[Vision2020] Poor Judgment

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (November 11, 2006) Spokesman Review -

"Davis is accused of saying 'Jews burn' before he either tossed Bonners
Ferry High student Ilaura Fleck into a bonfire or dropped her onto a nearby
log from which she fell into one on Katka Mountain in Boundary County."

. . .

"Unfortunately, Heise [1st District Magistrate] has fueled speculation by
refusing to discuss her decision afterward or verify the statement
attributed to her in chambers that 'boys will be boys.'"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Poor judgment
Our View: Sentence in burning case casts doubt on magistrate

November 11, 2006

On the surface, Brian Todd Davis, 21, of Spokane, committed a hate crime
when he caused a 17-year-old girl to fall into a bonfire at a North Idaho
kegger July 27.

Davis is accused of saying "Jews burn" before he either tossed Bonners Ferry
High student Ilaura Fleck into a bonfire or dropped her onto a nearby log
from which she fell into one on Katka Mountain in Boundary County. Davis
reportedly said his victim was Jewish because her father was Catholic and
her mother Muslim. His logic was as ignorant as his crime was hateful.
However, he won't face jail time. He received a wrist-slap sentence that
outraged human rights activists.
 
Incomprehensibly, 1st District Magistrate Debra Heise, of Sandpoint,
brokered a plea bargain in which Davis pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery
rather than aggravated battery, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of
15 years in prison. Heise threatened to dismiss the charges, allegedly
telling Boundary County Prosecutor Jack Douglas that "boys will be boys."
She sentenced Davis to 20 days on a work detail and ordered him to pay his
victim's medical bills.

The sentence was woefully inadequate, regardless of whether Davis' actions
and comments meet the criteria for a hate crime. A teenage girl suffered
first- and second-degree burns on her legs, arm and buttocks and faces
extensive reconstructive surgery as a result of the thuggish assault.
Heise's dismissive attitude toward this heinous crime raises serious
questions about her judgment. So does her decision that a hate crime didn't
occur because the victim wasn't Jewish. The favorable treatment given the
witness by local law officers and a possible conflict of interest involving
the defense attorney raise more questions.

One thing is certain - Ilaura Fleck was denied justice.

With or without the hate-crime element, these facts remain, according to a
Spokesman-Review article by reporter Bill Morlin:

.Fleck and her family discussed a possible civil action against Davis with
Sandpoint attorney Todd Reed before Davis hired Bryce W. Powell, another
attorney in the same Sandpoint firm, to defend him. In a complaint filed
with the Idaho Bar Association, Fleck's father, Joe, said: "The conflict of
interest, from my point of view, is that the law firm gained the information
it needed to fight the defendant's criminal trial from the victim's family."

.Boundary County Prosecutor Jack Douglas filed felony charges only after
being pressured for two months by Joe Fleck.

.Although Heise accepted a defense witness's account that Davis dropped
Ilaura Fleck on a log and that she then fell into the fire, other witnesses
said Davis threw the teen into the fire.

.Heise declared that Davis did not commit a hate crime although she admitted
his words were "hate-filled."

Unfortunately, Heise has fueled speculation by refusing to discuss her
decision afterward or verify the statement attributed to her in chambers
that "boys will be boys." During the proceedings, however, the judge said
something similar when she dismissed Davis' thuggish acts as a youthful
indiscretion, fueled by alcohol. Neither Davis nor local law officers would
comment either.

Davis' own words indicate he thought his victim was Jewish. Regardless of
whether Davis was drunk, he conveyed a clear hatred for Jews as his
motivation. Perception was reality. Human rights activist Marshall Mend
correctly said: "It's a hate crime whether she's Jewish or not."

The strange handling of this case shows North Idaho has a way to go on the
human rights front.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Laws are not only meant to be obeyed, but enforced as well.

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

- Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963