Published: May 03, 2008 11:15 pm         

Division 5: Courtenay Scott case could decide Democrat nominee

TERRE HAUTE — The two Democrat candidates for judge of Vigo Superior Court Division 5 agree on almost everything except how the incumbent handled a single, contentious case in 2004.

Judge Barbara Brugnaux, who has been in the office for 14 years, is running against Dr. Michael Rader, a medical doctor and practicing attorney who hopes to unseat her in the primary.

Brugnaux was elected to Division 5 in 1996 and again in 2002 (after serving as temporary judge of the court from 1994 to 1996).

Rader, who practiced medicine for 30 years before earning his law degree, most recently has been serving as a public defender in Vigo County.

He has been practicing law for a little more than 10 years.

Division 5 court handles drug- and alcohol-related offenses, small claims, and other civil and criminal matters. The court also houses the Vigo County Alcohol and Drug Program, which was created in 1979 by the late Robert Howard Brown, then judge of Division 5. The program receives referrals from the court. It provides assessment, education, monitoring and referral services for cases involving offenders charged with or convicted of operating a vehicle while impaired, other drug charges or other criminal acts that involve alcohol and/or other drugs.

Brugnaux, the first female judge in Vigo County, has faced harsh criticism for her decision to accept a plea agreement in a case involving the death of a toddler.

The case was against ex-daycare provider Courtenay Scott, whose actions resulted in the death of 2-year-old Alexis Williams on May 22, 2002. A special prosecutor from Vanderburgh County recommended Scott spend no time in prison. Brugnaux accepted the agreement, and Scott was sentenced to two years probation for reckless homicide, a class-C felony.

Rader, in recent advertisements, has criticized what he calls Brugnaux’s “misunderstanding of the law.”

Rader pointed to one sentence in a letter Brugnaux sent in February to 7,000 Democrats in Vigo County, in which she stated, “It is a judge’s duty to review the terms of [the plea] agreement and accept that agreement if it complies with the law.”

He said that is the statement that concerns him. “That is an incorrect statement of the law,” he said. He added that the statement implies that Brugnaux thought she had no choice but to accept the plea agreement that was offered.

“That’s why I said [in an advertisement] I thought her decision was ill-considered,” Rader said. “If it’s based on this misunderstanding of the law, then it was ill-considered.”

In the letter Brugnaux sent, she discussed her duties as judge, the time and effort she put into studying the evidence in the Scott case, and her belief, four years later, that she made the right decision.

The special prosecutor in the case, Stan Levco, in February stated that he made the plea deal with the approval of Alexis Williams’ parents, John and Kelly Williams.

“They approved it in advance,” Levco said during that interview, “after I made it, and after they pre-approved it, they changed their minds.”

Brugnaux has said that Levco “determined that his case was not strong enough to take before a jury. After careful examination of the evidence, in my estimation, a hung jury most likely would have been the probable result, and so I reluctantly accepted the plea agreement.”

In a more recent interview, Brugnaux said she objected to Rader’s ad, specifically to the part that stated that “I implied that I had no choice. Because that’s just flat-out not true,” she said. “I never said that I did not have a choice, I clearly had a choice; I had the opportunity to see the evidence, which Dr. Rader did not, and I made my decision based on that.”

Brugnaux then quoted retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, saying, “A good judge applies the law as it is, not as she wants it to be.”

Rader said he has an issue with the outcome of the Scott case “because I don’t believe that in-home detention was appropriate.”

He added, “I personally believe the case should have been tried to a jury. If a grand jury can find sufficient cause to give a bill, then I think a jury should have heard this. I personally do not believe it is a judge’s role to be assessing and weighing evidence. That’s a jury’s role.”

In an earlier statement to the Tribune-Star, Rader said, “I think the public’s perception [regarding the Scott case] is that something was done that was wrong, or underhanded, or in some way just not right, and clearly those of us who know [Brugnaux] know that’s not true.

“Barbara Brugnaux is a person of integrity, and she’s a hard-working judge and I think she did what she thought was right,” Rader added.

“I might have made a different decision, I might have handled it a different way,” he said, “but do I think what she did was wrong? No, I don’t. I don’t think she did anything wrong. I think she did what she thought was right at the time,” he said.

Rader addressed those comments more recently, saying, “What I’m saying there is I’m addressing the issue of integrity. I will not, and in no way do I mean, by addressing these issues, mean to impugn her integrity … I cannot emphasize enough I think a jury should have heard this.”

Other than explaining in detail her rationale on the Scott case, Brugnaux is focusing on what she considers her greatest accomplishment as judge: establishing the Vigo County Drug Court, an alternative referral program for certain nonviolent offenders who have addiction problems. Brugnaux initiated the Vigo County Drug Court in September 1996. It was the second such court in the state and was among the first 150 in the country. Today, there are 2,000 drug courts nationwide.

Drug court is an option for individuals who are arrested and charged with crimes, whether the charges are drug-related or not.

The stated mission of court is to offer a sentencing alternative for nonviolent, substance-abusing or -dependent offenders to reduce substance use and crime within the community. The program uses a team approach to increase recovery opportunities for participants. If an individual is determined by the prosecutor’s office and the court to have a drug problem, the individual can be recommended for Drug Court.

The program has saved the county more than $3 million in its first 10 years, according to a study commissioned by the Indiana Judicial Center in 2006.

Brugnaux said if she is re-elected, she expects to continue the work with Drug Court “and the work that we’re doing with other alcoholics and addicts who are not in drug court … and try to provide accountability for those individuals to keep them in treatment and compliant.”

She added that one of her goals for the court is to begin providing services to “the increasing Spanish-speaking populations.”

She characterized the problem as “a public safety issue. People are coming to our community from a culture where drinking and driving is acceptable,” she said.

The more resources the court is able to provide to Spanish-speaking populations, Brugnaux said, the safer our community will be.

Both candidates said the problem of jail overcrowding must be addressed.

Rader’s goals, if elected, are to work on the problem of jail overcrowding and to continue to find funding for the Drug Court program.

Brugnaux, who keeps a daily record of the inmate count, said it’s an ongoing issue that requires good communication between the court and jail staff. Alternative sentencing programs, such as Drug Court, help keep inmate counts down, she said.

Rader said the jail overcrowding problem is “not something that a judge can solve, necessarily, or that the prosecutor or the defense lawyer can solve or the sheriff for that matter, but I think if we work together to address that issue, we can find a way of using the jail in a responsible way.”

Rader said during a recent interview that the strength he brings to Division 5 is his set of life experiences.

As a longtime medical doctor, Rader said he has “had an intimate relationship with people that really few other people can duplicate. I’ve seen the effects of addiction. I’ve seen families disrupted. I’ve seen children lose their parents to addictions. I’ve seen people lose their homes because of substance abuse,” he said. “I also have 10 years of experience in the criminal courts, and I’ve represented people who have no other means of obtaining a defense, and I’ve worked with those families, too, and seen the other side of it.”

Rader said he would approach Drug Court “with compassion … I think my role as judge would be … setting limits, and indicating to the person with the substance abuse issue that you have this opportunity to take advantage of, and we want you to, but if you don’t, we will punish you.”

As for continued funding of the Drug Court, Rader said, “I’ll have to get a little closer to that to become a little bit more knowledgeable about the details of that … if I am elected, that’s something I would begin turning my attention to fairly quickly.”

Brugnaux said she finds inspiration and devotion in St. Mother Theodore Guerin “because of her incredible strength and courage.” The judge keeps Guerin’s writings on a day calendar on her desk.

Brugnaux added that other influences in her life include “other women in leadership positions, [Supreme Court Justice] Ruth Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor being two of them,” as well as Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard of the Indiana Supreme Court, “any number of teachers, and, even though I lost them many years ago, my parents.”

Rader, who says the most significant influence in his life has been his father, a strict Baptist minister, said he also likes to rely on a “principle of continuous improvement” — something he says he will always consider, if he is elected.

“It’s not that there’s a failing at present, but we can always do better,” he added.

Deb Kelly can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.kelly@tribstar.com.



• Barbara Brugnaux

Age — 60

Family — Married for 33 years to Carl Bender

Education — J.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington (1985) cum laude; M.A. in journalism from Ohio State University (1974) magna cum laude; B.A. in journalism from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College (1970) cum laude

Experience — Vigo Superior Court Division 5 judge, 1996-present; Simbol & Brugnaux Law Firm, 1985-1994; Vigo County Prosecutor’s Office, 1987-1994

Community — Appointed to the Indiana Prenatal Substance Abuse Commission, 2007-2009; National Association of Drug Court Professionals, Board of Directors, 2005-2009; TREES Inc. board member; Vigo County Historical Society board member; Terre Haute Rotary club; 2002 Public Servant of the Year, Wabash Valley Labor Council

Web site — www.bruno

forjudge.com

• Mike Rader

Age — 56

Family — Married to Cheryl Rader.

Education — J.D. from Indiana University, Indianapolis (1995); M.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine (1976); B.S. in chemistry from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (1973).

Experience — Vigo County Public Defenders Office, 2000-present; private law practice, 1997-2000; Pfizer Inc. physician, Terre Haute, 1979-2000; Associate medical director, Healthsource of Indiana, 1993-1997; private medical practice, Sullivan County, 1978-1990.

Web site — www.rader

forjudge.com