Commission - Lewiston mass shooting

Who was Robert Card? Confirmed details on Maine gunman

Governor Mills established an Independent Commission to investigate the Lewiston mass shooting (ICL) last fall after there were apparent failures by law enforcement and other individuals who may have held the key to prevention. 

The ability to hold judges, lawyers, law enforcement officers, and other government employees accountable for blatant and harmful decisions is relevant to the investigation, and to the work the public expects of the Commission. Unfortuantely, when oversight exists it's often self-policed by the actual individual complained about, or by those with close ties to them.

The Commission held its first public hearing on November 20, 2023 and I attended. The meetings were recorded and are available at the Maine government webpage for the Commission. I got the opportunity to speak, and took it. I come in at around 10:35 a.m.  

The Commission is chaired by Daniel Wathen, a former chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Wathen is from Aroostook County, like me. There is one decision I've read and which I didn't agree with Wathen on. It's the 1998 Maine Supreme Court case Kingsbury v. Forbes, which got there after it was dismissed in superior court.

The dissent (disagreement) in the case was written by Justice Dana, with justices Roberts and Clifford agreeing with him. Below is some of it. Daniel Wathen, chair of the Commission, was then the chief justice and in the majority:  

Kingsbury v. Forbes (1998)

[¶ 11] A pro se party who has complied with the requirements of the rules and reasonably has placed the responsibility for the next step in the proceedings in the hands of the court, in my opinion, has demonstrated the good cause necessary to prevent dismissal pursuant to M.R.Civ.P. 41(b). Holding pro se litigants involved in small claims actions to the technical requirements of Rule 41(b) in circumstances where the court system has failed to fulfill its own responsibilities defeats the goal of providing a litigant-friendly procedure to resolve small claims disputes. I would therefore vacate the judgment of the Superior Court. 

Regarding Rushlau, read this: Former Lincoln County Employee Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit. According to the Bangor Daily News story, Chastity Krah was a victim witness advocate who in 2016 sued multiple individuals including Geoffrey Rushlau, who was then District Attorney for four Maine counties. 

Rushlau forced her to resign in December 2014 under false and misleading pretenses

I believe that between the time the lawsuit was filed and settlements were reached, then-governor Paul LePage appointed Rushlau, and the Maine Senate confirmed him, to the District Court in Wiscasset...where I had to defend myself in May of 2022 against false claims of harassment (WISDC-PA-2022-00071) by my son's ex-girlfriend, Andrea Picard. Rushlau granted her a  Protection order. She has kept Pete and I from our grandsons for almost three years now. She similarly stripped my son of his rights; mediation was waived in his family matters case, also in Lincoln County...and he is now incarcerated and she won't take the children to see him.  

My four grandchildren in 2020. We had taken the boys to Aroostook County visit to visit my relatives, and hers! This was before she got a protection from harassment order granted against me, by Judge Geoffrey Rushlau. 

And Ellen Gorman...also guilty. She granted summary judgment to doctors in a medical malpractice case in Androscoggin County. I read her biography, but no longer have the link. She was in bed with a doctor at the time! Not one of the doctors in the lawsuit though. 

The medical professionals in Blue Hill had treated my son Aaron's broken arm for dislocation. They could not see the fracture in the xray. Their attempts displaced the fracture requiring surgery...pinning of the humerous.