[Vision2020] Idaho law on withheld judgements + options for removing Mark Patterson

[Scott Dredge]

Hey all - My first stop for Idaho legal advice is Sunil, but in this instance I continued and summoned my backup former Idaho prosecutor and here is his verbatim response:'How a withheld judgment functions is specific to the state that allows it. In Idaho a withheld judgment means that that the court does not impose a sentence, places the defendant on probation and, if they comply with all the conditions of their probation, the court goes in at the end of the probation and withdraws the guilty plea and dismisses the case. If someone ask: "Do you have a felony conviction?", the answer is "no." If the question is have you ever been convicted, the answer is "yes." (they are considered convicted when they enter the plea, but the conviction is subsequently removed or, as some states call it, "expunged" when the plea is withdrawn and the case is dismissed).'
'Lets talk the difference between legal and political. As a legal matter, only the voters, through a recall election, can remove this elected official from office. As a political matter, it appears that the members of the Legislature or the Republicans from the district the legislator is from don't like that he is a member of the Legislature with that sort of an incident on his record. If either house of the Legislature wants to pass a resolution asking for his removal, that's their prerogative. It has no legal effect. A resolution is nothing more than a wish or declaration on a piece of paper. The members of the local Republican committees have no authority to remove him. They can meet if they wish and discuss the issue. If they want to organize a recall, they can. If they want to badmouth him, they can. That's a party matter and they will have to deal with the consequences of their action or inaction.'
I also berated who I thought was still a sitting Republican Idaho state representative for his take on the matter and his verbatim response was:'What the hell, dude? First, I'm not an elected official anymore. Second, I'm not responsible for the actions of any other Republican just like you're not responsible for Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer's escapades.'
-Scott 		 	   		  
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