Blog Fodder

Nothing of real nutritional value this week.








The Court of Appeals issued two opinions. The first, State v. Livas, http://www.isc.idaho.gov/opinions/Livas,%20Gilbert.pdf, holds that the trial court's need to resolve a motion to reconsider the denial of a motion to suppress may be good cause to extend a trial date past the statutory speedy trial time. I wonder if this case should apply to a regular timely pre-trial motion, which one presumes the Legislature anticipated when setting the six month speedy trial time, since the motion here was one to reconsider.

The second, State v. Sanchez, http://www.isc.idaho.gov/opinions/Sanchez-I-opn.pdf, affirms an aggravated first-degree murder conviction. The COA holds that the recorded calls from the jail and the 911 call were not testimonial evidence and therefore not covered by the Confrontation Clause. The Court also applies the unwritten rule that admission of gory photographs (in this case hospital and autopsy photos) in a murder case is never error.

Finally, Senator Crapo responded to my letter about funding the John R. Justice Act (See May 15th blog): "As a fellow attorney, I understand the necessity to attract intelligent, talented graduates to serve the state of Idaho as public defenders. . . . As a member of the Senate Budget committee, please rest assured I will continue to work within the very tight budget restraints we now face to support Idaho's funding priorities." I'm glad to see he supports the funding the Act, but the reference to "very tight budget restraints" suggests his support is tepid.

Have a good weekend and check on Monday for a Memorial Day poem.