Free speech, fair trials collide at ex-Lake County sheriff's sentencing
The Indiana Lawyer
Marilyn Odendahl
November 29, 2017
https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/45474-free-speech-fair-trials-collide-at-ex-lake-county-sheriffs-sentencing
With Lake County seemingly awash in political corruption, a local newspaper is trying to uproot the culture of kickbacks and payouts by putting the spotlight on those who speak in favor of the latest elected official to be convicted.
The Times of Northwest Indiana columnist Marc Chase points out he has a constitutional right to call out public officials and community leaders who “carry water” for John Buncich, the former Lake County Sheriff found guilty of federal bribery charges, who’s scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 6.
However, local attorneys view the paper’s actions as inhibiting the judicial process and possibly creating reversible error, giving an appellate court grounds for overturning whatever sentence is imposed, or even the entire conviction. Moreover, it could set a precedent for media outlets and bloggers to pick winners and losers in court proceedings.
“It’s well beyond editorializing,” said Crown Point attorney Geoffrey Giorgi. “It’s judicial interference.”
Giorgi has been warning about the potential consequences since he read Chase’s column in August. He has talked with other attorneys as well as a constitutional law scholar and garnered the support of the Lake Court Bar Association, which took the unusual step of issuing a statement criticizing the paper’s intentions.
‘Apologist watch’
The controversy started when Chase, a longtime investigative reporter and now editorial page editor for the Times, started the “apologist watch.” After Buncich was found guilty of accepting checks and cash payments in exchange for awarding towing contracts to certain businesses, Chase wrote a column announcing the newspaper will publicize the officeholders and prominent citizens who write letters asking Northern Indiana District Judge James Moody for leniency when imposing a sentence.
Chase promised to report in future columns on the people who take the “misguided approach” of supporting Buncich.
He explained that the individuals and politicians who vouch for the disgraced former sheriff in court are giving an “atta boy!” to their friend and reinforcing the culture of acceptance around corruption. Chase wants the supporters to know the public is watching those propping up the person who betrayed the voters’ trust.
Giorgi, of Giorgi & Bebekoski, LLC, and the bar association maintain the column might squelch participation in the sentencing procedure. People could decide not to tell the judge things that might mitigate Buncich’s sentence for fear they will be put under the microscope by the newspaper.
As a consequence, the ex-sheriff could have his constitutional rights compromised. He will not be able to prepare a comprehensive defense and present his complete case to the judge.
The bar association’s statement read, in part, “It is the height of hypocrisy for a news outlet to discourage individual citizens from exercising their rights to make their voices heard for fear of being publicly shamed, depriving a defendant of resources that our Constitutional system provides.”
Yet, as Gerry Lanosga, assistant professor of journalism at Indiana University Bloomington, noted, the newspaper is not doing anything unlawful. The letters written in support of Buncich are public record and the First Amendment gives the newspaper columnist the right to opine on the contents.
He was also dubious of the attorneys’ concerns about the column deterring people from participating in the proceeding.
Courtrooms and trial proceedings are intimidating by themselves, he said. Add to that the circumstances in Lake County, where the ex-sheriff may now be considered toxic. The media will likely be putting television cameras and reporters in the courthouse for the sentencing, and colleagues and friends might have second thoughts about speaking up because they do not want to be publicly linked to a convicted felon.
“The cost of having an open trial proceeding is you’re going to get public scrutiny,” Lanosga said.
Chase is unapologetic.
“If a sitting office-holder refrains from offering support to a convicted felon, I fail to see how that is a bad thing,” he said, arguing his right to free speech is not impinging on anybody’s right to submit a letter to the court asking for leniency. “They have every right to write a letter. I have every right to call them into question for doing so.”
Stopping the corruption
Giorgi concedes the level of corruption in northwest Indiana is disheartening. Highlighting the most recent news of Merrillville Town Councilman Thomas Goralczyk being indicted and pleading guilty to federal bribery charges also involving towing contracts, Giorgi dejectedly noted public officials on the take seem to be business as usual.
Since September 2016, a township assessor, a former mayor and a former township trustee have either been found guilty or pled guilty to illegally taking money. Also, Portage mayor James Snyder, indicted with Buncich, has been charged with accepting a bribe of $13,000 and not paying his taxes.
Ultimately, all the unlawful acts erode the public’s trust, Chase said. The taxpayers elect a leader they believe has integrity only to have that faith trounced when a federal indictment gets handed down. Something needs to be done to stop the perpetual cycle of corruption, he said.
Adam Sedia, president of the Lake County Bar Association, does not dispute Lake County has a great deal of corruption. Certainly, the media is justified in reporting on that activity, but in regard to the newspaper attempting to reduce public misdeeds by exposing who stands up for the accused and convicted, he noted, “… the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Both Giorgi and Sedia, associate at Hoeppner Wagner & Evans, LLP, argued criminal defendants could have their right to defend themselves curtailed because the media’s focus discouraged supporters from taking part in the proceeding. Conversely, defendants who the media favors could get softer treatment because their friends and colleagues are not being put under the harsh spotlight.
Lanosga said if he were writing the column, he would have waited until after the proceeding to point out those who wrote letters of support.
Still, he noted, the Constitution protects fair comment about public officials and columnists can try to influence policy. “I have trouble with the concept of a newspaper threatening to do its job is unlawful,” Lanosga said. “I think that’s problematic if we come to that.”
Giorgi disputed that what the Times column did is covered by the First Amendment. He characterized it as threatening people, which is not protected speech.
Had Chase not announced the “apologist watch” until after the sentencing, Giorgi and Sedia said they would have had no concerns. Likely supporters would not have been intimidated about coming forward and the defendant would not have been denied a fair hearing.
“They shouldn’t be creating the news,” Giorgi said. “I don’t want my newspaper to be in the news-making business. I want my newspaper to be a source of information of what’s happening in the community.”
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MARC CHASE: Don't tolerate officials carrying water for Buncich
Marc Chase
NWI Times
August 26, 2017
http://www.nwitimes.com/opinion/columnists/marc-chase/marc-chase-don-t-tolerate-officials-carrying-water-for-buncich/article_21a300b7-894a-5b94-9ad3-21af88f675d0.html
The felony bribery conviction of now former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich Thursday ushers in a crucial period in which all Region residents should be paying particularly close attention.
Let's call it "apologist watch": a period when we all should keep eyes peeled for the ill-advised public officials who run to the disgraced sheriff's defense before sentencing.
For those keeping score, an apologist is one who offers an argument in support of something controversial. In Buncich's case, it likely will mean folks who profess admiration and support for his character even though he's shown himself completely undeserving.
Such behavior happens with impunity around here, but the public figures and officials who show support for those who've committed crimes against taxpayers are really doing us all a favor.
They're showing us who to shun at the polls in upcoming election cycles.
Keep watch for the folks who vehemently argue Buncich got a bum deal from the jury. They're the ones who will say the government didn't prove its case when, in fact, eyewitnesses, informants and video backed up nearly every facet of the allegations that Buncich shoved wads of money in his personal pocket and then handed out business to the tow truck companies that bribed him.
They also will be the public officeholders, and other prominent citizens, who are sure to write letters of support for Buncich to U.S. District Court Judge James Moody, seeking a more lenient sentence.
If history is any guide, Moody isn't likely to entertain misguided attempts at heart-string pulling for a corrupt top cop. He's one of the most no-nonsense judges on the bench of a historically no-nonsense federal court system.
Region residents shouldn't buy the pleas for sympathy and leniency, either.
I promise to help take stock of the names and positions of public officials or other community leaders who carry water for Buncich by petitioning the court for leniency. Any letters filed into the public record seeking leniency for Buncich will be reported in my future columns, along with the names and positions of the writers.
Buncich's friends have a right to petition the court on his behalf. We have a right to withhold support for them if they take this misguided approach.
Region political outsiders no doubt are asking themselves, "Who would be so foolish to publicly proclaim such support for a federally convicted felon? What public official would brand themselves as supporting a corrupt politician, in this case who had sworn to uphold the law?
"In fact, wouldn't it be a scarlet letter for such public officials to cast their lot in this fashion?"
We need only look at past federal cases to realize this wrongheaded behavior is likely forthcoming.
Remember former elected Lake County Surveyor George Van Til and his felony conviction for essentially stealing from taxpayers by appropriating government property and employees for his own personal benefit?
After the former surveyor pleaded guilty in 2014, Van Til's defense attorney, Scott King, filed more than 100 pages worth of letters in open court, all written in support of Van Til. The letters generally vouched for Van Til's character and sought leniency at sentencing.
Dozens of the letters were written by political friends and allies, including a number who currently held political office.
Fast-forward to 2017 and Buncich's scheduled Dec. 6 sentencing hearing, and taxpayers have an opportunity to write some letters or make some phone calls of their own.
We all must remind our public officials that behavior like that perpetrated by Buncich won't be tolerated. More importantly, we should be telling them we won't stand for them espousing an apologist attitude.
In times of great violations of public trust by one public official, the others should be concentrating their efforts on repairing that trust and doing right by citizens — not on standing up for crony friends who just brought yet another disgraceful stain on local governance. That stain is enumerated in the 70-plus public corruption convictions of Region officeholders, government employees and vendors since the late 1970s.
If we as voters fail to provide consequences for officials who carry water for their corrupt friends, we're aiding in the spread of our Region's ongoing plague of corruption.
We’re also ignoring the resonating warnings from the apologists themselves — folks who are more keen on defending a crooked former colleague than the voters who elected them.
MARC CHASE: Officeholders carry water for felon Van Til in court letters
Marc Chase
NWI Times
Jan 10, 2015
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/marc-chase/marc-chase-officeholders-carry-water-for-felon-van-til-in/article_d14abc51-68ab-53c7-99fc-a5ad3f292ea0.html
It's amazing the causes for which some folks are willing to extend their necks into the paths of potential legal or social axes.
And in our justice system, it's important to remember even when evidence against a defendant appears overwhelming, we still have a process separating us from mob justice.
But why run to the defense of an individual who's already stood in open court and declared guilt to a particular charge?
It's even more perplexing when politicians engage in this sort of apologist attitude for a fellow officeholder caught with his or her hand in the taxpayers' cookie jar.
More than a year ago, disgraced former Lake County Surveyor George Van Til pleaded guilty in Hammond federal court to felony wire fraud that occurred while he held public office.
For those unfamiliar with the terms or legal score on that one, it means he admitted to stealing from taxpayers, in this case using county government employees and resources to further his campaign, which is a legal no-no.
Van Til awaits sentencing in the case, and one might expect fellow county politicians, at least, to steer clear of a convicted felon for their own reputations' sake.
But Van Til's attorney, Scott King, filed more than 100 pages worth of letters Thursday in open court, all written in support of Van Til. The letters generally vouch for Van Til's character and seek leniency.
Dozens of the letters were written by political friends and allies, including a number who currently hold political office.
Longtime Van Til friend and Highland Clerk-Treasurer Michael Griffin, who I've often admired for his honesty and integrity, wrote one of the letters.
Griffin asks presiding Judge James Moody to "weigh the whole" and consider the "genuine good that has been rendered" from Van Til's political life before the crime was committed.
Indiana state Reps. Charlie Brown and Vernon Smith, both Gary Democrats, also wrote letters, imploring Moody for mercy and leniency.
Smith's letter also questions why disgraced former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett never faced federal charges after being accused of engaging in activity similar to Van Til's criminal charges.
I have the same questions in the Bennett case, but it shouldn't hold any sway over the sentence Moody prescribes in the Van Til case. Neither should the words of close political friends, waxing philosophical about the other "great deeds" of Van Til's life.
In the end, Van Til stood in an open courtroom and admitted guilt. So why apologize for him, acting as if being a good guy during other periods of his life absolves him from facing the full force of the law?
The question isn't whether these sitting elected officeholders had the right to file letters of support for Van Til. In our system, they certainly have that right, as do all citizens.
But the question is, should they have done so?
The soft-pedaling of responsibility continues to color Lake County politics.
