Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court fears system will collapse - 2024

Here are some statements by Valerie Stanfill, the Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court, on the State of the Judiciary: 

The sobering fact is that no matter how hard we work – and we do - we are not providing timely and safe resolution even in priority cases, those involving liberty, families, and children, much less the plethora of other cases.

Our trial courts spend hours every week just trying to cajole attorneys into taking cases. I hope that adding some public defenders will help, but it will be a while before we really see results. And in the meantime, I fear the system will indeed collapse. 

Decisions reversed - Maine - Pushard v Finch

A unanimous decision by the Maine Supreme Court is reversed, by the Maine Supreme Court. The decision involves the proceedures used by financial institutions in foreclosures...sorry people there'll be no more free houses if the bank makes an error. 

Under Finch, foreclosing lenders will no longer face the draconian consequence of a simple error in a default notice resulting in the forfeiture of its note and mortgage.

How does that happen? I mean a unanimous decision overturned. I read somewhere else, that one of the justices should have recused herself due to a conflict but didn't. 

Rural Maine Counties - Issues

Maine's Rural Counties Scramble to Fill Gaps in Police Patrols Maine Monitor story

'A scary issue': Rural residents raise concerns over crime, scant law enforcement presence News Center Maine - watch and read 

Domestic violence victims ask for funding

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.

Office of Professional Standards (OPS) - Maine

📞On Thursday I received a phone call from Officer Christopher Tupper of the Office of Professional Standards regarding my complaint against Corporal Ted Martin. He asked if I had a lawyer. I said "Not yet." I told him I had audio and video footage of Martin's wrongful arrests of me on July 10, and another woman in Saint Agatha on July 11. He wanted me to send him this evidence. I told him "When you play poker, you don't show all your cards."

I have an appointment to speak with an attorney in Aroostook County on Thursday regarding the wrongful arrest and about Shane being sentenced without due process. The Pulitzer Center wrote about accountability of Maine law enforcement in 2019, and you can see that most officers only received temporary suspensions...in other words, unpaid vacations.

Victims of Domestic Violence March in Sanford, Maine

If you ever thought that your vote didn't matter much, read this story at WGME.

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? It happened so near the election that voters didn't get a chance to swallow the news?

Another story at WGME says after posting a $3000 bail, Lanigan is not to have contact with his wife. When two people can't seem to end a relationship, things can get complicated and frustrations can turn into violence if appropriate intervention doesn't happen. 

Mediation, in some cases, should include supervised visits, and/or monitoring of telephone conversations. As it stands, even a phone call would be in violation of the order placed on Lanigan. But is completely cutting off ties always the best option? Misplaced frustration can lead to violence. 

The non-profit that organized the march in Sanford is Finding Our Voices. The founder is Patricia McLean, and she interviewed Randall Liberty of the Maine State Prison; his father was an abuser who was in and out of prison. To combat the problems of violence, there's a new state office, The Office of Injury and Violence Prevention, a part of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

2.5 years without effective counsel

Shane’s been incarcerated now for over two years, without evidence of self-defense being investigated and considered, 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 AROCD CR 2024 20209. I was wrongfully arrested last summer while on vacation, and I'm being prosecuted for Disorderly Conduct.

The chief justice of the Maine Supreme Court, the mayor and the chief of police of Lewiston, the District Attorney, and others spoke at public meetings held at city hall about violence and public safety. They admit that the system is failing, collapsing, imploding! I'd like to know what they think a total collapse will look like! The State of Maine is violating prisoners' right to counsel. Ineffective counsel is the same as no counsel.

And here's some information about plea bargaining and ineffective counsel.

Follow my blog to get updates about mine and my son’s cases.

Letter to the Court, District Attorney, and Maine State Police

I sent a three-page letter to the court today, four if you include a copy of the threatening text message sent to me from our former tenant/roommate. 

I'm being charged with Disorderly Conduct, but no warning was even given to Kevin for what he did! 

In my letter I requested the judge lift the bail conditions keeping me from being at my property, dismiss the case, but if not dismissed I asked to appear by zoom. And I want the evidence against me...there is none, absolutely none! It was a wrongful arrest. 

If the District Attorney 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 dismiss complaints they receive from ordinary people like you and I.

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'll be home for Christmas...NOT!

After being arrested on July 10, 2024 I was forced to agree to the bail bond condition that I not go back to the home on our property which my husband had been sharing with a former friend. And I had to pay $60. 

In a Zoom hearing on December 2, I asked Judge Carrie Lithicum in Fort Kent District Court to drop the bail condition, but she wouldn't, and she transferred the case to Superior Court.

The danger in police failing to arrest me if I violate the condition of my release is that it makes them look weak, like they are not enforcing the law. The danger in arresting me for not complying with the bail condition is that if would be was a wrongful arrest, arresting me for violating the bail condition should be another wrongful arrest. 

And even though it is your right to defend against a wrongful arrest, it's also dangerous. You can read here about wrongful arrests.  

Merry Christmas, from Lewiston Maine!

 

Visiting Shane

Shane says he has never been shown the text mesage below, which I sent to his attorney, Verne Paradie, by email. Paradie hired Investigator Hank Dusenbery; and I spoke with him. He never interviewed the guys.

My son is caught up in a system where you're guilty until proven innocent...imprisoned while waiting for counsel to be appointed and a speedy trial scheduled can take weeks, months, even years.  

Jail rules won't allow me to bring in any paperwork, and when I mailed the text message to Shane it was sent back to me because it's a screenshot...and they're not allowed.

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. 

I asked for help from Maine Senator Margaret Rotundo. She put me in touch with one of her aides, named Patrick Reagan. He contacted someone at the Department of Corrections, Sam Prawer. Patrick apparently accessed the letter to Governor Mills, which contained the evidence above, and much more, and gave it to Mr. Prawer. After a few weeks without hearing from anyone, I messaged Patrick. He wrote back, saying about Sam Prawer:

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.

Maine Incarcerationland - Wrongful arrest AROCD-CR-2024-20209

I was arrested on July 10, 2024, and arraigned on November 4, 2024 for the alleged crime of attempted disorderly conduct, as listed on the notice. The Docket # is AROCD-CR-2024-20209

    

I spoke briefly with Officer Lacey Merchant on July 11. She wrote a report saying she told me that Martin would be in touch with me about the messages because this was his case. 

Although Corporal Martin did on July 11 show up and let me read him the texts, he didn't make a police report, didn't take any action. In fact, he went to see Kevin when he arriveds. And the first thing he did was remind me of the bail condition not to be at Lot 7. He only came because Kevin made a complaint. If he would have come just to take my complaint, he would've written a report don't you think?   

Yesterday, I spoke with Officer Mackenzie, a Lewiston Maine police officer. I read him the message. He said he didn't think it was a threat. Really? I didn't include the entire thread...you know the part where Kevin claims to have been shot. 

Kevin moved out, but the bail condition that I not be at the home hasn't been lifted.  

Sexual Harassment - Judge Charles Budd

You can read about the story at the Portland Press Herald, titled Sexual Harassment Complaint against former Maine judge dismissed. According to the story U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker dismissed the case against the judge, because he said "existing law was not clear in this case."   

If you can't access that story, here's the opinion Pike v Budd at Casetext. And here's an indepth article I found at the California Law Review, titled Qualified Immunity's Flawed Foundation, written in February of 2023 by Alexander A. Reinert. From the Introduction: 

Qualified immunity—the affirmative defense available to government officials sued in damages for violations of federal law—is under renewed assault. 

Could qualified immunity be on it's way  out, or it's use be limited? 

Even though the court case against Judge Budd was dismissed, the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar Association is taking testimony, because they can vote to suspend the judge's law license, and/or fine him. 

And here are the links to listen to the various hearings that will be held by the Board today and tomorrow by Zoom. 

There's also a hearing on November 26, regarding Attorney Daniel Feldman, who I spoke with at quite length the other day. He says he wants to quit representing certain defendants that the state owes him money for; but until they can appoint another attorney, they won't drop him from the case. So he is has an interest in this case and wants to be a party to it. 

Supreme Court, Congress, Media...Americans have unfavorable views of

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%.

Can we agree that the tree is rotten and we need to plant a new one? 

The uneducation of America! The Supreme Court at Lewiston High School

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.  

Do parents want their children to learn about a failing judicial system? We should get their help to develop a new system? Of importance is that our justice system is too slow. One of the reasons our ancesters separated from Massachusetts over 100 years ago is that it was taking too long for people here to have their cases heard because of the distance from the court. 

A paragraph from my letter to Maine Policy Institute

I just added a tab for Maine Policy Institute. This morning, I wrote to them using their online form and saved it in Google Documents before sending it. Here's some of it.

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".

Off duty officer in New York - lawsuit filed in road rage incident

Here's a story at the AP, about an officer who was apparently intoxicated when he crashed into cars and shot a man in the head on June 6, 2024. 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.

Lewiston Mass shooter's medical records might be accessed through probate court

The following story explains Woman who lost husband and son uses probate process to obtain gunman's records: 

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.

If the paperwork was filed in Hancock County, there'd be no other judge to preside over the case other than Judge Blaisdell. From High court suspends Hancock County probate judge "It’s not clear yet when the four-month suspension period for Hancock County’s only probate judge will commence," and regarding Judge William Blaisdell IV: 

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

A story of perserverance, and dinosaurs

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. 

The main reason the justice system is failing - the lack of jury trials

From a story at the Portland Press Herald, titled The Maine Supreme Court asks large law firms to help with Public Defender Services. For the most part, they haven't. 

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.

Deceased judge's chambers used for sex crimes after hours

In case you haven't heard, you can read the New York Times story Kentucky Sheriff Arrested in Shooting Death of Judge. I can't remember if I subscribe to the paper, so if you can't read it, I'm sure you'll find stories about it elsewhere.

I know I don't have a subscription to the Louisville Courier Journal so you should be able to read the following: Suit alleges Kentucky deputy forced woman to have sex in judge's chamber in lieu of fees. The story tells about abuse going on in the judge's chambers, probably without his knowledge. Two women filed a lawsuit in 2022; one has since died, apparently of an overdose.

“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.

Wells Maine man settles lawsuit, gets $385,000

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. 

About jury duty and disparity in sentencing

Judge Mullen was the Maine judge who gave Eric Tankerley a lenient sentence. I googled his name. Here's a story at the Press Herald regarding his frustration with jurors not showing up for jury duty, or calling in or writing to explain why.  

My son, Shane, was chosen for jury duty; however he couldn't show up because he's in prison! In Maine, prisoners can vote...so should they be allowed to be jurors? If you're supposed to be judged by a jury of your peers, and you've been incarcerated for so long that fellow inmates are your peers, doesn't that qualify them to be on the jury?

While I was reading about Mullen, I saw a story from yesterday. Compare the Sangerville woman's 3 year sentence to Eric Tankerley's 30 day one...which I blogged about earlier today. The disparity in sentencing is another problem in our justice system which doesn't often get much attention. 

 

Is intoxication a defense? Tankerley case, Francis Griffin and Jabar's broken promise

Two of Eric Tankerley's female friends were killed in the crash. From the story Moscow man to spend 30 days in jail for role in deadly 2022 car crash:

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. 

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.

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. 

Here's a direct link to LePage's letter to the justices of the Maine Supreme Court, on 2-13-2018. 

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?   

Lies by Maine State Corporal Ted Martin

The entire justice system needs an overhaul! And officer misconduct is part of the problem that needs to be addressed. 

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. This photo is of page 3 of 4 of the July 8 police incident report. In it Martin states that I was intoxicated! 

Nearly an entire sentence is redacted from the report; and someone made a note at the bottom of the page recommending this case be closed as not a crime...so why is the State of Maine prosecuting me? Because if they drop the case it's an admission that there was no probable cause to arrest, and that will give a civil rights case more validity and strength. 

Police misconduct is happening in all states. It was not the first, second, or third time that the officer who arrested Tyreek Hill acted inappropriately. Yet, the story says Officer Danny Torres received an "award for professionalism in May 2023." 

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.

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. 

How many people in the United States suffer from LAS and don't even realize it? 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.   

Mark Cardilli Jr. Case / The Churchhill Connections

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): 

Robbins v. MCILS

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

Co-defendants acquitted in June 2024 - one dies, other is missing

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."

Quoting from the story they were "accused of scheming to inflate the company's value before it was sold"... like what Donald Trump did and got convicted of in New York. Lynch and Chamberlain were acquitted by a San Francisco jury in June of 2024. The story also said this:

"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."

Man arrested in Auburn for assaulting teen, robbery, drugs - released!

Read the story here! 

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.

 

Fire Chief gets off easy on three felony charges

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. 

11-10-23 Interview with Maine Commissioner of Prisons Randall Liberty

Patrisha McLean interviews the Maine Commissioner of Prisons, Randall Liberty.   

At 34:30 he says bail shouldn't be based on someone's wealth, but on the threat level.

The address for Shane in case anyone wants to write him:

Shane Michaud # 72847
807 Cushing Road, 
Warren, Maine 04864-4600

You can deposit funds for commissary. You need an inmate's MDOC # and date of birth in order to send it. 

Shane's info is MDOC #72847 and D.O.B. 9-24-88. 

There are certain rules to follow if you write, like no colored paper. Only blue or black ink, etc... click here for the rules first.  

The rules for visiting are there too. Shane calls me about once a week. He gets a free 5 minute phone call. Why they don't allow prisoners more phone time is... well it's criminal! Hearing from family and friends is important to rehabilitation and to prisoners' morale.

The Morning after...Officer Brian Collamore

After I had a brief encounter with my son's ex girlfriend I got a phone call from Officer Brian Collamore: but Pete and I were in jail, visiting Shane, so he left me a voice message. I didn't return the call that day, and on Sunday morning I was visited by a Lewiston police officer who told me that I needed to call Waldoboro police. 

I called, we spoke, and he asked me what the heck happened Saturday. He accused me of harrassing Andrea, and said he was fed up. Collamore said he couldn't officially ban me from Waldoboro but that I had no business being there. It's Andrea's false claims that he should be fed up with. You see after a PFA - wrongly granted by Judge Geoffrey Rushlau -  expired she attempted to get another, but Judge Brent Davis denied it. Pete had come with me to court, and as we drove home, I called the school to find out if there were any upcoming activities I could attend. I mentioned that I was being kept away from my grandchildren by their mother. I requested to speak with Beth, school counselor, but was told she was busy and would return my call. She never returned my call.

Officer Collamore is listed here, as a patrolman for Waldoboro Police Department. He was awfully rude to me. I recognize the name of a reserve officer listed there as well, Justin Hills. I found paperwork in Shane's room shortly after he was arrested for shooting Justin Steggall. He had just been served by Justin Hills, with a violation of the protection order which Andrea had succeeded in adding the children to; she won by default when Shane failed to appear. So when he texted Andrea about something other than arranging visits with the children, she called police. Months earlier she was ignoring both of us; and I had urged Shane to write to the court and ask for there to be designated days he could have the children...but he hadn't done that. Justin Hills is also the Shellfish Warden. Hmmm, Andrea's new boyfriend and father of her youngest son is a lobsterman. Does Hills know him, how well?