ID: pay prosecutor $, get out of trouble, okay?
It's great to see that Idaho has a contender in the prosecutor pay-to-play scam sweepstakes. From KIFI:
E. Idaho prosecutor faces charges concerning public money
Caribou County Prosecutor Criss James is accused of dismissing citations in exchange for about $3,800 in cash that authorities say he deposited into his personal bank account... James is still serving as Caribou County's prosecutor. James can't be removed unless he's convicted of the charges or is removed through a recall process.
Felony charges against Caribou County prosecutor stand
A judge has refused to dismiss felony charges against Caribou County prosecutor Criss James... Prosecutors allege the money was supposed to go to the county's public funds, including its drug court.
Same day, same docket, from KPVI:
Buttars and James Back in Court
The Caribou County Courthouse was busy today with two high-profile cases taking place. Kevin Buttars and Criss James were both back in court. Kevin Buttars was back in court for his sentencing today; Criss James later sat in the same seat while his defense held a motion hearing.
The day started with Kevin Buttars. On January 25th, a jury found the ex-Montpelier Police Officer guilty of battery after he was accused of excessive force and simulated sodomy while in police questioning with Jared Finley... Buttars will spend 15 days in jail...
As for Criss James... The defense stated the money given to James were donations - relating it to community service. The state strongly disagreed. They said this was public money - not donations - because this money wasn't given from the kindness of someone's heart. It was to get them out of trouble...
4 Comments:
Actually, the newspapers were wrong. The judge did not refuse to dismiss the charges; he said he would take it under advisement and issue his decision within two weeks time.
There were seven defense motions argued. One of them was "Mispplication of Statute" saying that the monies received by James were donations, not public monies. Another motion was to dismiss the charges because the Caribou County Commisioners violated Idaho's open meeting laws when they held an emergency meeting in November 2006 regarding allegations of sexual misconduct lodged against James, and decided to appoint the Attorney General's office to investigate, due to an obvious conflict of interest with James. That is what started the investigation. In another motion the defense accused the attorney generals office of misconduct, because they had the temerity to investigate the sexual allegations against him, and noted in their probable cause statement that this was the reason the investigation started. Another defense motion was to separate each of the seven felony counts against him into seven separate trials. But the defense attorney seemed almost to argue against his own motion. And two of their motions weren't even argued in court, they just relied upon written briefs.
They also argued that prosecuting attorneys everywhere in the country dismiss minor infractions for donations; that James is not the only prosecutor who does this, and there is nothing wrong with it.
Yeah, it came out in the local paper that he had an affair with the mother of a kid he was prosecuting. Now he is suing the County Commissioners for holding a discreet meeting about those allegations and calling in the Attorney General's office to investigate.
ITS FUNNY HOW EVERYONE GETS SO CAUGHT UP IN EVERYONES DRAMA. ITS AMAZING TO ME HOW THE TRUTH GETS SO BENT & TWISTED, BUT THEN AGAIN THATS WHAT SALES. I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING A STORY KIND OF CLOSE TO MY FAMILY, I WONT SAY WHICH SIDE OF THE FAMILY~! THE BUTTARS/FINLEY SAGA.... I THINK THE BLOG IS CALLED "STILL THINKING ABOUT INNOCENCE" GOOD READING!!! FINLEYS TRY TO COME ACROSS AS SOME FAMILY IN CRISIS, DOG BUTTARS FOR HAVING A TRUCK DRIVER MOUTH, THEIR REAL SIDE IS REVEALED! BUTTARS' SISTER NO DOUBT LOVES HER BROTHER, SHE WILL DEFEND HIM TO THE END. ALTHOUGH SHE DID MAKE 1 APOLOGY AND EXCEPTED THAT THEY WERE BOTH AT FAULT. THAT WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE FINLEYS.
ITS LIKE WAITING FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF DALLAS.
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