[Vision2020] Problems with Stegner?

[Art Deco]

Below are reports from the Daily News of four recent cases where district court judge John Stegner was subjected to removal without cause (note: in every case an attorney is allowed one such disqualification as a matter of rule, except if a disputed matter has already been heard by the judge.)

This is very disturbing.

The case at the bottom is particularly egregious in that Stegner refused to grant the disqualification motion (there is clear Idaho case law compelling acceptance).  This forced the attorney to appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court for an order forcing the judge to disqualify himself.

What is going on?  Such a large number of disqualifications of a judge are rare except in the case of a problem judge (not to mention Stegner's demonstrated refusal to follow a mandated court rule).

I would greatly appreciate receiving either on or off list any information about this.  Perhaps the Daily News or the LMT can get seriously to the bottom of this.  This is an important community issue.

The justice system will not work well if this sort of thing continues.  For one thing it places an unfair load on the other district judges, and it diminishes their effectiveness and the amount of time they have to diligently devote time to what would be their normally assigned case load.

Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID  83843

waf at moscow.com
208 882-7975




Former Potlatch P.E. teacher sues school district
Wacker claims district treated him unfairly after argument with aide
By Holly Bowen Daily News staff writer

Posted on: Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A former Potlatch physical education teacher has filed a lawsuit against the Potlatch School District and school board, alleging he was unjustly placed on administrative leave following a dispute with another district employee.

Jim Wacker, represented by Idaho Education Association attorney John Rumel and Boise-based attorney James Piotrowski, filed the suit Nov. 9 in Latah County District Court.

The case had originally been assigned to Judge John Stegner, but on Monday, Wacker's attorneys filed a motion without cause to disqualify Stegner and have the case assigned to a different judge.

According to the lawsuit, Wacker and an unidentified elementary school aide had a disagreement on or around April 17 regarding the way Wacker was supervising a student.

"I think they were taking students from one location to another, and there was a disagreement that this aide had about how (Wacker) was handling the movement of his class," Rumel told the Daily News Monday.

The suit says "the aide accused Wacker of, among other things, 'ranting' at her and acting unprofessionally by confronting her in a threatening manner in the presence of students."

Wacker has denied the aide's allegations, which the lawsuit says "reflected her personal animosity toward Wacker and his elementary physical education program."

Court documents state Potlatch Superintendent Joe Kren placed Wacker on administrative leave with pay on April 20, pending completion of a district investigation of the incident.

Kren declined comment Monday and said he had not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit.

"I can't comment on anything at this point, because I haven't seen anything official," he said.

The suit says Wacker was told not to make contact with district personnel or students, and to "not contact any potential witnesses regarding (the dispute)" or have anyone contact potential witnesses on his behalf.

On April 23, the Potlatch School Board affirmed the decision to place Wacker on administrative leave, this time pending a psychological evaluation by a district-appointed physician, the suit says.

The board later dropped its request for the psychological evaluation, but Wacker was placed on administrative leave for the rest of the 2008-09 school year. He is no longer employed by the Potlatch School District as a result of curriculum restructuring, Rumel said.

"He wasn't let go for the reasons he was placed on administrative leave," he said.

Wacker alleges the school district and school board violated his due process rights by not providing him a name-clearing hearing to defend himself against the aide's accusations. The suit states the allegations and subsequent administrative leave "were and are widely known in the Potlatch School District and community" and could jeopardize Wacker's future employability.

The suit also alleges the district and board violated Idaho law when Kren, rather than the school board, placed Wacker on administrative leave. It also claims the district did not have adequate grounds to place him on leave.

Finally, Wacker asserts that the condition that he not speak to any district personnel, students or potential witnesses was a violation of his First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and association.

He is seeking general and compensatory damages, court and attorney fees and court orders requiring the school board hold a name-clearing hearing; declaring the district violated state law and breached contract when Kren rather than the board placed Wacker on administrative leave; and declaring the district violated state and federal law when it limited Wacker's contact with district employees, students and potential witnesses.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. May 10 in Latah County District Court.

Holly Bowen can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 239, or by e-mail at hbowen at dnews.com.





Defense in Parks trial files motion to disqualify judge

The defense in the Silas Parks double murder trial has filed a motion to disqualify District Judge John Stegner from the case.

Co-counsel Charles Kovis filed the motion to dismiss without cause Friday afternoon according to court documents.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said Stegner will decide on the motion though no timeline has been set for when that decision will be made.

If Stegner is disqualified, 2nd District Administrative Judge Jeff Brudie will then have to decide who will replace Stegner as the judge for the case.

The trial is scheduled to begin March 22, but Thompson said the date could change if a new judge is appointed.

Last week Parks pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson in connection with the death of his pregnant wife and the burning of the couple's apartment in June.

Sarah Parks, 28, was found in the couple's burned-out duplex at 904 Vandal Drive on June 24.

Each first-degree murder charge carries the possibility of life in prison or death and a fine of up to $50,000. The arson charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.





Stegner will not hear Wells murder case
Latah County District Court Judge John Stegner has agreed to disqualify himself from hearing the state's first-degree murder case against Matthew R. Wells II.

A motion to disqualify Stegner without cause was filed Friday by Wells' attorney, Charles Kovis, who was unavailable this morning for comment.

"It just means that a new judge will be assigned to the case," Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson said of the disqualification. "This in no way affects our position on the case." 

Idaho County District Court Judge John Bradbury will oversee the case against Matthew Wells.

The defendant, who was supposed to be arraigned today, will instead enter a plea a week from today in front of Bradbury.

Matthew Wells, along with two other suspects, was indicted by a grand jury last month on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Matthew Wells and his younger brother, James Wells, are accused of shooting University of Idaho student Eric McMillan.

The prosecution alleges the Wells brothers were contacted by their nephew, Thomas Riggins, and the three men plotted the shooting death of McMillan.

The 19-year-old UI football player was shot once in the chest Sept. 19, and died early the next morning at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow.

James Wells is in jail in Whitman County, where he and his brother had been charged with attempting to elude police officers.

The Wells brothers were taken into custody Sept. 19, after they led law enforcement in a 140-mile chase between Pullman and Vantage, Wash.

Whitman County Prosecuting Attorney Denis Tracy dropped his case against the brothers after they were indicted by the grand jury in Moscow on the more serious charges.

Thompson filed for a governor's warrant last month to extradite Riggins and James Wells.

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has signed off on the extradition, but Thompson is waiting for Washington Gov. Gary Locke's signature.

"It is still our intention to request the cases (against Matthew Wells, James Wells and Riggins) be combined and heard by whatever judge is assigned," Thompson said.





Leonard's arraignment scheduled for Monday
Posted on: Friday, July 18, 2008

James Curtis Leonard's arraignment on one count of second-degree murder has been rescheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday in Latah County District Court.

The arraignment was originally scheduled for July 11, but was postponed after Leonard's attorney, public defender Sunil Ramalingam, requested and received the removal of Second District Court Judge John Stegner from the case.

It has yet to be determined who will replace Stegner on the bench.

Leonard, 24, was originally charged with voluntary manslaughter for the June 19, 2007, shooting death of Tyler Pace Lee, 25, of Moscow, but that charge was dismissed just before Leonard's trial was slated to begin in May. Prosecutors filed the second-degree murder charge May 7 in Latah County District Court.

Police allege Leonard shot Lee, 25, of Moscow multiple times with a handgun and killed him after an argument at Leonard's Sprenger Road home near Genesee.

Leonard, who remains free on bond, pleaded not guilty to the voluntary manslaughter charge in August.
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