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<DIV>Sunil,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I'm sorry, but I don't buy that argument. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The more light that is shone on misconduct in public institutions, and the
more light that is shone on its costs, the better in my opinion. Public
institutions sometimes bow to public opinion, especially in cases where revealed
misconduct is habitual. They ignore public opinion at their peril in the
legislature.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The effect on non-public institutions on sealing cases is irrelevant since
it is extremely doubtful that legislation prohibiting the sealing of those cases
or parts thereof (with one exception) would ever pass. The exception is
where cases are brought in the public interest. It may be possible to
legislatively prohibit the sealing of anything in those cases.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Please do not take this personally, but attorneys often advise their
clients to keep settlements private. This is generally because the
defendant claims they won't settle if the settlement is to become public.
I think that this is a bluff in many cases. The defendants rely on
attorney practices which are designed to wear down and to put extreme pressure
on plaintiff resources, especially in the cases a small plaintiff and a large,
rich corporation or person defendant. Attorneys sometimes also agree to
seal cases so that the amount of attorney fees assessed remains private (this
works unless, of course, the media attends the hearings on costs and
attorney fees -- this attendance doesn't happen in Latah County).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I also think that rules or legislation ought be passed greatly limiting
what can be sealed in any part of a case, including discovery, especially in
criminal cases. Judge Stegner sealed a lot of material in the Sitler (who
had many victims) child sexual abuse case regarding Sitler's potential to
reoffend. I read some of those documents before they were sealed. In
my opinion those documents should be open to the public so that they
can form an opinion about what a threat Sitler is, and will probably
be all his life.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sealing documents in any case also prevents the public from assessing the
integrity, fairness, competence, diligence, and work ethic of the judge, and in
the case of criminal matters, the prosecuting attorney. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In the Sitler case documents about Sitler's sexual proclivities and
potential to reoffend were sealed without objection/protest from the
prosecutor. After seeing Judge Stegner's conduct in the Sitler case and
one other case, my confidence in his diligence, fairness, and competence really
plummeted. I have an even lower opinion of the county prosecutor which I
have expressed here and elsewhere. Among many of my informed friends and
some law enforcement officials I have talked to, there is no disagreement about
the latter.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow, ID
83843</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208 882-7975</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=sunilramalingam@hotmail.com
href="mailto:sunilramalingam@hotmail.com">Sunil Ramalingam</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, October 30, 2009 2:52
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] UI Settles With
Ex-Workers</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Wayne,<BR><BR>I think that rather than reducing the possibility
of misconduct in the future, your approach is more likely to make settlements
difficult. Do you really think that people are deterred by publicity
attendant to the misdeeds of others? The more time goes by, the less
likely I think this is. <BR><BR>People act badly for a variety of
reasons. Often they don't put much thought into the possible
consequences of their actions. If they do, they convince themselves that they
won't get caught.<BR><BR>If forced to publicize all the details, then large
organizations are likely going to make more attempts to keep embarassing
details quiet. It's always easier for large organizations, whether
public or private, to drag things out, than it is for those opposing them to
keep going.<BR><BR>Sunil<BR><BR>
<HR id=stopSpelling>
From: deco@moscow.com<BR>To: vision2020@moscow.com<BR>Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009
10:05:28 -0700<BR>CC: president@uidaho.edu;
GSCHROED@senate.idaho.gov<BR>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] UI Settles With
Ex-Workers<BR><BR>
<STYLE>
</STYLE>
<DIV><FONT size=2>What we need is legislation that prevents court settlements
in cases like this where one party is a public agency from being
sealed. It's taxpayers money. We should know how much, and
how it is being spent, and the frivolities that led to such
expenditures.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>In this case, it was obvious from the beginning that certain
assholes at the university were being just that: assholes protecting a good
ol' boy, Gary Maki. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I want to know how much this malfeasance cost: the
settlement amount, attorney fees, cost of UI staff time, etc. It's our
money, and it is chickenshit of the UI, a public agency, to insist as part of
the settlement that its terms be kept secret, and away from the taxpayer's
eyes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If the cost of enough of these settlements were made public,
maybe, just maybe, arrogant, good ol' boy/girl behavior could be slowed a bit,
and maybe its worst practitioners dismissed from employment.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>What is also heartbreaking about this case in the current
fiscal downturn is that the money spent on this utter fiasco of illicit
favoritism could have been used to save some UI jobs, the services they
provide, and prevented the misery and disorganization to families that would
have not suffered if UI officials had acted correctly in the first
place.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow,
ID 83843</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208
882-7975</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: rgb(228,228,228); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous"><B>From:</B>
<A title=thansen@moscow.com href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom Hansen</A>
</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>To:</B>
<A title=vision2020@moscow.com href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow
Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>Sent:</B>
Friday, October 30, 2009 5:57 AM</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>Subject:</B>
[Vision2020] UI Settles With Ex-Workers</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Courtesy of today's (October 30, 2009) Spokesman
Review.<BR><BR>-----------------------------------------------<BR><BR>UI
settles with ex-workers<BR>Husband, wife claimed they were punished for
reporting on researcher<BR><BR>The University of Idaho has settled a lawsuit
with two former employees<BR>who claimed they were punished for reporting
concerns that a high-profile<BR>researcher was using university resources to
benefit private companies.<BR><BR>Although the university is publicly
funded, the terms of the settlement<BR>were being kept
confidential.<BR><BR>The UI released a statement saying Kenneth Hass and his
wife, Martha Hass,<BR>"adhered to and followed" the proper procedures in
reporting their<BR>concerns. The statement also said allegations that
Kenneth Hass attempted<BR>to sabotage sensitive research projects were
"unfounded."<BR><BR>The couple worked at the UI's Center for Advanced
Microelectronics and<BR>Biomolecular Research in Post Falls, a research
operation formerly led by<BR>Gary Maki. The center designed and developed
microchips used on NASA<BR>missions, among other projects, and Maki had a
history of high-profile<BR>breakthroughs.<BR><BR>In 2005, the Hasses told a
university auditor that Maki and others at<BR>CAMBR were improperly using UI
resources to benefit two private spinoff<BR>companies owned by Maki and
research colleagues. A UI audit concluded that<BR>Maki and others
deliberately directed public resources to benefit the<BR>companies - using
university equipment, personnel and office space to<BR>support one firm, and
doing company business on university time, among<BR>other issues.<BR><BR>As
a result, the UI toughened its policies managing conflicts of
interest<BR>between researchers and the for-profit enterprises that arise
from their<BR>discoveries.<BR><BR>Kenneth Hass worked as a professor at the
center, and Martha Hass was in<BR>administrative support before moving to
another department and eventually<BR>leaving the UI. They said they faced
retaliation from supervisors and<BR>administrators for reporting their
concerns.<BR><BR>Kenneth Hass was also the subject of a letter to UI
officials - apparently<BR>authored by Maki, but signed by a NASA official -
questioning whether he<BR>provided sensitive information to unauthorized
sources, including "foreign<BR>agents."<BR><BR>The UI said that allegation,
as well as others from Maki that Kenneth Hass<BR>had tried to sabotage CAMBR
projects, were unfounded.<BR><BR>Maki was demoted in 2007 from director of
CAMBR to professor there, and he<BR>retired this month. The Hasses now live
in Lewisburg, Pa., where Kenneth<BR>is a professor at Bucknell
University.<BR><BR>Neither the UI nor the Hasses' attorney would comment
further on the case,<BR>under the conditions of the
agreement.<BR><BR>-----------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Seeya
at homecoming, Moscow.<BR><BR>Tom Hansen<BR>Moscow, Idaho<BR><BR>"The
Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change<BR>and
the Realist adjusts his sails."<BR><BR>-
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