Law firms and upcoming changes to overtime rules Business Review: Oct. 22- BridgeTower Media Newswires New federal overtime rules may affect law firms more in the advice they give than in any changes they make to their own operations. New guidelines from the U.S. Department of Labor effective in December will push the minimum salary level to nearly $47,500 for many workers exempt from overtime rules. The changes are having a big impact on mid-size businesses with middle managers, lawyers say. Non-profits, often with lower-paid staffers, are particularly hard hit by the changes. Most law firms have few employees affected by the new rules, employment lawyers say. And lawyers – as employees – have always been completely unaffected by over- time requirements. Unchanged in the new rules is a carve-out for three specific categories of professionals: doctors, lawyers and teachers. Lawyers are exempt from overtime pay requirements, regardless of how they’re paid or whether they meet the new salary level standard. “The new regulations didn’t change any of the primary duty standards, so attorneys, managers and computer employees, if the firm is a large one, are still exempt,” said Charles McDonald, an employment litigation lawyer in Greenville, South Carolina. “Outside of lawyers and senior administrative staff, pretty much everyone could be covered by the new overtime regulations,” said Marshall Wall, who practices in Raleigh, North Carolina. “But so far, we haven’t seen anyone who was exempt before the new rules came out and is now non-exempt due to the new salary requirements.” Law offices could be forced to make some changes, most likely with office managers and similar staffers. But lawyers in the field say partners will be worrying more about how to advise clients than how to fix their own firms’ pay scales. ‘White collar’ rules The changes confounding many business managers affect so-called “white collar” exemptions that apply to executive, administrative and professional employees. An estimated 4.2 million workers are affected, according to the Labor Department, including 119,000 in Virginia. The agency more than doubled the minimum pay standard for exemption from overtime requirements for many employees, from $455 per week to $913 per week. The new standard equates to an annual salary of $47,476. In essence, many businesses now will have to pay $47,500 to many administrative employees who normally work more than 40 hours a week in order to avoid having to pay time-and-a-half for overtime. The changes take effect Dec. 1. For mid-level managers overseeing a store or an outlying business operation, employers are looking at having to give substantial raises to avoid overtime. “That’s what’s giving my people fits,” said Richmond lawyer Karen S. Elliot, whose clients include businesses grappling with the overtime rule change. Wall said his law firm is in the process of reviewing its exempt employees to ensure the firm is complying with the new rules. For the most part, the firm does not expect to make any dramatic changes, he said. But the effort has given the firm an opportunity to make certain support staff employees are properly characterized according to what they do rather than what their title is. Wall said the firm has also been strictly enforcing a 40-hour work week for non-exempt employees. But even that approach is not without its challenges. Non-exempt employees who travel for work or who are used to checking their email at home can quickly find themselves working more than 40 hours per week. That may not have been a big deal to a law firm prior to the new rules, when an employee’s salary made them exempt from overtime pay. But the new $47,476 salary threshold could push a lot more employees into non-exempt status. Wall said his firm requires employees to log any hours spent working, regardless of where the work is done. Though he said it can be difficult to monitor out-of-office work. “The firm’s expectation for staff members is that you work when you are here, and when you’re off you’re off,” Wall said. “Time-and-a-half adds up quick.” To qualify for the white collar exemption, an employee must be paid on a salary, not hourly, basis. The pay must meet the new $47,476 minimum level. Thirdly, the employee’s work must involve duties associated with executive, administrative or professional employees. Executive duties involve managing an enterprise or a customarily recognized department of the enterprise. Administrative duties include office work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers. Professional employees include “learned professionals” and “creative professionals.” Their work requires either an advanced degree or similar learning or skills that involve invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized artistic field. Professional employees also include lawyers, doc- tors and teachers who fall into that special category unaffected by the new salary level. What to do? Employers have choices. The government is quick to say that businesses do not have to just raise all salaries of those affected to $47,500. One option is “spreading employment,” by cutting the hours of staffers who now work more than 40 hours a week and adding additional employees to fill the gaps. Another option is to leave an affected employee’s salary where it is and simply pay overtime. There is no requirement to turn affected salaried employees into hourly employees just because they now are entitled to overtime. Of course, employers would have to make sure they accurately track that employee’s time for calculating overtime pay. If the employee is not working more than 40 hours, no action is needed, the government says. An officer manager performing the duties of a “bona fide administrator” might be paid a fixed salary of $42,000, according to a Labor Department example. The manager regularly works 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The new rule has no impact and the business can continue the $42,000 salary, according to the agency’s example. Law firms watching Will the changes rock the world of law firm management? “Probably not a whole lot because law firms normally try to keep their overtime pretty strictly controlled,” said Elliot. Law firms often use a 38-hour week for their staffs, leaving them unaffected by overtime rules, Elliot said. DeCamps said law firm staffers such as paralegals and legal assistants normally would not qualify for exempt status anyway. Nevertheless, DeCamps said he has been busy answering clients’ questions about the new rules. Non-profit organizations have been particularly hard it, he said. Many of their employees work in white collar positions, but well below the new salary level, De Camps said. The non-profits are facing a “real problem,” DeCamps said.

Baby born addicted is turning point for prosecutors After a young woman admits to using hard drugs the day before giving birth to a tiny baby, law enforcement officials decide it's time to get tough Lewiston Tribune: Oct. 23- Ralph Bartholdt When a Lewiston police officer was summoned to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center early this year for what seemed to be a child protection case, the officer found a frightful pattern of drug use by a new mother that resulted in felony charges and a change in philosophy at the county prosecutor's office. Officer Cody Bloomsburg was summoned to the hospital March 15 after the full-term birth of a child who weighed a little more than 4 pounds. The size of the child astounded Bloomsburg, who described it as abnormally minute and showing signs of drug withdrawal within 24 hours. After interviewing the mother, the officer learned 31-year-old Ashli Blimka had used methamphetamine and morphine regularly during her pregnancy, including the day before she gave birth via C- section to her daughter. "She said she had used morphine the day before," the officer said. Under normal circumstances, hospital staff would call police and Child Protective Services - a branch of the Department of Health and Welfare that investigates or assesses reports of child abuse and neglect. The agency offers services to families and children where maltreatment has occurred or may occur, and resulting civil actions can remove children from their mother, or keep both mother and child together as the adult takes part in community-based rehabilitation programs. Bloomsburg learned from the mother and from social workers that Blimka was considered a risk, and that after a couple months of staying in touch with social workers during her pregnancy, she fell off the radar. She admitted taking drugs every day for almost a month in December with a relative who was released from prison. Test shows methamphetamine, amphetamine, morphine, other drugs in umbilical cord Mary Van Idour, a hospital social worker who monitored Blimka's pregnancy, said she tried to get the expectant mother into a drug rehab program. Blimka, however, failed to stay in contact until about three months before her due date. When the child was born, Van Idour said, it had all the symptoms of drug addiction. "She was very sensitive to stimulation," Van Idour told the court at Blimka's preliminary hearing on felony charges. "She had the jitters and the high-pitched cry." The baby was monitored closely for signs of seizures, "if she was not able to tolerate the withdrawals," Van Idour said. Children who are subjected to drug use while in the womb can have a variety of challenges as they grow. Many so-called "drug babies" are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other learning disabilities and they display poor impulse control, she said. The results of an umbilical cord test showed traces of several controlled substances in Blimka's system at birth, including methamphetamine, amphetamine, morphine, cannibinoids and opiates. As Bloomsburg wrote up his findings, he had a nagging feeling more needed to be done than having the mother attend a community treatment program. He took the paperwork to Nez Perce County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Justin Coleman, who eventually charged Blimka with a felony. Case leads to a 'new, more aggressive approach' by prosecutor's office Charging an addicted parent with injury to a child - a felony that carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence - was a turning point at the Nez Perce County Prosecutor's Office, which handles the county's child protection cases. In the past, those cases were almost systematically referred to Health and Welfare. The egregiousness of the Blimka case, however, changed that, Coleman said. Prosecutors met with law enforcement and caseworkers and the meetings brought a change of philosophy. The office opted to review what had previously been delegated civil issues on a case-by-case basis without ruling out the possibility of criminal charges. "It is the first time we ever charged under these circumstances before," Coleman said. "It's definitely a new, more aggressive approach," Under state law, a charge of felony injury to child is justified if a person who, "under circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or ... having the care or custody of any child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of such child to be injured, or willfully causes or permits such child to be placed in such situation that its person or health is endangered." Prosecution opens up new avenues for rehabilitation, Coleman said. Whereas community-based rehabilitation allows a mother to be closer to her child, prison-based rehabilitation is an austere adjustment with often drastic and more permanent results. "It gives us access to a whole different set of resources altogether," Coleman said. 'It's not OK to do this while you're pregnant' Drug addict mothers giving birth to children who are addicted are not an unusual problem in the region, police say. But it also isn't considered common. "It is happening in the L-C Valley, but I wouldn't say it is prevalent," Bloomsburg said. "Like everything in police work, it comes in cycles." Bloomsburg said he responded to two similar cases in the months leading to the Blimka case. Neither of those cases resulted in criminal charges. Instead they were referred to Child Protective Services. "Our job is to determine if the child is in imminent danger if left in the care of the parents," Bloomsburg said. "Then we have to see if there is a criminal element and start that investigation if needed." Blimka pleaded guilty to the felony last month and was sentenced to between two and three years in prison. The court retained jurisdiction, meaning she was sent to a prison rehabilitation program called a rider. Offenders often do well in the controlled environment, Coleman said. If she graduates from the program, she will be placed on probation for the duration of her sentence. "She can dictate her future by how well she does on this program," Coleman said. "We're looking at these cases individually, but we want to send the message that it's not OK to do this while you're pregnant ... you're forcing that baby to be meth addicted also."

Bar association group schedules presentation Tuesday in Moscow Lewiston Tribune: Oct. 23 MOSCOW - The Second District Bar Association will hold a legal education presentation and luncheon at noon Tuesday at the Best Western Plus University Inn here. University of Idaho law student Bethany Mikolas will present her paper advocating revision of statutory definitions of domestic violence in Idaho. The presentation includes a question-and-answer session from those in attendance and the luncheon will include continuing legal education credit for Idaho State Bar members. The cost for the lunch is $15, and reservations are requested by emailing Linda Pall at [email protected].

Religious shield laws, children's rights topic of forum in Moscow Lewiston Tribune: Oct. 24 MOSCOW - Religious shield laws and children's rights will be the subject of the Moscow Human Rights Commission's education forum at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the 1912 Center, 412 E. Third St., here. The forum will be led by Linda Martin, survivor of a faith-healing sect in Idaho, and Shaakirrah Sanders, associate professor of law at the University of Idaho. Idaho is one of a few states that allow parents to defer health care to children on religious grounds.

Expanding courts, jail could be next big project for Twin Falls County MagicValley.com: Oct. 25- Nathan Brown TWIN FALLS — The county courthouse and jail are bursting at the seams, but significant upgrades could soon be on the way. For now, everything is in preliminary stages. County commissioners voted a few weeks ago to shift $8 million that the county had in a different fund into an account to make improvements to the judicial building, and will likely hire a consultant after Jan. 1 to look more closely at the county’s space needs, said First District Commissioner Terry Kramer, the only one of the three incumbents who will still be in office come January. Work space is tight for judges and clerks in the judicial building, county Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs said. There is only one meeting room, which is often in use, he said, and two trial courtrooms, which sometimes causes issues with scheduling cases. Any expansion would have to be done with an eye toward what the county’s needs will be in the decades to come, Loebs said. “You’re going to need more courtrooms,” he said. “You’re going to need a more friendly building to have the inmates move in and out through the jails. … You’re going to need more meeting rooms. You’re going to need more mediation rooms.” As for the jail, for the past three months the county has been averaging 200 inmates on any given day, up from 170 in recent years, said Sheriff Tom Carter, and that number swells on weekends when people serving weekend sentences report. He said the jail needs more bed space, which will also require expanding the jail’s kitchen to serve more people. “The kitchen is kind of already at its capacity,” he said. Also, Carter said, the garage isn’t big or secure enough anymore for the current number of inmates, and he would like to replace the annexes that were built in the 1990s. “They are unbelievably expensive to maintain, and they’re not secure,” Carter said. “And the commissioners, I think, are on board with me. We need to get rid of (those) annexes.” Kramer said there is room to expand at the current site. The county owns a parking lot and several houses near the current jail and judicial building. Kramer said some of the housing lots could be developed into parking lots for the court system. The county, Kramer said, still needs to evaluate exactly what any expansion would look like. Can you expand court space without expanding the jail, or do you have to do both at the same time? Will the uses of some of the rooms that are there now change? Kramer said he expects commissioners to put out a request for a company to evaluate space needs and develop some conceptual proposals first, after which would come any architectural design work and putting the project out to bid. At the earliest, he doesn’t expect work to start for 18 months to two years. Part of deciding what to do is going to be deciding how the county will pay for it. Would the project be done all at once or in phases? And would the county ask voters for a bond? “That’s a whole other issue,” Kramer said. “Once you decide where you’re going, how do you fund it?” Don Hall, who is running unopposed for the Second District commissioner spot, said the need to expand the judicial building and jail will soon be urgent. “Our jail population is expanding,” he said. “The community is getting bigger.” Hall said he would need to look at the budgets and any plans that are drafted, but that he expects any expansion will be paid for with a combination of money the county has saved and by asking voters for a bond. While paying for the project with only reserves would be the best-case scenario, Hall doubts this will be possible with a project as potentially big as this. “We’re probably going to have to go to the community and ask if this is what they want us to do,” he said. At a forum last week, the three candidates running for the Third District commissioner seat mostly agreed that expanding the jail and courthouse would be a major issue for the county in the near future, although they differed somewhat on the details. “I don’t know that it needs expanded today,” Republican candidate Jack Johnson said. “But I can definitely tell you in the near future it’s going to need expanded.” Johnson said some cases are getting plea bargained now because the county doesn’t have the resources to handle them all. He said further discussion and planning would be needed to decide how to pay for it. Taking out a bond to pay for an expansion, he said, should be the last resort, and if the county is going to bond, it should expand the jail and the judicial building at the same time, Johnson said. Democratic candidate Jill Skeem said she has heard different opinions from county officials as to how urgently the courts and the jail need to be expanded, with some saying it is an immediate need and others saying it may not need expansion for another three to five years. Skeem said the court facilities are cramped now, with little room for jurors and for attorneys to talk to their clients, and that there is “definitely a need” for more space. Independent candidate Tony Bohrn suggested moving both the jail and courts out of downtown. He said the project would likely require a bond and suggested building the jail big enough that the county can help to pay for it by housing inmates from elsewhere. “The jail should be out of town,” he said. “Maybe big enough that we can maybe house out-of-town prisoners and help pay for that.”

Triple murderer wants to take back pleas John Lee says he didn't have 'free will' when he agreed to deal in shooting deaths of adopted mother, two others Lewiston Tribune: Oct. 25- Chelsea Embree MOSCOW - A Moscow man convicted of killing three people last year is asking to withdraw his guilty pleas. John Lee, 31, filed a two- page handwritten motion Monday arguing he was "not in the right state of mind" when he entered the pleas. Lee is serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders. He was sentenced in May for the January 2015 shooting spree that killed his adoptive mother, Terri L. Grzebielski, 61; his landlord, David M. Trail, 71; and Moscow Arby's manager Belinda G. Niebuhr, 47. Seattle resident Michael M.M. Chin, 41, was also injured in the incident. As part of a plea agreement that Lee accepted in March, he entered Alford pleas to three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery. By entering Alford pleas, Lee did not admit guilt but acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him. In the motion filed Monday in Latah County 2nd District Court, Lee argues he was not mentally fit when he accepted the plea agreement in March and when he was sentenced in May. "Noises were effecting (sic) my decision making and I didn't feel I had free will," Lee wrote. "... Now that I am properly medicated mental health problems will no longer interfere with my decision making." In an attached affidavit, also two pages long and handwritten, Lee adds that he attempted to tell a member of his defense team that he was not satisfied with the plea agreement a few days after accepting it. "I expressed that I felt that the guards and certain people were pressuring me and in some instances torturing me to either confess or accept a plea deal," Lee wrote. He argues that he said he wanted to withdraw the pleas, that he felt he didn't have "free will" and that he didn't like the conditions of the plea agreement, including the waiver of his right to appeal. "At that moment I started hearing noises which told me not to withdraw," Lee wrote. According to the document, Lee made it "abundantly clear" he wanted to withdraw his pleas. "In my opinion my defense should have withdrawn my plea and had me medicated so I could make rational decisions," Lee wrote. Defense attorneys Charles Kovis and Deborah McCormick represented Lee in the case. Lee's motion comes after a court decision last week that denied his request for his sentence to be reduced. According to the ruling written by Judge John R. Stegner, the plea agreement does not allow for modifications to Lee's sentence. The plea agreement spared Lee from the death penalty. Despite its waiver of his right to appeal, Lee has filed an appeal with the and is awaiting a response. Lee is being held at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna. Federal judge upholds Idaho's 'right-to-work' law MagicValley.com: Oct. 26- Nathan Brown BOISE — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s “right-to-work” law. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 370, which represents about 400 workers at the Boise locomotive manufacturer MotivePower, sued a year ago to overturn the law, which says employees can’t be required to pay union dues or join a union as a condition of employment. The union argued that the provision of the law that prohibits making payment of any fees to a union a condition of employment amounts to an unconstitutional taking because it requires a union to provide representation to employees who choose not to join without compensating the union. Thirty-two percent of the employees at MotivePower who were part of the bargaining unit were dues-paying union members, according to court filings. The union had, in negotiations with MotivePower, sought to levy a “service fee” on the others of less than half of the regular union dues, but MotivePower rejected the deal on the grounds it would violate Idaho’s right-to- work law, prompting the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge agreed with the union on a couple of legal points, but he rejected the main contention that Idaho’s law is unconstitutional, and on Monday granted the state’s motion to dismiss. Lodge’s ruling heavily cites the 2014 Sweeney v. Pence ruling, which upheld Indiana’s right-to-work law. The proper target for any legal challenge, Lodge wrote, would be the federal law and not Idaho’s. Idaho passed its “right-to-work” law in 1986, and is one of 26 states that has one. They are generally supported by business groups and by Republicans and opposed by labor groups and by Democrats. An analysis by the Idaho Falls Post Register in December 2014 found evidence that the law may have played a role in driving down unemployment in the state but also in holding down wages and benefits, bearing out some of the arguments of both supporters and critics of right-to- work laws. Unions are challenging right-to-work laws in Wisconsin and West Virginia as well, using similar arguments as in Idaho. Mark Mix, the president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which filed an amicus curiae brief supporting the state in this case and is also involved in defending the Wisconsin and West Virginia laws, put out a statement praising the ruling. “Union lawyers all over the country, including here in Idaho, are pushing an outrageous legal theory attempting to create a constitutional ‘right’ for union bosses to extort money from workers forced to accept unions’ so-called representation,” Mix said. “We are pleased that the court rejected this outrageous union legal theory and followed over 60 years of legal precedent.” James Piotrowski, the lawyer representing IUOE Local 370, didn’t return a call for comment Tuesday. Piotrowski is running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador. Idaho has for years had a rate of union membership well below the national average. Over the past 10 years, it has fluctuated at between 5 and 7 percent of the state’s employed labor force, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, 11 percent of workers belonged to a union in 2015, and that year there were 15 states with a lower percentage of the workforce unionized than in Idaho.

Challenge to 'right-to-work' law dismissed Union filed lawsuit in federal court against Idaho law Lewiston Tribune: Oct. 27- Associated Press BOISE - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Idaho's so-called "right-to-work" law. U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge on Monday granted the state's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the law is not unconstitutional, The Times-News reported. Idaho is one of 26 states with right-to-work laws that forbid requiring union membership as a condition of employment. The lawsuit from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 370 argued that it's unconstitutional to require unions to spend money and time representing non-members while also forbidding any fees. Unions are also challenging right-to-work laws in Wisconsin and West Virginia, using similar arguments as in Idaho. The union that filed the lawsuit is based in Spokane but represents a locomotive plant in Boise with 400 workers. According to the lawsuit, just 32 percent of the workers at MotivePower are dues-paying union members, but the union still negotiates contracts for all 400 employees. James Piotrowski, the lawyer representing IUOE Local 370, didn't return a call for comment Tuesday. Mark Mix, the president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which filed an amicus curiae brief supporting the state in this case and is also involved in defending the Wisconsin and West Virginia laws, put out a statement praising the ruling. "Union lawyers all over the country, including here in Idaho, are pushing an outrageous legal theory attempting to create a constitutional 'right' for union bosses to extort money from workers forced to accept unions' so-called representation," Mix said. "We are pleased that the court rejected this outrageous union legal theory and followed over 60 years of legal precedent."

Suspect in child-killing case extradited Coeur d’Alene Press: Oct. 27 COEUR d'ALENE — A Spokane man accused of killing a 2-year-old girl will be sent from the Kootenai County jail to . Jason Obermiller, 32, was found by sheriff's deputies near Worley last month holed up in a summer cabin on Lake Coeur d'Alene and was arrested without incident. On Tuesday, a Kootenai County District Court judge ordered Obermiller be extradited to Washington to face one count of second-degree murder. Obermiller is suspected of killing 2-year-old Adalynn Hoyt last month. The child’s death was caused by a blow to the abdomen, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner. The girl’s mother, Lovina Rainey, reportedly told investigators she was out drinking when Adalynn was injured. The mother, whom Obermiller lived with, had left the toddler and her three other children in Obermiller’s care. Kootenai County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a call Sept. 20 from the owner of a cabin who said a neighbor had observed a suspicious person at his cabin near Worley. Deputies responded to the residence and found a white SUV parked in the driveway. The license plate on the SUV was stolen from Spokane. At first, he gave the deputies a false name. However, after some questioning, one of the deputies recognized the man from earlier bulletins and confirmed he was Obermiller. Obermiller, who had an active misdemeanor warrant in Kootenai County as well as being wanted for the homicide charge, was then taken into custody without incident.

Idaho settles Medicaid disability suit Coeur d’Alene Press: Oct. 27-Keith Cousins COEUR d'ALENE — More than 4,000 Idahoans enrolled the state's Medicaid program for adults with developmental disabilities will no longer have their funding determined by an unknown formula, thanks to a settlement between the ACLU of Idaho and the state's department of health and welfare. On Tuesday, the ACLU of Idaho announced it, as well as co-counsel James Piotrowski, received initial approval for a settlement agreement with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare after more than five years of litigation. Under the terms of the settlement, systematic changes will be made to that way the department provides adults who have developmental disabilities with Medicaid funding that allows them to live more independent lives. “We are pleased to see a new era on the horizon for Idahoans with developmental disabilities, as well as their families and advocates,” said Leo Morales, executive director of the ACLU of Idaho. “Hopefully this settlement will bolster the voice of these Idahoans, while also permanently protecting their constitutional rights.” The lawsuit began in 2012, according to a press release from the ACLU of Idaho, when many adults in the Idaho Medicaid program for community-based service for developmental disabilities saw cuts to their service levels. The cuts, the release adds, were computed using a formula that the Department of Health and Welfare refused to disclose, claiming it was a "trade secret." Idaho Federal District Court Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered the cuts be reversed, which restored approximately $30 million in Medicaid assistance annually. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare appealed Winmill's decision, but in 2015 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the order. ACLU of Idaho attorneys and Piotrowski, who represented all of the adults in the program in the class action suit, continued to take legal action by challenging the previously secret formula itself. Earlier this year, the release states, Winmill struck down the formula, as well as other aspects of the program. According to the release, Winmill determined the formula and aspects of the program were unconstitutional because they "arbitrarily deprive participants of their property rights and hence violate due process." The court ordered the Idaho agency to make systematic changes to the program, and the release states that the settlement approved Monday addresses those changes. "We look forward to working closely with the adults who receive these services, along with their families and advocates," said Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. "This program has always been dedicated to helping adults with developmental disabilities live full and successful lives in their communities. We are committed to honoring participants’ choices and hearing their voices to help improve the program through the agreement." Shanahan added the agency's next step is to begin working on a resource allocation model that can be used to determine budgets for program participants. To accomplish this, the department will work directly with participants, their families and advocates and the Human Services Research Institute in Oregon. In the meantime, the department must also make immediate changes to protect the due process rights of participants through training and reimbursement for advocates to help participants appeal their assistance levels. “We have reached a critical juncture in this case, but the work is far from over,” said Richard Eppink, ACLU of Idaho legal director. “Now it is up to Idahoans with developmental disabilities, and those who love and advocate for them, to mobilize as the state works on these important changes. The Department of Health and Welfare must engage with you under this settlement, but it is so very important that you get involved so that your voice is heard.” The ACLU of Idaho has established a website, www.OurHealthandWelfare.org, for those impacted by the settlement to keep informed and involved. More information about the settlement, including a copy of the settlement agreement itself, is available on the ACLU of Idaho website at www.acluidaho.org. The court will hold a hearing to decide whether to grant final approval to the settlement on Jan. 12, 2017.

Magic Valley drug court graduates celebrate recovery, brighter future MagicValley.com: Oct. 27- Alex Riggins TWIN FALLS — Dressed sharply in a black three-piece suit, Robert Kreger III, 28, of Twin Falls stood at a podium Wednesday night to address several hundred people at the College of Southern Idaho. “I rented a suit tonight, because most people have only seen me in my work uniform — I’ve dedicated my life to sewers and septic,” Kreger said. “But tonight, I decided to dress how I feel inside. And I feel wonderful.” It was a feeling Kreger shared with 16 other Magic Valley residents as they graduated Wednesday from Idaho’s 5th Judicial District Drug Court at a large, boisterous ceremony at the CSI Fine Arts Auditorium. Including Wednesday night’s graduates, 510 people have now graduated from the 5th District Drug Court, a program that helps addicts convicted of felony crimes to overcome their addictions through counseling, therapy and education. Drug court participants are also must take random drug tests, check in with probation officers, maintain employment and attend regular court sessions where a judge checks on their progress. The first graduate afforded the chance to speak quoted Peyton Manning quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said: “Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be.” The graduates were treated as they could be, he said, by the drug court team that consists of judges, a drug court coordinator, prosecutors, public defenders, treatment providers, mental health clinicians, probation and parole officers, law enforcement and vocational rehabilitation specialists. All those people, as well as friends, family and drug court alumni were in attendance at Wednesday’s celebration. Also in attendance were those still going through drug court programming, so they could see what’s in store for them. Among those who graduated Wednesday was Kreger, who was using drugs as recently as last spring, and though he wanted a house, a wife and a family, he never expected to have those things. With the help of drug court, Kreger has been clean and sober since April 2015. Charli Ward, who lives in Jerome but grew up in Shoshone, was working at an assisted living center when a co-worker reported her for having drugs on the job. Her sister tried to get Ward help several times, tried to get her clean, but Ward never wanted the help. Now, she has 23 months clean and sober. Verna “Rene” Serrato, 46, of Burley was addicted to methamphetamine for a few years, and crack cocaine for 10 years before that. In two weeks, she’ll be 14 months clean and sober. Doug Carter, 51, lives in Burley but grew up in the tiny community of Stone, just east of where Interstate 84 crosses from Idaho to Utah. Carter said the closest law enforcement was 35 miles from Stone, so residents there “had free run doing whatever we wanted to do.” Carter started drinking and doing drugs at age 13 and used for the next 37 years. As of Wednesday, Carter was clean and sober for 14 months, 13 days. “I went from losing everything to having what I need and want,” Carter said Tuesday during a phone interview. “I gained a lot of tools I wish I would have had 35 years ago.” Drugs robbed Carter of close friends who have died while using, of money he should have been saving, of materialistic items. “Drug court has helped me get past all that,” Carter said. “It’s helped me put closure to losing friends I lost, helped me form a future I’m proud to look forward to.” Kreger’s 28th birthday was Tuesday, the day before he was going to graduate after 18 months in drug court. He said he was “ecstatic” about graduating and about the two big milestones in back-to-back days. “Was I expecting to be where I am now? Heck no,” Kreger said Tuesday, recalling the time early last year when he was still using. “I didn’t want to get clean.” The same can be said for a lot of drug court participants when they first start out, 5th District Drug Court Coordinator Israel Enriquez said. He runs the district’s four drug courts, in Twin Falls, Jerome, Blaine and Minni-Cassia. “It’s definitely a process,” Enriquez said Oct. 19 following a drug court session at the Twin Falls County courthouse. “So many of them come into our program, and they’re lost, and we just try to get them stable and get their basic needs met.” For the first 12 weeks at least, participants are required to be in court once a week on top of their weekly counseling and therapy sessions and other requirements. It’s during this time that Enriquez, the judges and the rest of the team make personalized recovery plans that can include everything from mandating where the person lives, how many hours they need to be working and who they can or cannot associate with. “The duration of phase one, they come to court on a weekly basis and we try to use that to determine their initial engagement and what they’re willing to put into their programming,” Enriquez said. “We see a lot of different behavior through phase one — some people don’t want to be here and some people are more ready to take on the challenges and change that come with drug court.” Carter said he “locked horns” with Judge John Butler early in his programming. Ward said she struggled at the beginning and even got kicked out before being allowed back in. The structure that drug court demands can seem impossible at first, but by the end, it’s what the participants rave about. “It gave me the structure I needed, not just to stay clean, but to do everything else in life,” Serrato said Tuesday during a phone interview. “Now I’m a college student at CSI. I’m going to become a drug counselor and help others who don’t believe in themselves.” Serrato said drug court saved her life, a sentiment shared by many of the graduates who spoke Wednesday. “I would have been still stuck at home getting high” without drug court, Serrato said. Now, she’s learned to love and respect herself, and to deal with pressure and stress and other triggers in much more healthy ways than “lighting up a bowl.” Carter, Kreger and Ward also talked about the structure the program provides. Most participants are in the program between a year, the absolute minimum, and 18 months. Ward said she’s been in the program 23 months after her initial rough start and getting kicked out once. Sitting through a court session Oct. 19 in Twin Falls, it was easy to see those participants who were just starting out and those who were nearing the end. One woman made excuses about why her urine tested positive for drugs — she had mistakenly taken a prescription-strength pain killer instead of a regular Tylenol. “I’m not buying it,” Judge Eric Wildman told her. “I hear that excuse a lot.” Wildman told the young woman she “needed to lose her attitude and open up more.” He then sanctioned her to two days in jail. Judges’ sanctions can range from a verbal warning to community service to jail time. But the weekly court sessions are only a tiny part of the overall recovery process. The real work happens during the week at the counseling and therapy sessions, and at recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. And all of that, if everything goes right, leads to ceremonies like Wednesday night’s graduation, and futures that finally look brighter. Serrato is back in school and plans to be a drug counselor. Ward, who lost all of her medical and nursing credentials when she was caught with drugs at work, also plans to go back to school to become a registered nurse and work with children who have cancer. Kreger wants to find a wife and have children in a “structured household.” And Carter, who is finally clean after nearly four decades of drug use, said that even though it’s not a lot, he has more money in his pocket now than he’s had for a long time. He plans to continue working and saving. “Just gonna buy me a house,” Carter said, “plant my roots and grow.”

Jerome man in standoff found guilty of federal gun charges MagicValley.com: Oct. 28 BOISE — A Jerome who led police on a high-speed chase has been found guilty of federal gun charges Wednesday after a two-day trial. Daniel Andrew Mills, 41, was indicted in February. Mills, a convicted felon, was wanted by the U.S. Marshals on a federal warrant for a supervised release violation, according to U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson. In January, Mills led police on a chase through Jerome when officers tried to pull him over for a broken tail light. He crashed and refused to come out of the car, waiving a shotgun out the window. After several hours, a Twin Falls County negotiator finally talked Mills out of the car. Inside, deputies found a loaded shotgun and a loaded .25-caliber pistol. According to federal prosecutors, Mills has previously been convicted of assault with intent to commit a serious felony, aiding and abetting delivery of controlled substance, escape, forgery and possession of controlled substance. “I want to thank all the law enforcement officers involved for their efforts and willingness to put themselves in harm’s way in order to bring Mr. Mills to justice,” Olson said in a statement. “Their restraint and professionalism in peacefully resolving this armed stand-off is but one example of Idaho law enforcement protecting the community as a whole, to include individuals like Mr. Mills who seek to do them harm.” Mills faces up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release for unlawful possession of firearms. Mills will be sentenced in January.

Candidates focus on experience in Idaho Supreme Court debate Spokane Eye on Review October 28, 2016 Robyn Brody, left, and Curt McKenzie, right, debate Friday night on Idaho Public Television (Idaho Public TV / Aaron Kunz) Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: By KIMBERLEE KRUESI, Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Republican Sen. Curt McKenzie downplayed his partisan ties and defended his resume as a qualified candidate for an open seat on the Idaho Supreme Court, while Rupert attorney Robyn Brody pointed to her 20 years of working in a variety of court rooms during their first and only televised debate Friday. "I am proud that those who I worked closely with have supported me," said McKenzie. "Every member of the majority leadership team on the House and Senate has endorsed me." McKenzie is currently endorsed almost entirely by Republican lawmakers, as well as Idaho Chooses Life, an anti- abortion advocacy group, and the National Rifle Association. Under questioning, McKenzie said that even though he had never argued a case before either the Idaho Supreme Court or the Idaho Court Appeals, he still had valuable experience working in front of district and magistrate judges. McKenzie added that Idaho has a long history of lawmakers who went on to serve on the state's highest court. Brody has argued nine cases in front of the state's highest court. "I've had one job my whole career and that's taking care of people's problems in the courts and talking about what the law is, what the policies are and making excellent decisions," Brody said. Brody, a first-time political candidate, recently received higher ratings than McKenzie in an anonymous survey conducted by the Idaho State Bar, which asked members to rank the candidates running in the supreme court race. Brody described the rating "incredibly important" because it's based on attorneys who have to work with judges on a daily basis. McKenzie countered that anonymous surveys are often biased and that members may only know him as "conservative lawmaker" — not for his time in a courtroom. Supreme Court candidates are banned from talking about their past of current political party affiliations — even though political party registrations are public records — as well as giving their opinions on how they would vote on previous or pending state supreme court decisions. Excluding experience, both candidates overall agreed on most of the questions submitted by the moderators, reiterating that they would apply the law as it is written and not what they would like to see happen. Both came out against requiring attorneys to report their pro bono work and the two agreed that they would like to see more electronic transparency inside the judicial system to make public documents accessible to Idahoans. Friday's hour-long debate was sponsored by the Idaho Press Club, Idaho Public Television and the League of Women Voters of Idaho. The battle over the state Supreme Court seat is the top statewide competitive race in the upcoming general election. Court Chief Justice announced in March that he would not run for a third, six-year term on the state's highest court. That attracted four candidates to the non-partisan post, which was whittled down to two after no one got the majority of the vote in the May primary.

Sentence date changed for Deonate-Fuentes By LESLIE MIELKE Morning News October 28, 2016 BLACKFOOT — Sentencing for 20-year-old Emmanuel Geov Deonate-Fuentes was set for Tuesday, Oct. 25, before Seventh Judicial District Judge Bruce Pickett. The defendant is charged with one count of sexual abuse with a person under 16-years-old. The maximum sentence the defendant could face is 25-years in the Idaho Department of Correction and/or a $50,000 fine. The said incident was to have occurred on Friday, March 25. On Thursday, Aug. 25, DeonateFuentes changed his plea to guilty using an Alford plea. In an Alford plea, the defendant claims innocence but admits that if the case went to trial, a jury may find him guilty because of the evidence presented. In preparation for his sentencing, Pickett had ordered that the defendant take a psycho-sexual examination and a polygraph. On Tuesday, Defense attorney Randolph Neal requested a second psycho-sexual examination and second polygraph “because his potential victimization when he was younger.” Bingham County Prosecutor Cleve Colson said, “It is not appropriate to go fishing for the results wanted. It is unfortunate for the case to be delayed.” When asked about covering the expense of a second examination, Neal said, “It would be best for us (the defense) to cover those costs; then they would be our property; our preparation.” Colson said, “If the court is going to allow (a second examination), there needs to have the same standards as we have here today.” (Both sides would receive the information.) Judge Pickett said, “These are tricky issues for the court to balance out.” He then ordered a second psycho- sexual examination and second polygraph. The cost will be paid by “you and your client (the defense).” The judge ordered the results of these examinations will be delivered to the state before Thursday, Dec. 8. The next date for DeonateFuentes sentencing is at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15. Deonate-Fuentes was remanded back into custody of the Bingham County Jail.

Salmon man’s murderer sentenced to 17 years to life By LAURA ZUCKERMAN Post Register October 28, 2016 BOISE — Michael S. Dauber, the son of a Chicago hit man, was sentenced Friday to serve at least 17 years in prison for killing a Salmon man in 2000 and for the murder of another man whose dismembered remains were found in Idaho in 2013. Dauber, 48, in June pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder tied to the killing of Josh Reddington, of Salmon, and Steven Kalogerakos, Dauber’s childhood friend, in 2007. A witness to Reddington’s murder in a remote cabin in the Idaho City area said that Dauber shot and killed Reddington and cut up the body. The murder happened more than 16 years ago, shortly after Reddington and Dauber had stopped in Salmon to visit Reddington’s mother, Vera Pohto, and her husband, Dick. Reddington, a helicopter pilot said at the time, said the pair was headed to Idaho City where Dauber had guaranteed Reddington work. A fragment of Reddington’s hip bone was found at the cabin in 2014, allowing authorities to link his death to Dauber. For Pohto, who spent months leading to years seeking to learn the fate of her only child, the sentencing was both a relief and a new cause for pain. When she rose to speak at the court hearing in Boise, Pohto said she was overcome by emotion. “I asked him (Dauber) to look at me but he wouldn’t. I wanted him to look at me to feel my emotions, to see that he has hurt me so bad and taken my son’s life away from me,” she said. Dauber showed no emotion and expressed no remorse during the sentencing hearing before 4th Judicial District Judge Patrick Owen, she said. “He hasn’t apologized or shown any feeling about what’s he’s done, the lives he’s ruined,” Pohto said. She said the punishment Dauber is facing does not fit the gravity of his crimes. She added that Dauber awaits another judgment in a higher court. “God knows what he’s done and God will be the one to deal with him,” said Pohto. Reddington, 25 when he went missing, was a 1992 graduate of Salmon High School. Pohto said she has felt the presence of her son throughout an ordeal that that was hopeless until then-Lemhi County Sheriff Lynn Bowerman persuaded state and federal authorities to open a probe into Reddington’s disappearance. “Josh has given me the strength to go through with this. He knows I’m doing his work for him; he’s been with me at all times,” said Pohto. Kalogerakos was 42 when he vanished in 2007. His dismembered body was found inside a bag buried in a shallow grave outside Idaho City in 2013. Stella Kalogerakos, his mother, on Friday pleaded for the judge to send Dauber away for the rest of his life. “If he’s gonna come out, he’s gonna kill more people,” she said. “And more people are going to come and say, ‘Where is the body?’” Second-degree murder carries a penalty of 10 years to life in prison. In a plea deal struck with Boise County prosecutors, Dauber agreed to serve 17 years to life in both cases, with the time served concurrently. The deal included a provision that if Dauber told authorities where Reddington’s remains are, he could ask for a reduced sentence of 13 to 15 years in prison. But, he did not lead authorities to the remains. Boise County Prosecutor Ross Pittman said Dauber’s sentence of two indeterminate life sentences with 17 years fixed “is a crucial step toward Michael Dauber spending the rest of his life in prison.” Pittman said the outcome of the case was no cause for celebration. “This is not a joyful day,” he said in a statement. “I grieve with the families of the two victims. Nothing can replace what they lost.” The family of David Fishback, an Idaho City man who died of a drug overdose in 2011, told the Idaho Statesman last year that the FBI was investigating Dauber’s possible involvement in Fishback’s death, too. Dauber is the son of the late Chicago mobster William E. Dauber, who was gunned down in Illinois in 1980.

Candidates focus on experience in Idaho Supreme Court debate By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Idaho Press Tribune October 29, 2016 BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Republican Sen. Curt McKenzie downplayed his partisan ties and defended his resume as a qualified candidate for an open seat on the Idaho Supreme Court, while Rupert attorney Robyn Brody pointed to her 20 years of working in a variety of court rooms during their first and only televised debate Friday. "I am proud that those who I worked closely with have supported me," said McKenzie. "Every member of the majority leadership team on the House and Senate has endorsed me." McKenzie is currently endorsed almost entirely by Republican lawmakers, as well as Idaho Chooses Life, an anti- abortion advocacy group, and the National Rifle Association. STORY CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO FROM OUR PARTNERS: OPINION JOURNAL: RULING AGAINST VOTER ID LAWS × Under questioning, McKenzie said that even though he had never argued a case before either the Idaho Supreme Court or the Idaho Court Appeals, he still had valuable experience working in front of district and magistrate judges. McKenzie added that Idaho has a long history of lawmakers who went on to serve on the state's highest court. Brody has argued nine cases in front of the state's highest court. "I've had one job my whole career and that's taking care of people's problems in the courts and talking about what the law is, what the policies are and making excellent decisions," Brody said. Brody, a first-time political candidate, recently received higher ratings than McKenzie in an anonymous survey conducted by the Idaho State Bar, which asked members to rank the candidates running in the Supreme Court race. Brody described the rating "incredibly important" because it's based on attorneys who have to work with judges on a daily basis. McKenzie countered that anonymous surveys are often biased and that members may only know him as "conservative lawmaker" — not for his time in a courtroom. Supreme Court candidates are banned from talking about their past of current political party affiliations — even though political party registrations are public records — as well as giving their opinions on how they would vote on previous or pending state supreme court decisions. Excluding experience, both candidates overall agreed on most of the questions submitted by the moderators, reiterating that they would apply the law as it is written and not what they would like to see happen. Both came out against requiring attorneys to report their pro bono work and the two agreed that they would like to see more electronic transparency inside the judicial system to make public documents accessible to Idahoans. Friday's hour-long debate was sponsored by the Idaho Press Club, Idaho Public Television and the League of Women Voters of Idaho. The battle over the state Supreme Court seat is the top statewide competitive race in the upcoming general election. Court Chief Justice Jim Jones announced in March that he would not run for a third, six-year term on the state's highest court. That attracted four candidates to the non-partisan post, which was whittled down to two after no one got the majority of the vote in the May primary. The last time a supreme court justice race required a runoff was in 1998.

SupCourt race: McKenzie has never argued a case before the high court; Brody calls that concerning Spokane Eye on Review October 31, 2016 One of the two candidates for the Idaho Supreme Court acknowledged in a televised debate Friday night that he’s never argued a case before either the Idaho Supreme Court or the Idaho Court of Appeals. Curt McKenzie said, “My experience has been in front of our district judges or our magistrates. Those are the courts that most people see.” His opponent, attorney Robyn Brody, said, “Experience is incredibly important. And the fact that Mr. McKenzie has never stood in front of the Idaho Supreme Court is something that concerns me greatly.” McKenzie said he wrote some appellate briefs early in his career. “The legal analysis that I did on those cases, the kind of complex civil litigation that we practiced there, the extensive brief-writing that we did, is all important background for someone who’s going to be on the court,” McKenzie said, “but I also think it’s just as important to have a justice who has extensive experience actually practicing in front of those district judges and magistrate judges, who are the ones that most people are going to be in front of.” Brody countered, “I’ll tell you the thing that really makes me different from Mr. McKenzie, and that’s 20 years of experience litigating in front of county commissions, planning and zoning, magistrate court, the Supreme Court nine times. … I’m talking about … 20 years of being in the trenches.” McKenzie said his practice, when he was with a large law firm early in his career, was mostly either in federal court or out-of-state courts. “And then most of my experience in my own firm has been at the trial level, so I have that extensive experience and it’s a useful experience,” he said. “But I would say what I look for in a justice is not simply that you’ve argued a few cases before the Supreme Court, but that fundamental judicial philosophy that’s going to inform all your cases.” McKenzie said he’ll “apply the text as it’s written,” and said his academic background as a graduate of Georgetown University law school, where at one point he met the late Justice Antonin Scalia, prepared him for that. Brody, who holds both a law degree and a master’s degree in international management from the University of , said she and McKenzie don’t really differ in judicial philosophy. “The things that he’s talking about, textualism and originalism … those are things that are bred into us in law school,” she said. “That’s the way we approach legal questions today. We ask, ‘What does this statute say,’ not, ‘What do we want it to say?” She said, “Meeting Justice Scalia is an inspiration, but it’s not a qualification for this job.” The two also differed over the significance of an Idaho State Bar survey of attorneys across the state this month, in which Brody was rated nearly twice as high as McKenzie in her qualifications to serve on the high court, including integrity and independence, knowledge and understanding of the law, judicial temperament and demeanor, and legal ability and experience. McKenzie cited a Harvard University study that he said shows lawyers in general tend to be liberal. “It doesn’t surprise me that lawyers tend to lean towards someone who had served as president of the trial lawyers association over someone who most of them know only as a conservative Republican state senator,” he said. McKenzie said the Republican leaders of both the and Idaho House have endorsed him. “I am proud that those that I work the closest with have supported me,” he said. Brody countered, “We’re talking about reputation, something that’s taken me 20 years to earn. That’s why the bar scores are what they are. It’s not simply a reflection of bias. It’s a reflection of people knowing me, and most importantly trusting me.” The full hour-long debate, sponsored by the Idaho Press Club, the League of Women Voters of Idaho and the BSU School of Public Service and aired statewide on Idaho Public Television, can be viewed online here. The two are scheduled to again tomorrow in a candidate forum co-sponsored by the Idaho State Bar, Idaho Women Lawyers and the Idaho Environmental Forum. It’s set for 4:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Auditorium on the lower level of the state Capitol, and is open to the public; it also will be streamed live online here.

I.F. woman sentenced for embezzlement By KEVIN TREVELLYAN Post Register October 31, 2016 District Judge Dane Watkins Jr. on Monday sentenced an Idaho Falls woman to probation for embezzling funds from her mother’s construction company. Ariel Murdock, 25, pleaded guilty Aug. 9 to a felony computer crime. The charge was reduced from a felony forgery count pursuant to a plea agreement, and a felony grand theft charge was also dismissed. Murdock was sentenced to 35 days in the Bonneville County Jail to be served during weekends, four years of probation, a suspended underlying prison sentence of two to five years, a $1,000 fine and 100 hours of community service. Murdock is serving her jail time during weekends so she can more easily secure care for her 5-year-old child. Watkins withheld judgment on Murdock’s case, which means her conviction can be dismissed if she successfully completes probation. Murdock was arrested during a traffic stop in March. An arrest warrant was requested in January after Wolverine Canyon Construction officials told police that Murdock, who ran payroll for the company, forged signatures on multiple checks. Murdock embezzled about $45,000 between October and December, said Bonneville County deputy prosecutor Kelsie Kirkham. Murdock’s mother, Debra Jones, owns Firth-based Wolverine Canyon Construction and didn’t seek restitution. Murdock has come to an informal agreement with Jones to pay back the embezzled funds. Murdock stole the money to fund a prescription drug habit, though she said in court Monday she hasn’t used for about six months. Watkins is requiring that she seek substance abuse treatment during probation. Kirkham recommended a two- to five-year prison term for Murdock, four years of probation and 45 days in jail. Kirkham expressed disappointment that Murdock was denied from problem-solving court, which attempts to rehabilitate substance- abusing offenders through treatment rather than prison. Murdock’s attorney, Dean Brandstetter, recommended probation for his client. He stressed her status as a first-time offender, and the difficulties imposed by Murdock’s substance abuse issues. “Her physical appearance is not somebody who’s a user. When I first saw her, I’d say that it was,” Brandstetter said. “Under the circumstances, she’s made significant efforts to rehabilitate herself.” Murdock apologized for the crime before being sentenced. “I can see now that my actions were very unacceptable and I’m thankful they didn’t lead to the company my mom built her livelihood on failing, that it’s still a successful business,” she said. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure I’m not in this situation again.” Castro gets five to 12 for Rexburg pursuit, crash POST REGISTER October 31, 2016 An Idaho Falls man was sentenced Monday to five to 12 years in prison for grand theft by possession, eluding an officer and possession of methamphetamine. Travis Castro, 30, pleaded guilty Sept. 12 to the charges. Castro led officers on a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle down Main Street in Rexburg, ending in a multiple-vehicle crash. Police also found four guns in the truck which had been stolen from Guns N Gear on Aug. 16. “We think it’s a good sentence,” Madison County Prosecutor Sid Brown said. Castro has been charged with stealing a total of 16 weapons from the gun shop in Idaho Falls. Castro took a plea bargain in that case, according to Deputy Prosecutor John Dewey. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss two counts of grand theft in return for guilty pleas to burglary and grand theft. He will be sentenced on those charges Nov. 9. Candidate forum today to feature Supreme Court candidates Brody, McKenzie Spokane Eye on Review November 1, 2016 Idaho Supreme Court candidates Robyn Brody and Curt McKenzie will be featured this afternoon at a candidates forum sponsored by the Idaho State Bar, Idaho Women Lawyers and the Idaho Environmental Forum. The forum, which starts at 4:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Auditorium on the lower level of the state Capitol, is open to the public, and also will be streamed live online here. It will be followed by a reception including refreshments and a chance to visit with the candidates. During the forum, questions will be posed to the candidates by a panel including Christopher Pooser, past chair of the Idaho State Bar appellate practice session; myself, as president of the Idaho Press Club; and Dr. Jennifer Stevens, a member of the board of directors of the Idaho Environmental Forum. Brody and McKenzie faced off in a debate televised statewide Friday night on Idaho Public Television; you can see video of the debate online here. The two are in a runoff for an open seat on the Idaho Supreme Court, as Chief Justice Jim Jones retires. Bowers to stay in jail on theft and burglary charges By LESLIE MIELKE Morning News November 1, 2016 BLACKFOOT — Scheduled to be sentenced in D e c e m b e r 2016, Robert Raymond Bowers, 20, appeared before Seventh Judicial District Judge Darren Simpson on Monday for a special hearing. Defense attorney Jeff Kunz said, "We requested this hearing for Mr. Bowers to address the you (Simpson) himself." The judge highlighted Bowers interaction with the court. These include that Bowers admitted guilt to grand theft and burglary on Sept. 2; previously, he had been released on his own recognizance. He did not show up for testing on Aug. 30, Sept. 2 and Sept. 6. The letter from the the pre-sentence inve s tiga tor said he had not contact the office. B o w e r s ' release was revoked on Sept. 23, and his bond was set at $50,000. Bowers said, "I was lacking transportation and was without a working phone. I have rescheduled my presentence investigation and am asking you for a second chance for my release." He explained that he now has a place to live in Blackfoot; he has a roommate and a landline. "You are able to make arrangements for an apartment in Blackfoot while you were in Pocatello but you missed appointments for about a month," Simpson said. Because of lack of communication, the judge remanded Bowers back to the Bingham County Jail. Since he did meet with the pre-sentence investigator, the judge has no material to review; Bowers sentencing date will need to be rescheduled. Bowers was arrested on May 28, 2016, as he was sitting a a stolen red F-150. The vehicle was in the state hearing impound. I.F. man gets one to four years for pot possession By TOM HOLM Post Register November 1, 2016 District Judge Bruce Pickett sentenced an Idaho Falls man to one to four years in prison for possessing 4 pounds of marijuana. Brett D. Murdock, 43, pleaded guilty Aug. 24 to trafficking in marijuana at 1 pound or more but less than 5 pounds. Prosecution and defense attorneys jointly entered a binding plea agreement recommending the one- to four-year prison term. Pickett was bound by the plea agreement to impose the sentence unless he chose not to accept the agreement. Murdock and his wife, Valerie Murdock, 43, were stopped April 5 for a traffic violation on Sunnyside Road near Interstate 15. About 4 pounds of marijuana were found inside the trunk of the car. Murdock purchased the marijuana in Washington and told investigators it was for personal use. Valerie Murdock was sentenced Aug. 17 to 14 days in jail and four years of probation for her involvement in the crime. Murdock told investigators he made monthly trips to purchase marijuana in Washington, which allows for recreational use of the drug. (In Washington state it is illegal to possess more than an ounce of marijuana.) Murdock told Pickett he smoked marijuana to ease symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder he suffered following his five-year service with the U.S. Army. “I apologize to the state for doing this; I know it was wrong,” Murdock said. Idaho’s marijuana trafficking statute mandates a minimum of one year in prison. Penny North Shaul, Bonneville County assistant chief deputy prosecutor, said Murdock appeared “marginally remorseful” for committing the crime. “I think he was more remorseful that he got caught,” North Shaul said. “We need to show the community that we take this very seriously, and stop the flow of marijuana into our community. And show people if you do this you will go to prison.” Murdock’s attorney, Jordan Crane, said were it not for the mandatory minimum required by statute, his client would be a candidate for probation. “He has a minimal criminal record,” Crane said. “There are a lot of great things about Brett.” Murdock has several driving-related citations, but this is his first felony offense. Pickett said there were mitigating factors that showed Murdock would be a candidate for probation, but that the court was comfortable with the recommendation of prison time. “You’ve done good things in this life,” Pickett said. “This court will follow the law and impose the sentence as it’s been agreed upon.”