Access Advocates (EAA). There are some good videos there, one explaining about PTSD. So how many people in the United States suffer from LAS? Could it be our broken justice system is to blame for much of the violence in America?
Huffer discovered that many of the legal system's victims suffer from a variant of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which she has termed "Legal Abuse Syndrome." The condition derives from the abusive and protracted litigation that many plaintiffs commonly encounter in the courts.The entire justice system needs an overhaul! And officer misconduct is part of the problem that needs to be addressed. It was not the first, second, or third time that the officer who arrested Tyreek Hill acted inappropriately.
According to the records, the officer was accused of misconduct, force violations, and improper procedures. He was also reportedly investigated for using force at least 13 times during his service.
Yet, the story says Officer Danny Torres received an "award for professionalism in May 2023." Similarly Maine Corporal Ted Martin, I'm sure has done some good so far during his brief time with Maine State Police, but his arrest of me on July 10, 2024 was definitely wrong...and he has since lied in the police report, stating that I was intoxicated! Nearly an entire sentence is redacted from the report I got, so I can't determine how much he lied.
In March of 2019, Mark Cardilli Jr. shot and killed Isahak Muse. The Somali community was upset it took almost one week for an arrest to be made. After a bench trial, Cardilli was found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting of his younger sister's boyfriend in their parents' home; and he was sentenced to 7.5 years on December 27, 2019.
State of Maine v. Mark Cardilli Jr.
But did Cardilli act in self-defense... afraid he and his family would be harmed by a man who was intoxicated, refusing to leave, and who was not supposed to be in the Cardilli home in the first place?
The presiding judge was Justice Nancy Mills, who is the governor's sister. Cardilli appealed, and after a post-conviction review, including testimony from experts on self-defense, Superior Court Justice John O'Neil ordered a new trial for Cardilli, who hadn't had effective counsel.
8-22-23 Order on Post-Conviction Review
However, the State of Maine appealed that decision to the Maine Supreme Court, which vacated the judgement!
4-11-24 Mark Cardilli Jr. v. State of Maine
You might recognize the name of one of Cardilli's attorneys: Sarah Churchhill. She was later appointed to be a judge in Androscoggin County Superior Court, and realeased a dangerous man on $1500 bail. He ended up in a stand off in Auburn on Father's Day weekend and was shot and killed. Two homes were burned and inside one, a body was found.
Governor Mills didn't agree with Churchhill's release of Leein Hinckley. From this Sun Journal story:
“In my view, given the severity of the charges, the defendant’s criminal history and the serious danger he posed, these important, competing interests were not properly balanced in this case,” Mills wrote.
The governor said the judge could've appointed an attorney to Leein Hinkley. Doesn't Governor Mills know there's a lack of attorney's in Maine? The ACLU filed a lawsuit 2.5 years ago against the MCILS (Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services):
Maine's attorney general, Aaron Frey, was added as a defendant, but recently dismissed from the lawsuit. However, the State of Maine was added as a defendant; so exactly what is going on? The name of the Commission has been changed to MCPDS (Maine Commission on Public Defense Services). Oh geez, I just looked at the list of the Commission members, and former members at their website...and one of them was Sarah Churchhill.
Maine Commission on Public Defense Services
Period of Public Participation
Call to Order
Consent Agenda
Article 1: To consider the meeting minutes of 7/17/24
Article 2: To consider the general ledger report, revenue report, and expense summaries of the period ending 7/31/24
New Business
Article 3: To discuss Mrs. Michaud’s concerns
Article 4: To discuss future dumping sites
Old Business
Article 5: Update on the K of C repairs
Article 6: Update on road work
Other Business
Adjourn
|  Aug 20, 2024, 4:47 PM (21 hours ago) | | ||
| ||||
Here you go! Paula was well aware of the date of the meeting. I told her weeks ago when it was.
I can either call her and put her on speaker phone, or we can Zoom. I would prefer Zoom; please see the attached link.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Michelle Bernier,
Town Manager
Bill Gates is not dead... Mike Lynch might be, he's missing after his yacht sank. And two days later, his co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain, was hit by a vehicle while running and died. According to this story:
"He and Lynch were both facing up to two decades behind bars if they were convicted of numerous fraud charges linked to the sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11billion (£8.64billion) back in 2011."
"The businessman, who was facing up to two decades behind bars if convicted, said he was 'elated' after being cleared of the charges, but told the BBC he only managed it because of his staggering wealth."
He was taken to the Androscoggin County Jail with his bail set at $10,000. “Jolicoeur posted bail and has since been released from jail,” said police.
I just added a tab regarding bail reform.
From the story Former Maine Fire Chief pleads to reduced charges in fraud case:
He had been charged with forgery, theft, and aggravated criminal invasion of computer privacy, all of which are felonies. But those charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement he reached with the Hancock County District Attorney’s Office.
The town of Gouldsboro didn't fire him, he resigned and was hired by the town of Winter Harbor last fall, but was soon fired when they learned of the charges. I'm not surprised that Tatum McLean got no jail time. The plea was accepted by Justice Harold (Hal) Stewart II.
Stewart, in 2016 dismissed a case I had in Caribou Superior Court; use my search bar to read more. I had been denied an equal share of pooled tips when I was a waitress at Long Lake Sporting Club for a short time; and, as well I wasn't paid for a few hours I worked simply because nobody had come to eat that night...also clearly illegal. The Maine Human Rights Commission failed me as well as the Superior Court.
