James M. Redwine

Circuit Court

Options

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Peg and I voted early. I am not aware of whose idea early voting was, but it was a good one. Perhaps the period could be expanded and maybe a safe and secure system of voting from home could be devised. My opinion is that the more citizens who cast one legitimate ballot the better. If we can deliver packages by drone, get gourmet meals sent to our homes and pay our taxes over the internet we should be able to hold legitimate elections that meet our current lifestyle and encourages all who are qualified to vote. Of course, such a system would need to ensure only those qualified vote and ensure that there is only one vote per voter. But as we plan to colonize Mars and the Moon we ought to be able to call upon our ingenuity to increase our options here on Earth.

In my view that is what differentiates us from all other species, options. And the important decisions as to who should lead us forward are one critical area where options matter most. We should not only encourage maximum participation in elections, we should make that participation inviting and easy. After all, we know our society demands maximum ease in such things as satellite and cable TV, drive-through fast foods and shopping by index finger, so why should we make voting less accessible?

Some of you will read this article on or before Election Day on November 06, 2018. If you have not voted, please do so. You will feel better when your taxes come due if you feel you have had some input into who sent the statements to you.

I see participation in our democracy much as I view the case settlement system I helped devise in the Circuit Court of Posey County, Indiana. Let’s take a divorce for example. Two spouses who once loved one another and perhaps had children together or operated a business, now need to go new directions. How can the vital issues of child custody and property division best be resolved? Is it better to have the divorcing spouses turn their future over to a complete stranger, a judge, or might they be happier if they work together to resolve things for themselves? This system of keeping the couple’s options open leads to happier children and a much greater chance of a better future for all involved. In other words, such a court case is kind of like an election where the participants, the voters, have the option to impact their own destiny.

We may make a bad choice occasionally, but we can rectify matters at the next election if we stay involved. One thing is for sure, if we do not vote we cannot impact the selection of those people who control our lives. And if we lose control we are in the same position as all other species, that is, we will have no control because we did not exercise our options.

Why A Blindfolded Justice?

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You may know that for about twenty years I have been serving on the faculty of the National Judicial College where judges teach other judges to be judges. The NJC has a fairly high-tech approach due to needing to reach judges from all across America and in many foreign countries. About six years ago the College asked me and five other faculty judges to conduct a seven-week Internet class. Each faculty member is assigned areas of concentration. Mine are Court and Case Management and Judicial Ethics. If you have followed Gavel Gamut recently you may recall the other faculty and I just completed this year’s course.

Now, this week you and I could address the vicissitudes of Hoosier football or the most salacious sexual harassment scandal. Perhaps we could delve into the mysteries of competing religious philosophies or even this week’s almost certain to occur mass shooting. But I know my audience, small though it may be, and I am confident you would prefer to reflect upon the issues I hammered into the student judges via the Internet. Let’s get right to it.

May we start with the simple question, “Why do we even have Courts?” This topic might feel a little broad and somewhat amorphous. So, why don’t we narrow our focus and discuss just one court, say the Posey Circuit Court; What is its purpose?

Posey County government has numerous elements but each part can be reasonably placed in three general categories: (1) Executive, such as the Board of County Commissioners, (2) Legislative, the County Council; and (3) the Judiciary, which consists of two courts, Superior and Circuit.

The Commissioners are hired by Posey County voters to plan and execute short, medium and long-term functions, such as roads, jails and courthouses. The County Council is charged with managing the funding of all county services. I do not mean to ignore the important duties of such officers as the Prosecuting Attorney, the Sheriff, the County Clerk, the Treasurer, Assessor, Auditor and many other public servants. However we are painting with a very broad brush here; general, three-branch democracy is our subject.

Officials who engage in executive or legislative functions are not only allowed to, they are encouraged to advocate for certain policies and positions. Should Posey County have zoning and, if so, what kind? Can Posey County afford to hire more workers, and, if so, how much should they be paid? In county government there are thousands of important and often competing interests and interest groups to be advocated for and against. These are proper functions of those two branches of Posey County government. Therefore, it is altogether fitting that politics are involved. Policies are advanced and the voters decide whose policies they prefer, Democracy at work.

But, what happens when competing interests reach a conflict or an impasse? Where do citizens look to get a problem resolved? Where is there a fair arbiter? And, most importantly, where can citizens go with confidence the arbiter is not biased for or against either side? Of course, it is the Court, HOPEFULLY. However, if the Judge is perceived to be beholding to particular groups, a political party for example, people may fear any decisions the Judge makes is based less on fact than favor.

Perhaps next week you can be regaled with an even more in depth exposition of what I taught the judges about judges who may be perceived as partisan instead of blind to the identities and attachments of the people who have to appear in front of the Judge in Court.

Katrina Sue Mann (1957 – 2017)

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A EULOGY

Gentle Reader, you may wonder why there is no photograph of Katrina to go with this eulogy nor are there other written remembrances of her forty years of service to Posey County and me. The reason is to be found in the adage which best describes her: “The impossible can be accomplished if praise is not the object.”

Katrina served Posey County from 1976 at age eighteen until March 27, 2017 without seeking or wanting recognition. She worked first for Posey Circuit Court Judge Steve Bach, then for Posey County assessor Mary Lee Curtis, then for Posey County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Rachels and his successor Tom McClelland, then with me in what was the Posey County/now Posey Superior Court/and from 1983 until last week with me in the Posey Circuit Court.

According to the Posey County Auditor’s Office, as of last week Katrina had 494.50 hours of unused/unpaid vacation, personal, sick and flex time (comp. time). Katrina could never find time for herself as she was always doing for everybody else. The Court came first, right after her family.

Her work required diligence and intelligence. Her diligence was legendary among her fellow workers and thousands of citizens who relied upon her for answers to countless complicated legal questions. Of course, most people did not know about her 144 point I.Q., every point of which often came to the rescue of attorneys, litigants and me.

There was no job or issue that came before the Court that Katrina felt was not her responsibility. If there was work to be done and people to be helped, she was all in without a request for assistance or thanks.

Gentle Reader, you may have never had the honor and pleasure of knowing Katrina Sue Mann but if you or your family, friends or clients needed any service from Posey County government during the last forty years, you may well owe a debt of gratitude to Katrina. However, do not feel bad for not knowing about her sterling service and generous attitude; she would have been embarrassed for you to acknowledge her.

For example, Katrina worked right up to going into the hospital last week in spite of immense pain and discomfort. I am pretty sure now, although she fought to the end, she knew this time was different. Of course, she made sure nobody else, including me, knew.

Since Katrina can no longer prevent anyone from singing a paean to her, perhaps if you knew her but also did not get a chance to tell her goodbye, you may wish to join in the following farewell:

Elegy to Kat Mann

A young girl from West Franklin came,
to work at the Court, but not to seek fame.

Her long flowing hair framed a lovely fresh face,
to me she’s the same tho’ the years moved apace.

Dreams she had many, she kept them inside,
while others she served her own would abide.

Her nephews and niece knew Aunt Sue Sue wouldn’t fail,
her Mom and siblings would always prevail.

She gave of her best each day of her life,
solving the Court’s innumerable strifes.

She never smoked, drank or cursed or pulled a trigger,
yet she is the one whose own body attacked her, go figger.

Never a word of self or complaint,
ever for others much as a saint.

Kat Mann I miss you, you know we all will,
if there is any justice, you’ll be with us still.

Please click on the following link to go to Kat Mann’s obituary:
http://www.pierrefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Katrina-Mann-2/#!/Obituary

 

 

Mary Poppins Revisited

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While not an umbrella, the EHang184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle promises vertical take off and landing. The oval shaped 440-pound plastic egg made in China will be available for you and your one 16-inch carryon bag starting this July.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Royal Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, decreed that by the year 2030 he wants at least 25% of passenger traffic in Dubai to be via autonomous vehicles. He did not decree a price per trip but since my young friend Andy Minnette was charged $100.00 about ten years ago there for the privilege of riding an elevator to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, I presume we’re not talking rickshaw prices.

According to the propaganda sheet from EHang, there will be no need for a license or special training. If one weighs 220 pounds or less he or she would just throw in a bag, lock the dome of the 18-foot long device, punch in a destination and push a button. Then it’s, Jetsons here we come!

The E184 can travel 60 miles an hour and fly for 23 minutes on one electrical charge. It has four legs with 2 rotors on each leg, is 5 feet in maximum height and has what EHang asserts is a “failsafe system” that is also constantly monitored from a “control center”. The occupant has no way to escape, e.g., parachute out.

The cost appears to me to be rather in flux. EHang says for a mere $200,000 to $300,000 you can be the proud owner of this glorious egg. It does fold up and can be parked in a regular parking space or outside your mansion.

Autonomous automobiles are about the only analogous vehicles for comparison. As of March 08, 2017 Uber reported its 43 unmanned cars, which by the way are manned by an operator, averaged less than one mile of driving before a human had to take over to avoid an “incident”. If you should have such an “incident” 500 feet in the air in your E184, “Good Luck!”, as they say in Las Vegas.

Now, I am not a Luddite. I like technology such as Cable TV and air conditioning. However, in Posey County, Indiana it might be somewhat premature to ask the County Commissioners and County Council for a Circuit Court EHang 184. After all, the last time I arrived at the stoplight in New Harmony when there was more than one other vehicle was during the Christmas parade. As for the Mt. Vernon intersection of Fourth and Main by the Courthouse, I did have to wait almost 10 seconds once last week. Maybe Dubai is busier.

Another concern I have with the use of the EHang 184 was raised by its announcement being accompanied by solicitations for financing options and available life insurance plans. However, my true reluctance was caused by the companion article from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that cautioned it was already developing guidelines and hiring thousands of high school dropouts for strip searching anyone who wishes to fly in an EHang 184.

From 1976 – ?

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Katrina S. Mann has served Posey County for forty years. She has worked in the County Assessor’s office, the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, County Court and Circuit Court. She has been a bailiff, probation officer, transcriptionist and court reporter.

Katrina has experience in every aspect of all court reporting functions. Currently she is the resident expert in criminal proceedings, guardianships and probate (estate) matters. Litigants and even attorneys rely upon Katrina for help with complicated questions that ofttimes nobody else seems to know how to answer. Judges also sometimes look to Katrina for help in dealing with the briar patch of arcane legal jargon and convoluted regulations. I know one judge quite well who turns to her frequently and has for forty years.

Katrina grew up in West Franklin in what once was rural Posey County. Society has unrelentingly encroached upon Katrina’s bucolic bliss. Today the once small settlement of West Franklin looks more like the west side of Evansville. Regardless, Katrina and her family continue to enjoy the home they have had since before the power plant started operations.

It is not possible to overstate the critical role Katrina has played in the Posey Circuit Court during my service on the Bench. She is a person of absolute integrity, reliability, discretion and sound judgment. She has always put the needs of the Court and the people we serve above her own. This has been good for the public but sometimes not for Katrina.

Katrina is a graduate of Mt. Vernon High School and has attended the University of Southern Indiana. Through hard work on her own time she has acquired numerous skills in the use of modern court technology such as Sten-O-Cat Court Reporting that is required in Indiana for death penalty cases.

Katrina is quiet, patient and friendly. Should one need help with a criminal, or probate or guardianship matter they should first consult their lawyer. However, if you want to know where the Judge goes for help, check with Katrina.

 

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