Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

In 1988, Rodney Araiza was involved in a riot at the Idaho State Penitentiary, during which an inmate named Richard Holmes was murdered. Araiza was charged with first-degree murder and participating in the riot. At trial, the State presented evidence, including testimonies and Araiza’s bloody palm prints, suggesting Araiza's involvement in the murder. Araiza defended himself by claiming he arrived at Holmes' cell after the murder. Despite his defense, Araiza was convicted by a jury on both charges in 1989.After his conviction, Araiza filed a motion for a new trial, presenting new evidence, including a confession from another inmate, Merle LaMere, who claimed responsibility for the murder. However, the district court denied the motion, finding the new evidence unlikely to result in an acquittal. Araiza was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 20 years for riot, to be served concurrently. Araiza's subsequent appeals, including a direct appeal, were unsuccessful.In 2019, Araiza filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming actual innocence and requesting DNA and fingerprint testing. The district court dismissed the petition, stating that the DNA evidence would not likely prove Araiza's innocence and that his claims were barred by res judicata. Araiza did not receive notice of this dismissal until after the appeal period had expired. He then filed a motion for relief from judgment under Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1) and 60(b)(6), which led to the district court reentering judgment.Araiza appealed the reentered judgment, but the Idaho Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal as untimely. The Supreme Court of Idaho reviewed the case and concluded that Araiza's appeal was indeed untimely, as his motion for relief from judgment was filed outside the six-month limit for Rule 60(b)(1) motions. Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed Araiza’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction. View "Araiza v. State" on Justia Law

In 2018, Brian Hollis pleaded guilty to one count of lewd conduct with a minor under sixteen and four counts of sexual exploitation of a child. He also admitted to being a repeat sexual offender, which mandates a fifteen-year minimum term of confinement. The district court imposed an indeterminate life sentence with twenty-five years determinate on the lewd conduct charge and concurrent determinate sentences of fifteen years for each of the sexual exploitation charges. Hollis appealed his conviction and sentence, but the Idaho Court of Appeals affirmed them.Hollis then filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The district court appointed the Kootenai County Public Defender to represent him. However, Hollis' conflict counsel filed a motion to withdraw, stating that he was no longer able to "ethically or effectively represent" Hollis due to statements made by the district court judge against conflict counsel in a similar post-conviction case. The district court denied the motion to withdraw and the motion to continue the summary disposition hearing. The district court subsequently granted the State’s motion for summary disposition, holding that Hollis had not supported any of his claims with any admissible evidence.The Supreme Court of the State of Idaho vacated the judgment of the district court, reversed the decisions on the motion to continue and motion to withdraw, vacated the decision granting summary disposition to the State, and remanded for further proceedings. The court held that the district court abused its discretion in denying the motion to withdraw and the motion to continue. The court also ordered the assignment of a new district court judge on remand. View "Hollis v. State" on Justia Law

The case revolves around John Thomas Bujak, who pleaded guilty to grand theft and was placed on probation with the condition of serving thirty days in jail. Bujak scheduled his jail time on weekends to maintain his employment during the week. After serving his first jail stay from Friday morning to Sunday morning, Bujak learned that he would receive credit for two days of jail time. He then moved the district court for credit for time served, arguing that he should receive three days credit because he served time over the course of three calendar days.The district court denied Bujak’s motion, interpreting that the terms of its probation order required Bujak to serve thirty, twenty-four-hour periods in jail. Bujak appealed this decision, arguing that Idaho Code section 18-309 required the district court to award him one day of credit for each partial day of jail time he served.The Supreme Court of the State of Idaho affirmed the district court’s order. The court concluded that neither section 18-309 nor section 19-2603 applies to the calculation of Bujak’s time served. Instead, the court found that Idaho Code section 19-2601(3) controls, which allows a district court to withhold judgment and impose probation terms it deems necessary and appropriate. The court agreed with the district court's interpretation that Bujak was required to serve thirty, twenty-four-hour days in jail as a term of his probation. View "State v. Bujak" on Justia Law

Martin Edmo Ish was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 2017 and sentenced to 15 years, with 10 years fixed and five years indeterminate. However, his original conviction was later vacated by the Idaho Supreme Court in 2020. After the court's decision became final, Ish's bail was reinstated. Unable to post a bond, he was returned to jail to await his retrial. His second trial was postponed several times due to public safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ish repeatedly moved for dismissal of his case citing speedy trial concerns, but his requests were denied. He also moved for a change of venue, which was also denied. His second trial commenced in July 2021, and he was again convicted of voluntary manslaughter. This time, he was sentenced to a fifteen-year unified sentence, with the first 14 years fixed and one year indeterminate, resulting in a fixed sentence four years longer than his original sentence. Ish appealed his conviction and sentence.The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed Ish's judgment of conviction and sentence. The court found that Ish's right to a speedy trial was not violated, as the delays were either neutral or justifiable. The court also found that the district court did not err in denying Ish's motion for a change of venue, as Ish failed to demonstrate that the jury pool was tainted by media coverage. The court further found that Ish did not demonstrate that a juror should have been excused for bias. The court also found that the district court did not err in imposing an unduly harsh sentence, and that the court did not err in denying Ish's Rule 35 motion for leniency following his second sentence. View "State v. Ish" on Justia Law

Benny Dean Campbell was detained by law enforcement while they were investigating a stolen motorcycle. During the detention, a police trooper discovered heroin and methamphetamine in Campbell's backpack. Campbell was charged with two felony counts for drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance, and two misdemeanor counts for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Campbell filed a motion to suppress the evidence, arguing that by initially placing him in handcuffs, the trooper converted his detention into an unlawful seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.The district court agreed that Campbell’s detention was a de facto arrest; however, the court also determined that the evidence was admissible under the attenuation doctrine. After the court denied his motion, Campbell entered into a conditional plea agreement that preserved his right to appeal the denied motion. On appeal, he asked the Supreme Court of the State of Idaho to reject the federal attenuation doctrine because Article I, section 17 of the Idaho Constitution affords him greater protections than the federal standard and is incompatible with Idaho’s more expansive exclusionary rule.The Supreme Court of the State of Idaho affirmed the order of the district court. The court agreed with the district court’s conclusion that the State failed to establish that the use of handcuffs on Campbell was a reasonable precaution for the trooper’s safety. However, the court concluded that while the seizure of Campbell was unreasonable, the inevitable discovery exception to the Fourth Amendment makes suppression improper. The court found that even if handcuffs had never been used, the evidence would have been inevitably discovered whether the trooper had followed either parallel path once the trooper walked into the convenience store. Therefore, the court affirmed the district court’s order denying Campbell’s suppression motion on the alternate theory of inevitable discovery. View "State v. Campbell" on Justia Law

Dale Carter Shackelford was found guilty on six counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, and was sentenced to death for the murder counts and to various terms for the other counts, all to be served concurrently. However, the death sentences were vacated due to a Supreme Court decision, and the case was remanded for resentencing. At the resentencing hearing, Shackelford was given fixed life sentences for the murder counts to be served consecutively, but the court did not address the other counts. The written judgment stated that the murder sentences were to run consecutively with each other and with the sentences for the other counts.Shackelford, representing himself, filed a motion to correct a clerical error in the judgment, arguing that it did not accurately reflect the court's oral pronouncement of sentence because the court did not mention the other counts at the resentencing hearing. He contended that the judgment should be corrected to order that the consecutive sentences for the murder counts run concurrently with the sentences for the other counts. The district court denied Shackelford’s motion, ruling that the written judgment accurately reflected the oral pronouncement of sentence.On appeal, the Supreme Court of the State of Idaho reversed the district court's decision. The Supreme Court held that when there is a difference between the oral pronouncement of sentence and the written judgment, the oral pronouncement controls. The court found that the district court's oral pronouncement at Shackelford’s resentencing was unambiguous as far as the murder counts were concerned, but did not mention the other counts. Therefore, while the murder sentences run consecutively to each other, because the district court did not state that the other counts were to run consecutively to the murder counts, they will run concurrently with the murder counts. The case was remanded to the district court to correct the judgment to conform to the oral pronouncement of sentence. View "State v. Shackelford" on Justia Law

The case involves Jameel Fakhri Al Muthafar, who was convicted for aggravated assault and attempted strangulation. Al Muthafar argued that the district court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the information after the magistrate allowed hearsay statements at the preliminary hearing over his objection. The statements were made by a nurse during a dual medical and forensic examination. Al Muthafar contended that without these inadmissible statements, there was insufficient probable cause to bind the case over to the district court. He also argued that the district court abused its discretion in sentencing him to a unified sentence of fifteen years, with five years fixed.The district court denied Al Muthafar's motion to dismiss the commitment and information, arguing that the statements fell under the Rule 803(4) hearsay exception because the State failed to establish that the victim's statements were made for the purpose of medical treatment. The case proceeded to a jury trial where both the nurse and the victim testified. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found Al Muthafar guilty of both aggravated assault and attempted strangulation. The district court subsequently sentenced Al Muthafar to fifteen years with the first five years fixed.The Supreme Court of the State of Idaho affirmed the district court's decision. The court held that while the magistrate court erred in admitting the nurse's testimony at the preliminary hearing, Al Muthafar's judgment of conviction should nevertheless be affirmed because he received a fair trial. The court also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by imposing a unified term of fifteen years with five years fixed. View "State v. Al Muthafar" on Justia Law

The defendant, Britian Lee Barr, was charged with eleven counts of sexual exploitation of a child for possessing child pornography. Barr had previously been convicted of felony possession of sexually exploitative material in 2011. On the second day of trial, Barr pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of a child for possessing child pornography and admitted to being a repeat offender. In exchange for his guilty pleas, the other counts were dismissed. Barr was sentenced to five, fifteen-year fixed sentences to run consecutively, resulting in an aggregate seventy-five-year fixed sentence. The consecutive nature of the sentences was mandated by Idaho Code section 19-2520G(3).Barr appealed the sentence, arguing that the district court abused its discretion by failing to perceive that it had discretion to designate indeterminate portions for the mandatory fifteen-year sentences and that it had discretion to order the sentences be served concurrently. The Supreme Court of the State of Idaho affirmed the decision of the district court because Barr had not preserved his arguments for appeal. Barr returned to the district court and filed a Rule 35(a) motion to correct an illegal sentence. Barr argued that the consecutive sentence requirement in Idaho Code section 19-2520G(3) is unconstitutional because it violates the doctrine of separation of powers by usurping the judiciary’s inherent power to determine whether a sentence runs consecutively or concurrently. The district court denied the motion, concluding that the legislature is empowered to designate mandatory consecutive sentences under the plain language of Article V, section 13 of the Idaho Constitution. Barr timely appealed.The Supreme Court of the State of Idaho held that determining whether a sentence is to be served consecutively or concurrently is not a power reserved exclusively to the judiciary. As a result, section 19-2520G(3) does not violate the separation of powers provision of the Idaho Constitution. The court affirmed the district court's decision denying Barr's Rule 35(a) motion. View "State v. Barr" on Justia Law

In June 2016, Peter Franklin Goullette was driving with his child in the backseat when he struck and killed Kathy Stelzer and severely injured Zualita Updike, who were walking on the road. Goullette admitted to officers that he was attempting to buckle his son back in when he struck the victims. He was charged with vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving. Goullette entered a guilty plea while maintaining his innocence, known as an Alford plea. He later appealed his conviction, arguing that the district court abused its discretion when it accepted his guilty plea because it failed to inquire into the factual basis of his guilty plea.The case was first heard in the District Court of the First Judicial District of the State of Idaho, Bonner County, where Goullette was convicted. He then appealed to the Idaho Court of Appeals, which affirmed his conviction. Goullette subsequently filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court of the State of Idaho.The Supreme Court of the State of Idaho affirmed Goullette's conviction. The court held that the district court did not err in accepting Goullette’s Alford plea because the record as a whole demonstrated that Goullette entered a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent plea. The court also held that the district court did not err by failing to revisit the validity of Goullette’s plea at sentencing because the district court was not presented with evidence raising an obvious doubt as to Goullette’s guilt. View "State v. Goullette" on Justia Law

In July 2018, Heather Lee Hawking rented a room at a Super 8 hotel in Boise, Idaho, where she housed approximately fifty cats. Over five days, the cats caused extensive damage to the room. Hawking was subsequently charged with and convicted of misdemeanor malicious injury to property. After the incident, the hotel was sold to a new owner. Following Hawking's conviction, the magistrate court conducted an evidentiary hearing to determine restitution owed to the victim. Hawking appealed the Order for Restitution and Judgment.The magistrate court awarded the new owner of the Super 8 hotel $3,708.40 in restitution, reasoning that the new owner took the property in a damaged condition due to the real estate contract and "stepped into the shoes of the previous owners" through that contract. Hawking appealed this decision to the district court, which affirmed the magistrate court's order. Hawking then appealed to the Idaho Court of Appeals, which also affirmed the district court's decision. Hawking subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court of the State of Idaho for review.The Supreme Court of the State of Idaho reversed the district court's order affirming the magistrate court's restitution award. The court found that the State failed to establish that Super 8 was an entity or an assumed business name of a person or entity, and that Super 8 suffered economic loss or injury as a result of Hawking's criminal conduct. The court concluded that the State's failure to establish these elements was fatal to its restitution claim. The court remanded the case to the district court with instructions to vacate the Order for Restitution and Judgment and remand the matter to the magistrate court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. View "State v. Hawking" on Justia Law