From Nampa / Caldwell's Idaho Press-Tribune:
Commissioners will pick Canyon public defender
Canyon County commissioners will deliberate for the purpose of appointing a public defender Monday morning. They will choose from Virginia Bond, Mark Mimura, Scott Fouser and Chad Gulstrom...
Update 06/29/09: it's Mark Mimura.
From the Idaho Press-Tribune:
Jury trial set for boy accused of assaulting 5-year-old girl in Nampa
Judge Thomas Ryan... set an August jury trial date for a 15-year-old Nampa boy accused of sexually assaulting and beating a 5-year-old girl... (Trevor) Reizenstein will be tried as an adult... The Idaho Supreme Court ruled in a 4-1 decision last month that the boy be tried as an adult...
Reizenstein was 12 years old at the time the girl was attacked.
Update: Scott at Simple Justice hasn't lost his sense of outrage. I'm relieved that I'm not raising my son in my home state.
Chuck Peterson at Idaho Criminal Defense Blog is following the case of Zachary Neagle, a Canyon County 14-year-old accused of killing his father:
Community Support Grows For 14 Year-Old Kid Charged With Murder - Now He Needs A Good Experienced Lawyer
Support Grows For 14 Year Old Kid Charged With Murder
Channel 7 Interview With Zachary Neagle's Mom - Says She Had No Idea of Sexual Abuse
Bujak Blinked - Said The "M" Word - "Manslaughter"
From the Idaho Press-Tribune:
Committee selected to find new public defender for county
Third District Administrative Judge Juneal Kerrick has appointed a committee of three local attorneys to consider candidates who want to be appointed the next public defender for Canyon County... This panel will review the seven applicants for the public defender post... (T)he Canyon County commissioners, who will make the final selection... The new contract will be effective Aug. 1.
Local attorneys Klaus Wiebe and Scott Fouser hold the position at this time and recently sued the county and the state, accusing the county of shopping for the "bottom" of adequate services for its indigent defendants...
Also interesting to note the number of former long-time prosecutors on the list who've found a new interest in indigent defense.
From Dennis at SCOIDBlog:
Canyon County & State of Idaho Sued Over Public Defender Services
The Canyon County Public Defenders have sued the State and Canyon County. Wiebe and Fouser, P.A. currently holds the public defender contract, but recently the county invoked a 90-day termination provision and then sought bids. The complaint alleges that the County Board of Commissioners stated that it "wanted to find the bottom" on costs for public defender services...
From the Idaho Press - Tribune:
County, state face lawsuit
Is this part of a national trend?
Cutting and gutting indigent defense? Well, yes, it has been. PD's pushing back? I hope so.
( though the author seems to see the nefarious hand of the ACLU behind all this, the article also has links to the Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief ( pdf files 1, 2, 3 ) and some courthouse gossip )
The ACLU is suing Canyon County over jail conditions, from the Idaho Press Tribune:
ACLU files suit against Canyon County jail
Officials expected jail lawsuit
County plans response to lawsuit
See Caldwell Guardian for more.
From the Twin Falls Times-News:
'Lowest rung on the ladder'
Michelle Mellinthin was no angel. Charged with grand theft, meth possession and forging a bank card, her public defender in Canyon County didn't waste time finding out if she was actually guilty of all those charges, the Idaho Supreme Court later determined. So when a county prosecutor offered an early plea bargain, the public defender leaped at it. Her attorney refused to wait for the state lab to finish testing a white crystal substance found in her possession. Had he waited, he would have learned the substance was not meth.
A judge ruled that it was too late and let the guilty plea stand. After that, the same public defender and a second one each failed to help her file a direct appeal. Mellinthin went to prison. "My guess is that Ms. Mellinthin just gave up," said State Deputy Appellate Public Defender Sara Thomas. In 2002, Thomas appealed Mellinthin's case on grounds that her public defenders had provided an ineffective defense. And she won.
Mellinthin's case was far from the first or only time a busy county public defender blew a case, citing too little time and resources. A wide disparity exists between the time and resources some Idaho county public defenders have compared with others. But until recently, the state wasn't paying much attention...
Dear alma mater: I am dancing a little Coyote jig. From the Idaho Press - Tribune:
UPDATED: It's back to The College of Idaho
Albertson College of Idaho has received the largest donation in the history of Idaho higher education and is returning to its original name, The College of Idaho. College President Bob Hoover announced Thursday that the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation has given $50 million to the school to kick off a 10-year fundraising campaign for the renamed College of Idaho...
The decision was made partly because some College of Idaho alumni didn’t feel connected to the school after the name change... (ya think?) The private school has long been the subject of jokes referring to its shared name with a grocery store, including zingers such as, “What’s your degree in — paper, or plastic?”... Current students and alumni cheered when Hoover announced the name change...
Just like this alum.
Update: The College of Idaho is back, gets $50 million
After 16 years as Albertson College of Idaho, Caldwell’s liberal arts college announced a return to its roots Thursday along with a $50 million donation and the start of a new fundraising campaign. Before a crowd of students, faculty, alumni and dignitaries, President Bob Hoover revealed that ACI will once again be called The College of Idaho...
And from the Statesman: College cuts ‘Albertson' name - The College of Idaho goes back to its original name and gets $50 million from the Albertson Foundation
Albertson College of Idaho students say there will be no more jokes about their grocery store college or using their preferred savings card when paying tuition... Michael Danielson, class of 1989, said he is "ecstatic." "It will bring some interest by alums back to the college," he said. "(Alumni) felt it wasn't their school."
Diane Raptosh, professor of English and 1983 alumna (and my cool classmate!), agreed. "I understood the reason (for the 1991 change) and respected it," she said. "But like many other alumni, I felt a little bewildered and longed for The College of Idaho." Faculty is mostly focusing on the endowment, Raptosh said. "It will allow us to look like a top 100 liberal arts college and allows us to strive toward that goal."
From the Idaho Press-Tribune:
Drive-by gunman sent to prison
A man who pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated battery was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison and must serve at least six years of that sentence behind bars. Eighteen-year-old Luis M. Ruiz fired three rounds from a sawed-off shotgun out a car window last August, hitting two teenagers and sending them to the hospital...
Canyon County Deputy Prosecutor Gearld Wolff called Ruiz a “gang-banger,” submitting a photo of Ruiz and others to 3rd District Judge Renae Hoff... Wolff asked for Ruiz’ incarceration... A Canyon County public defender said Ruiz was sorry for his actions and, considering that Ruiz had already spent 257 days in jail, recommended a retained jurisdiction sentence...
Just another day for Nameless Public Defender.
Well, maybe not all Idahoans. A good save for legal history, from the AP:
Documents from dumpster dive donated to ACI by 'Big Trouble' family
Haywood documents saved from trash donated to Idaho college
A century-old, leather-bound court docket from the murder trial that followed the 1905 assassination of Idaho Gov. Frank Steunenberg has been donated to Albertson College of Idaho by his descendants. The docket, rescued from a trash bin more than a decade ago, includes the original complaint that led to the arrest of Harry Orchard and union boss William "Big Bill" Haywood...
More from the Statesman:
Amateur historians rescue document from the Trial of the Century
"We jumped in the pickup and roared down to the courthouse," said Warren Widener, now 80. "We backed the truck up to the Dumpster and pitched things in without knowing what they were."
What they were was a gold mine, including a leather-bound court docket with clear, careful script, handwritten in the first days of 1906 when Caldwell was reeling from the assassination of ex-Gov. Frank Steunenberg. The murder and the 1907 trial of its alleged conspirators became a national sensation, drawing celebrity lawyer Clarence Darrow to Boise... The docket pulled from the garbage held the original complaint leading to Harry Orchard's arrest for the governor's murder...
Bonus link goes to the lucky recipient, my alma mater, the liberal arts school formerly know as The College of Idaho. Gratuitous bonus link goes to my old dorm and this quote:
For decades hall residents--starting in 1961, both men and women--have been known as "Voorheesians," a title that evokes both the pride of the original donors and the abiding romance of "Star Trek." Voorheesians obey the law of gravity, but grudgingly.
As a former resident of Canyon County, I just couldn't be prouder that the State is cracking down on Nampa's real crime problem. Read all about it, from Slate's Bonnie Goldstein:
Dirty Dancing in Idaho
Nampa is the second-largest city in Idaho and "a great place to live, work and play." This last category has attracted the attention of Idaho Attorney General and Eagle Scout Lawrence Wasden, who lives in Nampa. Wasden has filed on behalf of the Idaho Alcohol Beverage Control an impressively smutty summary of the goings-on at two local cocktail lounges, Satin Dolls and Club Z.
In the legal complaint, an Idaho state trooper and a Nampa city cop allege that these establishments permit "any person on the premises… to expose… the female breast below the top of the areola, or of any portion of the pubic hair, anus, or cleft of the buttocks." We learn that one dancer's "G-string did not appear to be the correct size" and that various "prohibited acts" were witnessed by the cops...
Note to Wasden: brassiere should be spelled with an "e" at the end...
Alert readers of A&C will remember the last time that the lead DAG on the case, Stephanie Altig, made the headlines, it was also for snooping: she was caught intercepting and reading legal mail between Idaho prison inmates and their lawyers, behavior which did not sit well with the Ninth Circuit and the Idaho State Bar.
From the county where I went to college, horrible news and a glint of humanity. From the Statesman:
Boy arrested in attack on 5-year-old Nampa girl - High school students praised as heroes for holding suspect until officers arrive
A 5-year-old Nampa girl was assaulted and found in an alley Wednesday, and a 12-year-old boy has been charged with aggravated battery in connection with her injuries... Two high school students were lauded as heroes when they held the boy for police and stayed with the little girl until paramedics arrived...
Heroes say they'll straighten out now - Two Nampa High students say they've changed after helping badly beaten child
Cody Lovell and Chad Johnson... are being lauded as heroes for calling police and detaining the 12-year-old boy. At school, fellow students congratulated Johnson and Lovell and called them heroes. Both rejected that label. "I just did what any normal person would do," Johnson said... Johnson's father, Jay Johnson, said it was fate that his son found the girl at a time when he needed to turn his life around. "I think he sees the value of life a little bit more," he said. "He's had his problems, but he's always been a good kid."
From the Idaho Statesman:
Canyon jail program aims to curb drug addictions - Sheriff started the program after more than half the inmates polled said they were on drugs when arrested
The Canyon County jail's substance abuse education program began a year ago to target a growing problem with drug addiction, specifically meth, in local communities. In the past, drug abusers would serve their jail time but wouldn't receive anyhelp combating the greater problem: addiction. Inmates say the advice on rehabilitation resources and jobs, consistency, and the concern from a trained substance abuse counselor has made more of a difference than jail time alone...
From KTVB - Boise:
Fire truck joy ride lands man in jail
The large green truck had its lights and sirens on, so deputies called dispatchers to see if they knew what the truck was responding to. Canyon County dispatchers were unaware of any emergency situation...
Deputies found out the truck belonged to the Murphy Reynolds Wilson Volunteer Fire Department in Owyhee County. Deputies stopped the vehicle around 1 a.m. on Highway 45 at Stage Coach Road. The only occupant in the truck was... Winston Keith Goering III, of Murphy, Idaho... His blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit according to deputies...
Via The Mountain Goat, who says:
Dude, where's the fire?... I have to think this tops the Boise Zamboni guys.
From the Idaho Press-Tribune of Canyon County:
Time will face death penalty
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the murder case of Nampa woman Theresa Time, attorneys told 3rd District Judge Gregory Culet on Friday.
Alofa Time, the victim’s former husband, faces first-degree murder charges. The victim’s severed head was found thrown from Time’s truck in a fatal crash in Boise on June 14...
On today's front page you'll find a link to video from Time's arraignment. The defense lawyer is Alex Briggs, a good guy who almost came to work for me in Twin Falls. His office is Wiebe and Fouser of Caldwell, the contract public defenders for Canyon County. Klaus Wiebe and Scott Fouser are the experienced attorneys I turned to for first-chairing my one death penalty case.
I don't follow the slip opinions from home as closely as I used to, now that I'm an affiliate member of the Idaho bar. This news, thanks to Crime and Federalism (link via CrimLaw), made me dance a merry jig... figuratively:
You Mean I Can't Lie in the Name of Justice?
A recent Supreme Court decision in Idaho suggests a new line of attack on prosecutorial misconduct.
At an ex parte probable cause hearing a prosecutor named Shari Dodge told a judge that a defendant had once "pulled a shotgun" on a cop. It turns out that wasn't true.
I had my own exposure to this prosecutor during the months I was a p.d. in her county. She struck me as a member of the "let's see how much I can get away with" school of D.A.'s. The niftiest thing was that she had the stones to run against the sitting elected prosecuting attorney (my classmate Dave Young) in last year's Republican primary, while this ethics complaint against her was still pending. That's self-confidence! Better still, the defendant about whom she made her material misrepresentation ran ads against her calling her a liar.
Well, it looks like he was right. When the Supreme Court opinion came down last month, my old co-workers Klaus, Scott, Tom, Dayo et al. probably celebrated with cigars and mariachis. The opinion is Idaho State Bar vs. Dodge, available from the Idaho Supreme Court for the next few months here (PDF file):
Dodge argues that if she is disciplined in this matter it will have a chilling effect on prosecutors, discouraging them from providing relevant information to judges unless every detail can be exhaustively checked...
In response, the ISB argues that as long as there are ethical rules directing lawyers on how to conduct themselves, there will be a chilling effect from those rules. The argument continues that a ruling that one lawyer violated two rules under the particular facts of this case should not, any more than the rules already do, have a chilling effect on prosecutors....
Ultimately, the rules of professional conduct are designed to have a chilling effect, specifically on those types of behavior the rules seek to proscribe. Enforcing those rules may chill desirable behavior in some cases, but the consequences of not enforcing the rules must weigh heavily as well. It is not unrealistic to expect an attorney making a representation to the court purporting to come from personal knowledge to take reasonable steps to assure she is speaking truthfully. It is also not unrealistic to expect an attorney at an ex parte hearing to lay out all material facts, including those that are adverse to the attorney’s position.
This Court declines Dodge’s suggestion that prosecutors be held to a lower standard in providing complete and truthful information to the courts.
As Dave Young said:
"I used to always tell my attorneys 'integrity is easy to lose and impossible to regain' and I think she is experiencing that right now."
Who's schadenfreude-ing now?
I want to send out some admiration and support for a former colleague who was a victim of a violent crime this past week.
Mike Duggan has been a Legal Aid lawyer, a public defender, and a private practitioner. He is an evangelical Christian, one of the most fundamentally humane humans I've ever worked with. Mike truly is a gentleman, that is, a gentle man. We all marvelled at how selflessly he loved his clients, extending every bit of care and hospitality for them, even to the point of taking them in and giving them a place to stay. As the news story said, It was Michael’s dream to open his home...and turn it into a place where young Christians could live together.
After lawyering for years, Mike went to divinity school, and I don't know any lawyer who's done a better job of trying to lead a Christ-like life, or of ministering by his own example.
So why should this happen to such a decent man?
It was last Friday and Glenda and Michael Duggan were getting ready for work, when they say the man they had rented a room to - entered their home. The victims say he attacked Glenda first with a bat, then an ax. But she was saved when her husband pulled the man away.
Both Glenda and Michael said they never saw this coming. They were scared of Paul Cardinale and that's why they asked him to move out of their home, but they never imagined he would return with a vengeance.
The couple was left with cuts, scratches, and bruises as well as a burnt house. Police say Cardinale set the home on fire then slit his throat with the butcher knife and drank some kerosene. He still remains hospitalized.
More news with video here and here (site may require registration).
A student at my old school, The College of Idaho, aka Albertson College, was killed off-campus this week in what law enforcement says looks like drug dealing gone bad. Shot four times, meth, marijuana, and $3000 cash found in his house; the alleged shooter is being arraigned today.
I nostalgize quite a bit about college life, probably a bit more than is supported by the record. We took a fairly libertarian or libertine view of controlled substances back then, pre-Nancy Reagan and pre-crank, before the advent of the cold cook method. All-organic, nothing but benign yerba buena, shrooms for the hippies, and cocaine for the rich kids. It was a simpler time, eh? Now that meth is big man on campus, the thought of going to school with agitated tweakers and violence-prone dealers scares me. Now that I'm a dad, the thought of my kid going to such a school scares me utterly.
Poor bastard. Poor C of I. Poor Caldwell.
Update: Dying declaration - law enforcement says that the victim identified his killer to 911 and first responder
