GRANTED:

NUMBER	COUNTY	CASE NAME
14-0357	Scott	In re J.C.
14-0640	Polk	Ramirez Trujillo v. Quality Egg
14-0773	Black Hawk	State v. Lindsey
14-0889	Muscatine	State v. Alvarado
14-1605	Polk	Iowa Individual Health & State Univ. of Iowa
15-1256	Woodbury	In re M.W. and Z.W.

DENIED:

NUMBER	COUNTY	CASE NAME
13-0997	Black Hawk	Willock v. State
13-1259	Marshall	State v. McDowell
13-1352	Scott	Graves v. State
13-1661	Des Moines	Cannon v. State
13-1823	Johnson	State v. Doornink
14-0346	Lee (North)	Smith v. State
14-0409	Linn	King v. State
14-0727	Davis	State v. Hartman
14-1022	Scott	State v. Johnson
14-1076	Black Hawk	State v. Goddard
14-1178	Scott	Barker v. State
14-1384	Mahaska	Adams v. DHS
14-1405	Scott	State v. Cole
14-1519	Cerro Gordo	State v. Holton
14-1564	Scott	State v. Giddings
14-1590	Scott	Borrego v. State
14-1599	Scott	State v. Hayes
14-1740	Hardin	Van Den Boom v. City of Eldora
14-1818	Jefferson	State v. Blaise
14-1826	Washington	Midwestone Bank v. Harbison
14-1859	Polk	State v. Winters
14-1884	Black Hawk	State v. Provin
14-1919	Buena Vista	In re Marriage of Coon
15-0331	Polk	Great River Med. Ctr. v. Murphy
15-0761	Woodbury	In re P.D. and K.D.
15-1011	Clayton	In re H.H., M.H., and G.H.
15-1069	Woodbury	In re S.M. and V.M.
15-1105	Dubuque	In S.V., D.V., and D.B.
15-1178	Clarke	In re M.C.
15-1297	Polk	In re M.H.
15-1362	Hancock	In re J.G. and Z.P.
15-1402	Ida	In re A.J.
15-1481	Lyon	In re H.V. and F.V.

UNDER CONSIDERATION BY THE COURT:

NUMBER	COUNTY	CASE NAME
13-0739	Johnson	State v. Marshall
13-1269	Polk	State v. Dowell
13-1238	Johnson	State v. Fisher
13-1640	Des Moines	State v. Newman
13-1998	Polk	State v. Hood
13-2004	Polk	State v. Pierce
13-2033	Linn	State v. Parmer
14-0124	Story	State v. Saxton
14-0158	Scott	Hillman v. State
14-0467	Polk	Reinsbach v. Great Lakes Coop.
14-0764	Cherokee	Conklin v. State
14-0816	Linn	State v. Gathercole
14-0998	Polk	Burkett v. State
14-1004	Muscatine	Enriquez v. State
14-1021	Polk	State v. Frencher
14-1058	Scott	Alcala v. Marriott Int'l
14-1087	Black Hawk	State v. Gary
14-1142	Story	State v. Araiza
14-1143	Grundy	State v. Huffman
14-1180	Buena Vista	Estate of McFarlin v. State
14-1215	Winneshiek	Bruening Rock Prods. v. Hawkeye Int'l Trusts
14-1259	Polk	Smoker v. Bd. of Medicine
14-1273	Polk	White v. State
14-1302	Warren	In re D.L.
14-1341	Clayton	In re Estate of Weber
14-1345	Woodbury	Ledesma v. State
14-1425	Scott	State v. Romilus
14-1623	Scott	More v. State
14-1715	Emmet	State v. Kuhlemeier
14-1765	Sioux	Thompson v. ATI Prods.
14-1808	Mitchell	Spitz v. Dist. Ct.

SPRINGFIELD - Governor Bruce Rauner today granted ten and denied 200 clemency petitions. Nearly 1,200 petitions remain from previous administrations.

The 210 clemency petitions Governor Rauner acted upon today are part of dockets dating back to April 2007. Each person granted clemency has recently undergone a criminal background check through the Illinois State Police's Law Enforcement Agencies Data System.

A granted clemency request for a pardon with expungement allows the petitioner to seek expungement of their conviction through the court system.

This is the fifth set of petitions the governor has reviewed since taking office. The Governor's Office has developed a process to review clemency petitions on a regular basis.

For additional information on the granted clemency cases, please contact Ken Tupy at the Prisoner Review Board at (217) 782-1610 or Ken.Tupy@illinois.gov.

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Obama Administration Allegedly Releasing Unaccompanied Minors into Criminals' Custody

Feds Allegedly Paired Migrant Children with Human Traffickers, Child Molesters

 

WASHINGTON - Federal authorities responsible for vetting potential guardians of children who enter the country without an adult have been placing some with convicted criminals, according to whistleblower claims.  The whistleblower, who is familiar with the vetting process, alleges that at least 3,400 sponsors out of a sample of 29,000 listed in a government database have criminal histories that include domestic violence, homicide, child molestation, sexual assault and human trafficking.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) are seeking details on the review practices for potential sponsors of unaccompanied children, as well as corrective procedures once it has determined that a child has been placed with a convicted criminal sponsor. In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services, the Senators are also asking for statistical information regarding criminal convictions of the sponsors of migrant children.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement is responsible for coordinating the screening of potential sponsors for exploitation, abuse, or other safety concerns. However, the background checks are allegedly often inadequate, leaving children in the custody of potentially dangerous individuals.  Earlier this year federal agents arrested human smugglers who reportedly posed as sponsors to force at least six Guatemalan boys to work 12 hours a day on an Ohio egg farm.

The whistleblower brought the claims to the Judiciary Committee's attention after raising concerns with supervisors reportedly yielded no immediate corrective actions.

Grassley began asking questions more than a year ago about the process for vetting the people unaccompanied minors have been released to.  These questions continue to take on urgency as unaccompanied children arrive at the southern border in record numbers in recent months.

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Grassley to Hold Hearing on the Impact of Trade Secret Theft on American Competiveness

November 24, 2015

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing entitled "Protecting Trade Secrets: the Impact of Trade Secret Theft on American Competitiveness and Potential Solutions to Remedy This Harm" for Wednesday, December 2 at 10:00 a.m., in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

By order of the Chairman.

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"Lincoln's Law" Slows Washington's Gravy Train by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

Iowans working six ways to Sunday to make ends meet have 18 trillion reasons to resent Washington's appetite for overspending. The soaring $18 trillion national debt reflects disregard for the taxpaying public, especially younger generations who will be saddled with a crushing tax burden to pay for unbridled Big Government.

But what really gets under the American taxpayer's skin is wasteful spending and taxes lost to fraud. There's no question about it. When the size and scope of the government grow, so do opportunities for improper payments, duplicative programs, fraud and mismanagement.

President Abraham Lincoln realized that when the federal spigot is opened for business, greed and corruption trumped patriotism when Civil War-era defense contractors siphoned off war dollars for shoddy goods and services sold to the Union Army. That's when our 16^th president signed into law an anti-fraud tool to help root out unpatriotic war profiteers. The False Claims Act, also known as Lincoln's Law, allowed a private citizen to file a claim on behalf of the government for fraud.

Now it doesn't matter if it's the 19^th century or the 21^st, coming forward with information of alleged fraud isn't easy. It means a whistleblower is going out on a limb, putting one's livelihood and career on the line. That's why Lincoln's Law included "qui tam" provisions that offered financial incentives to provide that a citizen may share in a portion of the recovery. Bilking the government under any circumstance is morally corrupt, particularly when defense dollars assigned to U.S. Armed Forces and national security interests are squandered.

However, during World War II, the "qui tam" provisions were watered down significantly, abruptly reducing the incentives for private citizens to step forward. For four decades, Lincoln's Law collected dust on the prosecutorial shelf and arguably wrongdoers collected untold billions of tax dollars.

Throughout my service in the United States Senate, I've conducted aggressive oversight of federal spending.  From housing, transportation, welfare, health care, agriculture and defense, the revenue stream that runs through the federal bureaucracy has, unfortunately, long been considered a gravy train for unscrupulous wrongdoers. It struck me during my oversight of the Pentagon's books. The U.S. Treasury would benefit from a dose of Honest Abe. So, I worked on Capitol Hill to secure bipartisan updates to the "qui tam" whistleblower provisions that increased civil penalties and the citizen's share of recovered tax dollars lost to fraud.

Since my 1986 amendments were adopted to the False Claims Act, the U.S. Treasury has recovered $44 billion and counting. The Department of Justice says it is the nation's most effective anti-fraud weapon in its arsenal, particularly considering its widespread impact to suppress fraud and deter wrongdoers from risking criminal sentences, financial settlements and civil penalties in the first place.

Like Lincoln's Law, my whistleblower updates targeted fraud to protect the integrity of the nation's defense and military spending. Since then, the False Claims Act has cast a much wider net, capturing widespread fraud in the nation's health care, banking and financial services sectors. And I've worked to build and strengthen even more legislative and prosecutorial tools to beef up the government's ability to gut fraud throughout the bureaucracy, including:

·         whistleblower protections that prevent employers from muzzling employees with "non-disclosure agreements" that seek to gag workers from reporting wrongdoing;

·         stronger protections for programs in the IRS and SEC to encourage workers to report high-dollar tax evasion and wrongdoing in the banking and financial sectors; and,

·         passage of the 2009 Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act that targets mortgage and securities fraud.

Whistleblowers shouldn't be wronged for trying to make things right. That's why I launched the Whistleblower Protection Caucus in the U.S. Senate. We can pass legislation until the cows come home, but if we don't ride herd and scrutinize the enforcement and execution of these laws, rustlers will continue to feed at the public trough.

Taxpayers are fed up with their hard-earned tax dollars paying for a $43 million natural gas station in Afghanistan, for example. Or when mismanaged bureaucracies send farm payments to deceased farmers, deny services and benefits to veterans or put federal workers on extended paid administrative leave for months on end.  The American people deserve better. That's why I'll continue championing the work of whistleblowers who help put a nail in the coffin of bureaucratic misconduct and make wrongdoers pay for pilfering the federal government's coffers.

Cronyism, corruption and incompetence deepen mistrust and widen the credibility gap between the American people and the federal government. That's why I work so hard to derail Washington's gravy train. Let's save the gravy for the Thanksgiving turkey and mashed potatoes.

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Grassley Explores Whether Pentagon Retaliated Against Colonel Who Questioned $800 Million Afghanistan Task Force Records

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is seeking answers on allegations from an Army colonel that the Pentagon is slow-walking his performance review because he questioned the lack of accountability at the $800 million task force that oversaw an excessively expensive $43 million natural gas filling station in Afghanistan.  Grassley wrote to Defense Secretary Ash Carter about Army Colonel John C. Hope.

"Being long overdue, (the evaluation) has placed his next assignment in jeopardy, leaving him in limbo," Grassley wrote to Carter.  "He alleges he is being deliberately 'slow rolled' by his 'raters.'  ... Would you please look into this and find out why Colonel Hope's (evaluation) has not been completed?  I respectfully ask that you provide a deadline for completing that task and providing Colonel Hope with a new set of orders for his next assignment.  Your assistance is necessary in this case."

Grassley wrote that Hope believes he's been singled out for retaliation and retribution for speaking out about a lack of accountability at the task force.  He's been told he performed poorly at the task force, in contrast to four previous job reviews recommending a promotion to brigadier general.

"If the Pentagon is retaliating against someone for speaking out on poor accountability and wasteful spending, that's unacceptable," Grassley said.  "It's detrimental to the individual and to the taxpayers."

The now-defunct Task Force for Stability and Business Operations spent $800 million in carrying out its mission to facilitate economic development in Afghanistan.  The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) faced impeded access to task force documents in reviewing the gas station cost over-run.

Grassley has asked the Defense Department to give him all records related to task force activities pertaining to Afghanistan, from January 1, 2009, through March 31, 2015; and all records concerning the task force from April 1, 2015, to the date of his request, including all records pertaining to SIGAR's requests for information regarding the task force, and all records discussing SIGAR reports, letters, or statements about the task force.

Grassley has pressed the Defense Department to cooperate with SIGAR by releasing all documents, names of staff involved and reasons for placing severe restrictions on information behind the construction of the natural gas filling station.

He plans to seek a Department of Defense inspector general audit of the $800 million task force expenditures and will ask fellow senators to join the request.

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Grassley, McCain Urge Greater Importation of Prescription Drugs from Other Countries

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. John McCain of Arizona have urged the secretary of Health and Human Services to use her full authority to increase the importation of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries for the benefit of U.S. consumers.  Their action comes as the agency  held a drug pricing forum on Friday and amid revelations of drug pricing excesses in the United States.

"As public concern over rising costs of prescription drugs continues, there is a need to reduce the financial burden that prescription drugs are placing on Americans,"  Grassley and McCain wrote to Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell.  "Given the priority that voters place on addressing the high cost of prescription drugs, we believe that it is time Congress and the Administration work together to take concrete steps to address pricing abuses."

Grassley and McCain described the significant statutory authority given to the secretary to increase the importation of prescription drugs under certain conditions, such as certification that the imported drug would be safe and reduce U.S. consumer prices.  They urged importation under certain circumstances, including significant and unexplained increases in price and that the drug is produced in another country by the name brand manufacturer that initially developed the drug or by a well-known generic manufacturer that commonly sells pharmaceutical products in the United States.

Grassley and McCain asked the secretary to outline whether she needs additional statutory authority to undertake prescription drug importation to protect American consumers.

-30-

Grassley-Cosponsored NOAA Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Legislation Clears Commerce Committee

WASHINGTON - The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Act to improve NOAA's response to harassment or abuse in the workplace. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley helped craft key provisions of the version that won committee approval.  The reforms follow whistleblower accounts of inadequate procedures to assist victims of abuse at NOAA.

"Victims of sexual abuse and harassment should not be forced to endure insufficient reporting and support programs in the midst of recovering from their experiences.  This bill ensures that victims have reliable access to advocates who can provide a safe place and needed guidance in a difficult time.  I applaud the Senate Commerce Committee for recognizing the need for these important reforms to protect and empower victims of abuse and harassment at NOAA," Grassley said.

The bill would require NOAA to develop policies to protect its approximately 12,000 employees.  Among its major provisions, the bill calls for:

·         Specified procedures for reporting incidents, including those occurring after business hours, at sea, or in other remote geographically isolated locations;

·         Availability of advocates to aid victims through the reporting and adjudication process;

·         Protection for the rights of accusers and the accused, including changes of duty station; and

·         Yearly reporting on the status of efforts to implement the new policies.

Whistleblowers called attention to the inadequate reporting procedures late last year when disclosing that they had been sexually abused and harassed while conducting research on behalf of universities aboard NOAA research vessels.  Their reports prompted Grassley and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune to raise concerns with the Department of Commerce Inspector General.  They also questioned the effectiveness of the current reporting system that directs victims to disclose misconduct through the chain of command, which may include the alleged perpetrator.

The bipartisan National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Act (S. 2206) was introduced on October 26, 2015, by Dan Sullivan of (R-Alaska) with Grassley and four other bipartisan cosponsors. The bill now awaits further consideration by the full Senate.

-30-

Q&A: Syrian Refugees With U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

 

Q: Why is it important to take every precaution when considering whether to resettle thousands of Syrian refugees in the United States?

A:  Americans have a generous, compassionate spirit that is reflected in service and philanthropy, such as toy and clothing drives, food pantries and homeless shelters in communities across the country. This shared sense of humanity also is reflected by U.S. asylum policies. The United States has a long history of extending and expanding resettlement programs for those seeking sanctuary from religious persecution, ethnic cleansing and humanitarian crises. Every year, for the past few years, the United States has offered safe haven for 70,000 refugees from around the world. Iowa, in particular, has a remarkable legacy that goes back to Governor Ray's starting a resettlement program in 1975 for thousands of refugees fleeing Southeast Asia. Since passage of the Refugee Act of 1980, refugees seeking asylum in the United States must meet a legal standard of "well-founded fear of persecution" to qualify for resettlement. The Obama administration is misplacing priorities by insisting on expanding Syrian refugee resettlement, especially considering a Syrian passport was reportedly found near the body of one of the Paris attackers.

America mourns for those who lost their lives and their loved ones in the brutal massacre in Paris. America still heals from the tremendous sorrow and loss inflicted by the 9/11 terror attacks. Like America, the City of Light will find its way out of the darkness. We stand in solidarity with our friends and allies around the world. Together we must work to extinguish violent extremism that breeds terrorism and threatens life as we know it. That is why we cannot allow America's welcome mat to be turned into a door mat for radicalized Islamic extremists who are hard-wired to kill innocent people and destroy our way of life. Unless and until the United States can figure out a stringent screening process to prevent terrorists from masquerading as refugees to infiltrate our neighborhoods and communities, President Obama needs to listen to the concerns voiced by more than half the nation's governors, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on both sides of Capitol Hill and the American people from across the entire country. So far, it doesn't appear the president is listening. That's why I am working to put at least a temporary halt on the implementation of the president's plan to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees into this country until our intelligence and national security agencies can certify the vetting process will keep out terrorists. Don't forget, the U.S. paused our refugee admissions program after 9/11 to re-evaluate and upgrade security processes. At this moment, we need reasonable responses to address widespread uncertainty, not rash disregard of national security.

Q: How does this differ from the "boat people" resettlement four decades ago?

A: America's humanitarian principles haven't changed. The times have changed. Remember, Iowa was the first state to open a government resettlement agency when it welcomed the Tai Dam into our communities and took in thousands of refugees from Southeast Asia. Over the years, Iowa has resettled other refugees facing persecution in their home countries, including Bosnia, Sudan and Burma. Refugee resettlements in Iowa faced barriers back then and face challenges still today. There's no question that considerable language and cultural barriers significantly impact transitions for refugees into local communities, in neighborhoods, schools and workplaces. Resettlement strains social services and takes broad, coordinated efforts from a wide variety of government agencies, faith-based organizations and volunteers to work.

Notwithstanding the challenges with transportation and housing and the burdens on local schools, hospitals and other public services, the refugee resettlement in America should not be an avenue for terrorists to sneak in and do us harm. Like it or not, the reality of the 21st century differs significantly from just a generation ago. Today we are facing a reign of terror that recruits and radicalizes Islamic extremists to inflict violence and spread fear across civilized society. The atrocities of the 20th century were rooted in tyrannical government regimes, such as Nazism and Communism, led by the likes of Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, who oppressed freedom and murdered millions of innocent people. Today, extremists are trying to poison peace and prosperity by orchestrating acts of terror on unsuspecting victims and venues to spread widespread fear. Today's battlefields are vastly different than 20th century conflicts. We are talking about people who have made no bones about it. Their goal is to kill Americans. From drones, to suicide bombers and hijacked airliners, the targets and times have changed. No doubt, America's leadership is needed to purge terror and make the world a safe place for our children and grandchildren. It will require bold, strategic plans with a broad coalition of our friends and allies that reaches across military, intelligence, diplomatic, financial and humanitarian channels.

However, a relatively simple way for the Obama administration to put national security first is by calling a time-out on the Syrian refugee resettlement program. The president already underestimated ISIS once before, dismissing the extremist militant group as a JV team. Now look where we are seven years into his Middle East foreign policy. Considering the misguided Iran deal, the effort to relocate detainees from Guantanamo Bay to U.S. soil and calls for resettling up to 10,000 Syrian refugees, it's no wonder Americans are questioning what else the president is miscalculating. When it comes to the safety of the American people and protecting our way of life - a way of life that generations of men and women in the Armed Forces have sacrificed life and limb to defend and uphold - the federal government has a fundamental constitutional duty to first protect national security and the sovereignty of the United States.