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<DIV>Below are reports from the<EM> Daily News</EM> 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.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>This is very disturbing.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I would greatly appreciate receiving either on or off list any
information about this. Perhaps the <EM>Daily News</EM> or the
<EM>LMT</EM> can get seriously to the bottom of this. This is an important
community issue.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow, ID
83843</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208 882-7975</DIV>
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<H1>Former Potlatch P.E. teacher sues school district</H1>
<H3>Wacker claims district treated him unfairly after argument with aide</H3>
<P id=byline>By Holly Bowen Daily News staff writer</P>
<P id=storydate>Posted on: Tuesday, November 17, 2009</P>
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<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>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.</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>"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.</P>
<P class=storybody>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."</P>
<P class=storybody>Wacker has denied the aide's allegations, which the lawsuit
says "reflected her personal animosity toward Wacker and his elementary physical
education program."</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>Kren declined comment Monday and said he had not yet seen a
copy of the lawsuit.</P>
<P class=storybody>"I can't comment on anything at this point, because I haven't
seen anything official," he said.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>"He wasn't let go for the reasons he was placed on
administrative leave," he said.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. May 10 in Latah
County District Court.</P>
<P class=storybody><STRONG>Holly Bowen</STRONG> can be reached at (208)
882-5561, ext. 239, or by e-mail at <A href="mailto:hbowen@dnews.com"
rel=external>hbowen@dnews.com</A>.</P>
<P class=storybody> </P>
<P class=storybody> </P>
<P class=storybody><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000 size=6>Defense in Parks trial
files motion to disqualify judge</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=storybody>The defense in the Silas Parks double murder trial has filed
a motion to disqualify District Judge John Stegner from the case.</P>
<P class=storybody>Co-counsel Charles Kovis filed the motion to dismiss without
cause Friday afternoon according to court documents.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>The trial is scheduled to begin March 22, but Thompson said
the date could change if a new judge is appointed.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>Sarah Parks, 28, was found in the couple's burned-out duplex
at 904 Vandal Drive on June 24.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody> </P>
<P class=storybody> </P>
<H1><FONT color=#ff0000>Stegner will not hear Wells murder case</FONT></H1>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>A motion to disqualify Stegner without cause was
filed Friday by Wells' attorney, Charles Kovis</FONT></STRONG>, who was
unavailable this morning for comment.</P>
<P>"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." </P>
<P>Idaho County District Court Judge John Bradbury will oversee the case against
Matthew Wells.</P>
<P>The defendant, who was supposed to be arraigned today, will instead enter a
plea a week from today in front of Bradbury.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Matthew Wells and his younger brother, James Wells, are accused of shooting
University of Idaho student Eric McMillan.</P>
<P>The prosecution alleges the Wells brothers were contacted by their nephew,
Thomas Riggins, and the three men plotted the shooting death of McMillan.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>James Wells is in jail in Whitman County, where he and his brother had been
charged with attempting to elude police officers.</P>
<P>The Wells brothers were taken into custody Sept. 19, after they led law
enforcement in a 140-mile chase between Pullman and Vantage, Wash.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Thompson filed for a governor's warrant last month to extradite Riggins and
James Wells.</P>
<P>Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has signed off on the extradition, but Thompson is
waiting for Washington Gov. Gary Locke's signature.</P>
<P>"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.</P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<H1>Leonard's arraignment scheduled for Monday</H1>
<P id=storydate>Posted on: Friday, July 18, 2008</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>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.</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=storybody>It has yet to be determined who will replace Stegner on the
bench.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>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.</P>
<P class=storybody>Leonard, who remains free on bond, pleaded not guilty to the
voluntary manslaughter charge in August.</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>