Please check out my very smart friend Dennis Benjamin's SCOIDBlog:
"keeping an eye on the doings of the Supreme Court of Idaho and the lower state courts from a criminal defense point of view with news, commentary, gossip and rumor, satire, poetry and more."
("Poetry?")(The blog bills itself as a team effort - other Idaho friends appear, including Deborah Whipple - but so far, judging by number of posts, Dennis is the MVP)
A time-travelling broadcast sent from my home town in the era of Mutant Pop, courtesy of YouTube and Save vs. Death:
Punk in Boise, Idaho (1985)
A "trip into Boise's cosmic counterculture" unfortunately entitled "Pretty in Punk"... (T)hese kids must have been brave as hell. I'm getting old.
Me too.
Via Boing Boing.
Huzzah, my home town made Harper's:
Unexpected Consequences from a Mug of Soda
The latest episode showing the Justice Department’s more than curious notions of justice can be found this week in the pages of the Idaho Statesman. Natalie Walters is now facing prosecution that could put her in prison for six months. Her crime? She poured a cup of Diet Coke on a counter in a Veteran’s Administration cafeteria...
See also Simple Justice, Are the Guidelines the same for Diet Coke?
"(A)fter a week of working at the federal public defender's office," Duoly Noted reports on
The Emotional Toll of Being a Public Defender
Here with a reply is Jeremy Irons:
"You have no idea..."
There's a special place in heaven reserved for David Nevin. From the Idaho Statesman:
Boise lawyer critical of 'show trial' at Gitmo - David Nevin says Bush officials are rushing the proceedings for the 9/11 suspects and want a conviction at any cost
Boise lawyer David Nevin said Friday that a military court's decision to let the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks represent himself threatens a fundamental constitutional principle, the right to competent counsel.
"This is not a fair proceeding," said Nevin, a volunteer lawyer for the defense. "This is a show trial, and it's a secret trial. The United States of America is not going to look good at the end of this."
Long profile of a flinty Drug Court client, from the Boise Weekly:
Head Banger - Paul Rogers' fight against Idaho law, and how it almost worked
Paul Rogers never planned to move to Idaho. He never planned to spend five years bouncing in and out of jail and prison. But then, he never really planned to get so caught up with meth that it would bring his life to a sudden halt.
He also never planned to change Idaho law. But with a ruling (pdf file) from the Idaho Supreme Court last fall, this unlikely source forced a change in the way drug courts around Idaho are run...
And now the "almost" part:
In effect, the decision reversed time. Rogers was granted the hearing he had sought so long ago... At the hearing though, (Judge) Wilper kicked Rogers out of drug court again...
From the Idaho Statesman:
9/11 trial will test Boise attorneys - Defense team members David Nevin and Scott McKay will be ‘making sure the government plays by the rules’ in the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
As Idaho’s most famous defense lawyer, David Nevin is no stranger to unpopular causes. But his decision to defend the man the government says planned the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, puts him in a league of his own... Nevin and his partner, Scott McKay, have volunteered to help military lawyers represent Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the most important detainee of 300 suspects held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. His defense is the top priority of the ACLU’s John Adams Project, which is raising money and finding lawyers to help represent the detainees...
McKay and Nevin will be working with Navy Reserve Capt. Prescott Prince, the lead defense lawyer in the 9/11 case... Nevin, 58, graduated from the U of I Law School in 1978. His career is marked by a string of celebrated defenses, from neo-Nazis to Idaho’s worst environmental criminal... A 2004 terrorism trial prepared Nevin and McKay for the new case. They represented Sami al-Hussayen, a University of Idaho graduate student and Saudi national charged with three terrorism-related offenses. Despite a rush to judgment... a Boise jury acquitted al-Hussayen.
But the case that first made Nevin famous was Ruby Ridge, when his client, Kevin Harris..., was cleared of all charges by a federal jury in Boise after a 60-day trial... “I like to remind people that Gerry Spence’s client went back to jail,” said Tom McCabe, a Boise lawyer who has worked with Nevin. “Kevin Harris walked out the front door of the courthouse with David...”
I liked him as opposing counsel out at the Barrister courthouse; I loved him as the gutsiest civil libertarian in town. My colleague Jack Van Valkenburgh is taking a break from his labors after 18 years of nurturing civil liberties in the arid soil of my home state. From Left Side of the Moon:
A Local Champion
This was a bit surprising though not totally unexpected. Eighteen years is a long time especially given the intensity of an organization like the ACLU.
The newspaper photograph bearing his likeness marks the day in 1990 that then-Gov. Cecil Andrus vetoed a bill that would have created the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. It was the same year Van Valkenburgh helped open the American Civil Liberties Union office in Idaho. He had been working as a city prosecutor...
And as a bonus for my South Sound readers, wouldn't you just know that he's a Greener. Be proud and take your rest, old friend.
A smart pick from the governor's office:
Otter Names Hansen to 4th District Bench
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter today appointed Ada County Magistrate Timothy Hansen to fill the 4th District judgeship... Hansen, 56, is a Pocatello native who received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and his law degree from the University of Idaho. The U.S. Navy veteran has been an Ada County magistrate since 1992. He previously was a deputy Ada County public defender...
I remember way back when I was a fledging p. d. out at Traffic Court on Barrister Drive, Tim Hansen and Mark Stewart were my misdemeanor mentors - man, I thought they knew everything! Mark's moved on and Tim's moved up: worthy men both.
(but see Public Defender Dude, "Why are ex-Public Defenders so often bad judges?")
Greetings from the Federal courthouse in Boise, Idaho.
I'm the one in the fifth floor window, pacing back and forth, waiting to testify in my old client's habeas hearing.
From the Idaho Statesman, photo by Chris Butler:
People, pets saved after fire breaks out at apartment
When Boise fire fighters say they work to save lives and property every time they are called out to extinguish a blaze, that includes pets. Boise fire fighters rescued two cats from an apartment fire Friday morning and resuscitated one of them with a special breathing mask, much to the relief of residents of the apartment complex...
Nothing about work here, just moved by the photo and the story. HELP Animals, Inc. is one charity that helps provide animal oxygen masks to first responders.
My 8-year-old boy brought me a souvenir from my hometown:
I now know that the mascot of the hometown team is not the Boise State Bronco; it is in fact the Boise State Aggressive Horse.
An alert reader e-mailed this one, from Tech.Blorg.com:
iPod knife-man stalks Boise through Craig's List?
A man advertising a free iPod on Craigslist asked to meet a woman at the park late Friday night. Police told her later he was wearing a ski mask and waiting with a butcher knife. The woman apparently tells her side of the story in an email circulating through Boise...
From the Boise Faux News channel:
A Boise woman's intuition may have saved her life over the weekend when instead of heading into an Eagle park Saturday evening to pick up a free iPod, she called police...
From the Idaho Statesman:
Ad for free iPod leads to arrest - Woman became suspicious of delivery that was to take place at a park at night
Which headline do you think works better, headline - wise?
Simplot Hill defaced by crude vandalism
or
Someone used grass killer to draw a penis pointing to the governor's mansion in Boise, ID. (Yay! My hometown made Boing Boing!)
Now would be a good time to turn off the sprinklers and restore the native Foothills flora on that sticks - out - like - a - sore - thumb hill. More on the story from the Boise Weekly and the Seattle P-I.
("Go Vandals!" is a registered cheer of the University of Idaho Athletic Association, and is not intended in any way to endorse or encourage the actual practice of vandalism)
Back in my home town (which, parenthetically, sounds more and more like it's just going to hell), detectives say that two women accused of killing a man up in the Boise foothills planned their murder plot via text-messaging.
It's only a matter of hours before Sancho finds the women's MySpace pages.
From KTVB:
Controversial Indian mural to stay put when Legislature convenes
A controversial mural that has angered some Idaho tribal leaders will be on display when the Legislature convenes next year. The mural was painted in 1940 and depicts the lynching of an American Indian at the hands of white frontiersman.
For decades, it's been on display at the former Ada County Courthouse. Its presence is now an issue for some because the courthouse will be the temporary home for state government and lawmakers during the state Capitol renovation...
Prior A & C posts about the paintings are here.
Boise Guardian has faint praise for the latest BPD happy fun time initiative:
Beer and Pizza have always gone together, but under a new Boise Police internal contest, drivers with too many beers under their belt may inadvertently buy pizza for a cop... (E)ndorsed by Chief Mike Masterson, (o)fficers who win a monthly DUI arrest contest are rewarded with certificates for pizza, dinners and movie tickets...
Masterson told the GUARDIAN, "There is no reason you can’t have a little fun in law enforcement. I have no problem with it." The feature is in this week’s Boise Weekly by Shea Anderson. He talked to a public defender who didn’t seem pleased with the plan...
The public defender quoted is my good old Ada County boss, Al Trimming ("T-R-I-M-M-I-N-G, as in trimming your hair"). Here's what the chief p.d. had to say:
"A contest has certain cause for concern. I would hope, that in a desire to win the contest, that there would be no corner-cutting of any kind..." "There's a really strong public sentiment about DUI," Trimming said. "The public are the ones that fill juries. Public sentiment and public perception dictate law enforcement and design, and legislative intent."
But he remains skeptical of a contest among officers to haul in the most drunken perpetrators. He is wary, he says, of a crusader-like mentality among officers that can result in overzealous enforcement. "We rely, as citizens, on the fundamental integrity of our police officers," Trimming said. Therefore, having an officer in the room who is trying to win the city's contest, he said, is worrying...
From Channel 2 KBCI:
Boise boy, 16, Accused of Murdering Mother
Police say a 42-year-old woman found dead Thursday morning was murdered by her teenage son. Ethan Windom, 16, has been charged with first degree murder. He was arrested and formally charged following a day long investigation into the death of his mother, Judy Windom...
From KTVB:
Prosecutors say teen confessed to killing mom
The 16-year-old charged with killing his own mother appeared in court today. Ethan said very little, but the state's attorney said that police have a confession from Windom that he killed his mother in accordance to a plan...
From Fox 12:
Boise Teen Confesses to Murdering his Mother
"Ethan Windom, after he was read his Miranda rights, he claimed he had killed his mother and planned it in advance," said Judge Richard Grant during the probable cause hearing...
A fine lawyer I knew back in the home town, from the Idaho Statesman:
Once a self-described hippie, Phil Gordon takes on class-action suits
I was living in a commune when I realized I needed to provide for two children. So I packed up my family and our milk cow and moved to Moscow, where I attended the University of Idaho, graduating with a law degree in 1976...
I particularly admire his filing system.
From the Times-News:
Idaho lawmakers still undecided on fate of Indian lynching art in old courthouse
Lawmakers haven't yet decided what to do with 26 Depression-era murals - including two depicting the lynching of an American Indian - in an abandoned courthouse slated to house the 2008 and 2009 Idaho Legislatures. Renovation is under way at the old Ada County Courthouse so it can house 105 lawmakers and more state employees for two sessions while the 100-year-old Capitol nearby undergoes a $130 million facelift and expansion...
Some state Indian groups object to murals showing an Indian in garb atypical for Idaho tribes as he's apprehended by two white men, then lynched by two others. The murals were so offensive to one former District Court judge that he concealed them beneath American and Idaho flags when he worked in the building...
I practiced a little in that courthouse, and talked about the murals before.
