Below is a copy of my email to the Indiana Public Access Counselor. I wanted to provide some insight into why Judge Brian Hill is so adamant about obstructing the release of the audio record from a grand jury proceeding in which the transcripts are already public record.
April 28, 2016
Indiana Public Access Counselor,
I want to thank the Office of the Public Access Counselor
for its professionalism in addressing my complaint. Unfortunately, others do
not share your same level of professionalism as Judge Brian Hill has apparently
decided not to comply with Advisory Opinion issued by your office. I have yet
to receive a copy of an amended order directing the release of the grand jury
audio in question. Hill has not provided any explanation why he has decided not
to release the records per Hill's agreement with the PAC. I included this information in a new
complaint to the PAC that deals with Hill's failure to respond to my request
for the entire transcription of the grand jury proceedings. The following is a
link to my complaint to the PAC, dated April 27, 2016.
http://www.dadsfamilycourtexperience.com/Brewington_PAC_Complaint_27APR16.pdf f . A hard copy is en route via USPS.
The delay or change of mind by Judge Hill does not come
as a surprise. It was only recently I discovered the rules governing the
reporting of trial court proceedings also apply to grand jury proceedings. At
some point Dearborn County Superior Court II Reporter Barbara Ruwe and Dearborn
County Prosecutor F. Aaron Negangard came to an agreement that Ruwe would not
prepare an accurate and complete transcript of the proceeding because the
transcripts are void of any procedural conversation prior to the transcripts
opening with witness testimony. This of course put me at a tremendous
disadvantage. The indictments in my case were void of any specific actions or
dates. The prosecution informed Hill that any specifics of the State's case
could be gleaned from the complete transcript of the grand jury proceeding and
then the prosecution snuck in an abridged transcription of the proceedings. Any
alteration of the grand jury record would have to be approved by a judge. It is
unclear whether Judge McLaughlin or Judge Hill approved the secret alteration
of the grand jury record. The notion that Ruwe made unauthorized changes to a
grand jury record to assist the prosecution without the approval of a judge
seems highly unlikely. Doing so would not only require conspiring with
Prosecutor Negangard to deprive a criminal defendant of constitutionally
sufficient charging information, a violation of federal civil rights laws, but
it would also hinge on the assumption that neither Hill nor McLaughlin would
report the criminal activity. Taking everything into account, Hill ordering
Ruwe to prepare copies of the grand jury audio for public access is akin to
Hill ordering Ruwe to dig Ruwe and Negangard's professional graves. The
"X" factor in the scenario is whether Hill authorized the secret
alterations. If Hill did approve of the unlawful modification of the grand jury
record, ordering Ruwe to make the audio available to the public would be
requesting Ruwe to dig a hole for Hill as well. Even if Ruwe accidently
recorded only a portion of the grand jury proceedings, neither Ruwe, Negangard,
nor Hill took any measures to notify Brewington so Brewington could take
appropriate measures to determine what specific actions Negangard alleged to be
unlawful.
I understand the PAC is not a disciplinary entity not
does the PAC possess the authority to force Hill to honor Hill's own agreement
to release the grand jury audio. I provided this addition information to the
PAC for added perspective to why Judge Hill appears belligerently opposed to
releasing an already public record. The PAC is free to add any content of this
email to my April 27, 2016. If formality is required, I would gladly attach the
email to an official complaint form. As this case involves the less than
scrupulous actions of law enforcement and judicial officials, I also attached a
cover letter to those entities listed as being copied to the complaint. The
cover letter makes note of my concerns of further prosecutorial and/or judicial
retaliation by Prosecutor F. Aaron Negangard and Judge Brian Hill. A copy of the cover letter and complaint to
the PAC can be found at http://danbrewington.blogspot.com/2016/04/for-those-searching-for-my-latest.html.html
Thank you for your time and patience in this matter.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,
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