So, here's the deal: Idaho is much, much more than Aryan Nations, and cows. It's Mexican gangs, and La Eme. Corrupt politicians, and too many Republicans. Horrible public schools at every level. Environmental disasters around every corner.
Today, my illustration will be drawn from the playing field I know best: LAW. I will be talking about personal experience with three of Idaho's very worst elected prosecutors: Phil Robinson in Bonner County (that would be Sandpoint area), Bill Douglas in Kootenai County (Coeur d'Alene), and Dave Young in Canyon County (Nampa, outside of Boise).
Phil Robinson runs an office where domestic violence victims are frequently charged with domestic violence when they defend themselves. I've sued his office, and won, and represented victims of domestic violence that have been wrongfully charged and won in front of juries every single time. He has a drunk deputy named Sarah Jayne Pollock, who turns every trial she touches into a dog and pony show. He loses credibility by handing cases to here, but at least she provides a cheap show for jurors.
Robinson's been disciplined by the Idaho State Bar many times, and yet because he has an (R) after his name, and has yet to be indicted for raping children, he has been consistently re-elected. Remember that Bonner County is where Mark Furman makes his home, and many other wealthy, extremely racist, extremely Republican Californians also make their homes there.
Bill Douglas' office refuses to recognize same-sex domestic battery. One of my clients was shot to death by her female domestic partner after her ex who had been charged by Coeur d'Alene City Police with Felony Domestic Battery with Traumatic Injury (including a broken nose, a broken wrist, and bruising from head to toe). Douglas' deputy, Reece Sterett, told me point blank that it was their POLICY "not to charge same-sex domestic violence as felonies." This is a violation of Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution (see my webpage www.punkattorney.org, which is currently under construction, but has working links to the U.S. constitution). Her batterer's case was sent back to the city of Coeur d'Alene where it was passed to an utterly incompetent attorney named John Christiansen, who amended the charge without notifying my client, the VICTIM, to a misdemeanor disturbing the peace. She was never contacted about the offer, she was not notified when her batterer was in or out of custody, and she was not allowed to speak at her ex's sentence. All of these opportunities are provided for under Amendment 25 of the Idaho Constitution. Instead, she got two bullets to the back of her head.
The Idaho Court of Appeals has recently issued an opinion indicating that in overturning a case, it was doing so in light of it being "another in a long line or pattern of repetitious misconduct" by the Kootenai County prosecutor's office." John Christiansen was an adored deputy of Dave Young in Canyon County who apparently had a heart attack after I filed a bar complaint, and dragged him through a two day malpractice deposition, in my client's wrongful death case. I salute him for dying when he did.
Dave Young is a dictatorial prosecutor. He has absolutely no experience in criminal law, and has only settled one criminal trial (a misdemeanor DUI) at half time in his entire legal career. How he was elected boggles my mind. He uses battery as his management style. And, recently compromised the identity of a federally protected witness. He will not accept responsibility for his actions, nor will he apologize. He has cost Canyon County tax payers millions of dollars in wrongful death actions, prosecutorial misconduct actions, and very likely in this most recent conduct, yet because he has an (R) after his name, and has not yet been indicted for raping a child, he has been re-elected (though unlike Phil Robinson, he's not a likeable guy, and has been subject to a recall vote after a domestic violence victim was murdered by her batterer). Of course, it is important to note that his son, Mark, is also an employee of Canyon County and been on PAID administrative suspension, pending a federal indictment on child porn charges. How much is Mr. Young costing Canyon County, Idaho? What could that money be doing for our state? Protecting domestic violence victims? Preventing gang violence? Improving schools?
