From The Spokesman-Review

BOISE – Idaho’s House and Senate minority caucuses have voted to close their meetings to the public, saying they don’t want Republicans to get a glimpse of their game plan.

“To maximize our effectiveness in the Legislature, we must take the field with every advantage that we can muster,” said House Assistant Minority Leader James Ruchti, D-Pocatello.

Democratic caucuses in both the House and Senate have been open to the public for nearly a decade, while majority Republican caucuses remained closed.

“This change is effective immediately,” Democratic leaders from both houses announced Monday morning in a press release; Democrats from both houses went into a closed-door caucus immediately after issuing the release.

“It was unanimous,” said Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly, D-Boise. “It was a strategic decision.”

Though Idaho’s party caucuses traditionally have met behind closed doors, there’s been little public support for the practice. In 2003, the annual Boise State University Public Policy Survey, a respected statewide poll, found that 76 percent of Idahoans thought all the caucuses should be open, and only 8 percent thought they should remain closed.

Ruchti said, “I think our constituents will certainly weigh in on it, and if they dislike closed caucuses, they’ll have the ability to let us know – they usually do that at the polls.”

Under pressure from media groups and others, the House Minority Caucus opened its meetings to the public in 2001, and the Senate Democratic Caucus opened up in 2002.

The majority caucuses in both houses opted to remain closed, but in 2003 House Republicans adopted a new caucus policy limiting what their caucus can do in closed-door meetings, saying closed sessions will be held only to develop party political policy or to elect party leaders, promising that no legislation will be drafted in closed-door caucuses, and saying that “discussion of any public policy issue, including legislation, shall be for educational and informational purposes only.”

Caucuses are meetings of each party’s members in the House or Senate. Though the state Constitution requires all the business of the Legislature to be conducted in public, party caucus meetings traditionally have been closed.

That’s aroused increasing controversy in the past decade, as the Republican caucus took in such a large majority that it nearly constituted the entire Legislature. In 2001, a major package of tax-cut legislation was crafted in extended closed-door meetings of the Senate Republican Caucus, which at that time held all but three of the seats in the Senate.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, who was House minority leader when the Democrats decided to open the doors, won an open government award in 2001 for her caucus’ decision. But she said Monday that she supports the closure move. “I just think we need a chance to help develop our own policy ourselves – it’s better for our districts,” she said.

Said Ruchti, “What it does for you is it allows you to have disagreements in an environment where you can be comfortable having disagreements. It allows you to explore ideas that are not fully developed. … We’re doing it with the intention of becoming better representatives of our constituents.”

From The Spokesman-Review

From the Idaho Statesman

The legislative minority abandoned its argument that Democrats are the champions of transparency at the Legislature.

Shortly before 11 a.m., a Democratic aide distributed a statement loaded with sports metaphors to reporters, saying the House and Senate caucuses had unanimously voted to close their caucuses.

As the news release was distributed, 18 House Democrats and seven Senate Democrats met behind closed doors in their party’s House caucus room. An Idaho Statesman reporter who opened the door was advised that the meeting was closed.

Democrats opened their meetings in 2001 to emphasize their accountability to the public. They also sought to highlight the fact that the Republican majority’s closed meetings could decide critical issues because of their supermajorities in both houses. Democrats often complained that public business was being decided behind closed doors.

But in April, Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, advocated closing caucuses, saying Democrats were at a disadvantage because the party’s strategy couldn’t be kept quiet.

“Sports coaches don’t allow reporters into their halftime meetings with their teams,” Cronin said last year. “When we’ve got one party playing chess and the other playing by Candyland rules, it seems disadvantageous.”

From the Idaho Statesman

From the Idaho Statesman

A Boise boy has already made his first Juvenile Court appearance in the death of well-known cycling enthusiast Kevin Pavlis. But what happened in the courtroom remains a mystery, since 4th District Juvenile Judge William Harrigfeld is keeping the case sealed from the public.

The sealing means there is no way to know if the teen is fighting the charge of vehicular manslaughter filed by Ada County prosecutors. If convicted of the charge, he could face up to 90 days in a detention center, three years of probation, a loss of driving privileges for up to three years, community service and financial restitution.

Pavlis, 37, of Boise, died after being hit on his bike June 11 by a sport-utility vehicle on Hill Road in Boise’s North End.

Eric Pavlis, Kevin Pavlis’ brother, said he understands why many in the Boise cycling community might be upset with the secrecy surrounding the case. He hopes that someday the court records are unsealed.

“That way, if my brother’s daughter wanted to know more about what happened to her dad, she could find out,” Pavlis said.

Unsealing the records later would be up to Harrigfeld, who was not available for comment Monday.

The first hearing, held sometime after prosecutors said Nov. 6 that the boy would be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, was an admit/deny hearing. That’s when a juvenile suspect admits guilt or decides to fight the charge.

Under Idaho law, only the child, parents, and attorneys are allowed to attend the hearing unless the judge grants special permission to other people who have an interest in the case, such as the family of a victim.

After a plea is entered, juvenile cases are then made open to the public, unless the judge enters a formal order to keep them sealed – as Harrigfeld did.

Boise police reports indicate Pavlis was riding legally in the eastbound bike lane on Hill Road when he was struck. Police say the boy was driving west just before he turned left onto Smith Road, where his vehicle collided with Pavlis. Pavlis died a short time later.

Some members of the Boise cycling community have filled message boards and swapped e-mails questioning the handling of the case.

Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower tried to reassure cycling groups in October that his prosecutors were working closely with Pavlis’ family and that they planned to seek appropriate justice. Prosecutors had said they would tell the public whatever information they could about the case but warned that if a judge sealed it, they couldn’t say anything.

Bower said Monday that while he could not comment on the Pavlis case, “as a matter of policy, we believe juvenile prosecution should be open, and the process transparent.”

A “ghost bike” tribute – a bike painted white and chained to a fence – still sits near the intersection, a reminder to everyone who walks, bikes or drives by.

Kevin Pavlis helped manage Boise’s Idaho Mountain Touring outdoor-recreation store. He spent a lot of his free time with local cycling groups like the Lactic Acid Cycling Race Team.

Survivors include his wife, Elise, and their daughter, Sarma, who is named after Pavlis’ mother. She was 2 when her father died.

From the Idaho Statesman

From the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council

SAN FRANCISCO – The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit, governing body for
federal courts in the western states, has approved, on an experimental basis, the limited
use of cameras in federal district courts within the circuit. The action was announced
today by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit.

The Judicial Council voted unanimously to allow the 15 district courts within the Ninth
Circuit to experiment with the dissemination of video recordings in civil non-jury matters
only. The action amends a 1996 Ninth Circuit policy that had prohibited the taking of
photographs, as well as radio and television coverage, of court proceedings in the district
courts. It also responds to a resolution supporting the use of cameras, which was passed
by judges and lawyers attending the 2007 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.

“We hope that being able to see and hear what transpires in the courtroom will lead to a
better public understanding of our judicial processes and enhanced confidence in the rule
of law. The experiment is designed to help us find the right balance between the public’s
right to access to the courts and the parties’ right to a fair and dignified proceeding,”
Judge Kozinski said.

Cases to be considered for the pilot program will be selected by the chief judge of the
district court in consultation with the chief circuit judge. The participating district courts
will be asked to evaluate their experiences and report to the Council.

The Ninth Circuit takes in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
Oregon, Washington, the U.S. Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands. There are four district courts in California and two in Washington.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has permitted television and radio broadcasting of
oral arguments with approval of the panel hearing the case. Since 1991, the court has
permitted video and audio recordings of oral arguments in approximately 200 cases.
All of its oral arguments are available on its website –
https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/

From the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council

From the Idaho Press-Tribune

CANYON COUNTY — County commissioners will meet with Prosecuting Attorney John Bujak today to discuss open meeting protocol.

“I’ve had some concerns about the way some things have been put on the agendas for the commissioners meeting, and does it comply with the open meeting law,” Bujak told the Idaho Press-Tribune Sunday. “So my office put together an instructional memorandum on how to put things on the agenda for the meeting in compliance with the open meeting laws. We’ll meet (today) to just go over the memorandum and just answer any questions they might have.”

Bujak said this isn’t a case of the commissioners acting improperly in regard to open meeting laws, but rather that it is an opportunity to improve the public’s understanding of how local government works.

“We’re taking another step towards transparency,” Bujak said, noting that already commissioners meetings are recorded and any citizen can request an audio copy. “We just want to make sure to the largest degree possible that people know what county government is doing and can become involved if they want to. To me, that’s when government works best — when constituents get involved.”

Commissioner David Ferdinand said state lawmakers passed a new law last session regarding open meeting laws, “so we’ve been reviewing some of the ways we’ve had items on the calendar,” he said.

“We reviewed all that and made a few changes at (the prosecuting attorney office’s) suggestions, but we wanted to get everybody together (today) and review it.”

From the Idaho Press-Tribune

From the Rexburg Standard Journal

REXBURG — A special prosecutor will investigate the Rexburg mayor and City Council for alleged violations of Idaho’s open meeting laws.

The announcement was made in an official letter from the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office to Maria Nate, who had filed a complaint with the office regarding the Nov. 4 appointment of Mayor Richard Woodland by the Rexburg City Council.

On Wednesday the Prosecutor’s Office submitted a motion for the District Court judge to appoint a special prosecutor who will investigate the matter and make a decision.

There is no word on who the special prosecutor will be or when the investigation will begin.

On Tuesday, Nate met with Madison Chief Deputy Prosecutor Troy Evans to present evidence of the City Council violating Idaho’s open meeting law.

Nate declined to comment on the nature of evidence she presented to prosecutors so as not to tip her hand at this stage of the legal process. She did say that she was informed by Evans that there is sufficient cause to move forward with an investigation.

Evans confirmed Nate’s statement and said that while they have not decided on whether a violation did happen, there is an investigation pending.

“We found sufficient evidence that warrants the next step, which is an investigation,” said Evans.

Evans also declined to disclose the nature of the evidence as it is now a legal case pending investigation. But he did say that three or four people in addition to Nate have come forward and offered evidence regarding the alleged violations.

The Madison County Prosecutor’s Office will not be conducting the investigation to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.

The letter sent to Nate implies that conflicts of interest could be an issue because the Prosecutor’s Office works closely with the Rexburg City Council on many issues, and the Prosecutor’s Office jointly employs a deputy prosecutor with the city of Rexburg.

If the pending investigation finds that members of the City Council did violate Idaho’s open meeting law, they could each be fined up to $500.

NATE SUNDERLAND

nsunderland@uvsj.com

From the Rexburg Standard Journal

From the Idaho Press-Tribune

NAMPA, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Attorney General’s office has told Nampa Classical Academy officials the state won’t back down from pursuing information about the charter school’s possible use of the Bible and other religious texts.

The academy is defying an order from the Idaho Public Charter School Commission to turn over the data. An Arizona-based religious liberty group that is defending the school threatened in a Wednesday letter to sue the commission if it continues to seek the information.

The Alliance Defense Fund said the school doesn’t have to hand over anything because of a federal lawsuit it filed in September against the state concerning the school’s plan to use the Bible.

The group said in the Wednesday letter that it is considering a second lawsuit against the state to determine whether the school is operating within the boundaries of state law.

But deputy attorney general Mike Gilmore told school officials in an e-mail sent Friday that the commission and its program manager, Tamara Baysinger, will continue to seek the information from the school.

“Filing suit in federal court is not a ‘Get Out (of) Jail Free’ card that exempts NCA from oversight for expenditure of tax dollars and from conducting its educational mission in accordance with state law,” Gilmore wrote in the e-mail, which was obtained by the Idaho Press-Tribune.

Charter Commission chairman Bill Goesling also had strong words for school officials, saying that the usage of religious texts would likely lead to the revocation of the school’s charter.

“If they want to use religious texts they need to be a private school,” he said. “Public funds are not available for that.”

Nampa Classical Academy acting board chairman Mike Moffett said he didn’t know if or when the school would begin using religious texts.

The school drew attention last summer when school officials said they planned to use the Bible as a primary source of teaching material, but not to teach religion. The commission told the academy it couldn’t use the Bible as an instructional text.

That led to the lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defense Fund, which argues the school has a right to use religious texts as a part of its curriculum.

The school has since denied the commission a public records request and visit to its southwest Idaho campus.

Commissioners have meanwhile identified several areas of noncompliance with state rules for charter schools and voted to send the academy notices of defect — the first step in a lengthy process that could result in closure.

In its letter to the commission on Wednesday, the Alliance Defense Fund said the commission’s reprimands of the school were “retaliation” for the first lawsuit.

From the Idaho Press-Tribune

From the Coeur d’Alene Press
City must disclose first names of employees

COEUR d’ALENE — First names are a matter of public record, even if they reveal gender, First District Judge Charles Hosack ruled on Friday.

That means Wayne Hoffman will get the full names of every city of Coeur d’Alene employee as part of his public records request.

“Obviously, I’m pleased,” Hoffman said of the court’s decision. “It comes down to the basic right for the public to know how their cities operate.”

Hoffman, executive director for Idaho Freedom Foundation, requested the names and salaries for all of Coeur d’Alene’s 300-plus positions in July — as he’d done with other public entities across the state — for a Web site he said he created to promote transparency in government.

Coeur d’Alene complied with most of the request but only gave the first initial of each employee’s first name.

First names, the city argued, reveal gender, which is not a matter of public record.

Shortly after the city’s denial, Hoffman requested the first names of “gender neutral” first-name employees. The city complied, and provided him several of those.

Unsatisfied, Hoffman motioned for the rest of the records request.

In a 30-minute proceeding Friday, Hosack weighed both arguments, with Hoffman listening in via telephone from Boise, and attorney Michael Haman representing the city.

Although the city’s stance was a “common sense approach” to “conflicting statutes,” Hosack said, it was one that didn’t follow the letter of Idaho law.

“It’s not exactly clear how you would determine gender neutral,” he said. “It seems to me in this day and age what name generates what gender is not as clear as what it used to be. So that’s somewhat a subjective (stance). So that’s difficult.”

According to state statute 9-340C under the Idaho Public Records Law manual, records are reserved for a public servant’s employment history, classification, pay grade, salary and the like. Excluded from the public’s right to know is personnel information relating, but not limited to, info regarding sex, race, marital status, birth date and home address.

“The black and white requirement to disclose the name overrides the black and white requirement to not disclose the gender,” Hosack said. “I can’t figure out a way to allow the city of Coeur d’Alene to apply the test without making it a rule of law — a rule that would then require every other agency to do what the city of Coeur d’Alene is doing.”

Following the decision, City Attorney Mike Gridley said the city would not appeal, and that by allowing the court to decide what should and shouldn’t be allowed as public information with the conflicting codes was the best way to protect the city in the legal confusion.

“We accept the decision,” he said. “Obviously, (Hosack) stated he struggled with it a little bit. We just wanted to get a decision so we’re protected and nobody claims we violated the law.”

Hosack admitted he didn’t see the value of posting full names of city employees on the Web site — www.ouridaho.com — over posting the names and first initials, regardless of Hoffman’s claim it made tracking government employees and their salaries easier.

Haman also argued that information could be used for identity theft, which Hosack also said was plausible.

Still, Hosack said, the law is the law.

“The clear conflict raised by the fact that certain names disclose gender is a very legitimate point, but I don’t really have any way to balance that,” he said. “The Idaho law is pretty clear that the names have to be disclosed.”

Restitution is not sought.

The court will release the files to Hoffman upon his request, which he said he will do.

Hoffman said he’s happy the issue is resolved.

“We don’t want to get in trouble by violating the law that says don’t reveal gender,” Gridley said. “Now the court says, ‘it’s OK for you to do that.'”

From the Coeur d’Alene Press

From The Spokesman-Review’s “Eye on Boise”

When Paul Kjellander, head of the Idaho Office of Energy Resources, briefed a legislative interim committee this morning about the wide-ranging work on options for Idaho’s energy future being done out of his office by the Strategic Energy Alliance, an effort launched by the governor that includes task forces, a board of private industry representatives, and a council that includes state agency heads, Sen. Kate Kelly, D-Boise, said she had a legal concern. The work of the alliance, which was created by an executive order from the governor, is “in a gray area with regard to whether the work is public or private,” she said. That’s why she’s been working with the governor’s office on legislation to codify the entire Idaho Office of Energy Resources, which actually doesn’t exist in state law, but also was created by executive order. Writing the agency into state law would give it the Legislature’s blessing as well, she noted, as well as clarifying that everything it does is subject to the state’s open meeting and public records laws.

“In my view, there’s public policy being created by the Office of Energy Resources through the Strategic Energy Alliance, and in my view, the process should be open and transparent,” Kelly said. “The codification would have that value.” Kelly noted that while the governor’s office has worked with her on the legislation, it’s indicated that this year is not the right time to enact it. Asked to explain that, Kjellander told lawmakers, “There will be a time in the near future, I hope.”

He said the “main concern from the state’s perspective, the Office of Energy Resources in cooperation with the governor’s office,” is that the coming legislative session will be a time when consolidating agencies will be under consideration, and “even the potential discussion of eliminating some agencies. … Those discussions are likely to take place in the hallways across the street,” at the state Capitol. To write Energy Resources into law as a new official state agency at the same time, Kjellander said, “might … just be poor timing.” Kjellander said the executive order that created his office still is in effect, and it can continue operating under it for now. He also pledged to keep its operations “transparent,” saying, “I feel confident that I’ll hear your messages pretty loud. … I think Sen. Kelly communicated her concerns very clearly.”

From The Spokesman-Review’s “Eye on Boise”

Editorial from the Idaho Statesman
The Robert Manwill disappearance became big news – and the Boise Police Department did nothing to discourage it.

The police held frequent and excruciatingly incremental news briefings; several coincided with live local newscasts. The police asked the community to help find clues into the disappearance of the 8-year-old, and 2,300 people turned out.

The unprecedented search effort and the intense public interest will complicate jury selection, if the case of Robert’s murder goes to trial. The rights of the accused must be protected. But this can be done without sealing court documents – a judicial overreach that could embolden police and prosecutors to try to keep other documents out of public view.

Magistrate Judge John Hawley has kept a lid on a key record – a search warrant for the apartment shared by Robert’s mother, Melissa Jenkins, and her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick. Saying the document contains accusatory hearsay statements against the two first-degree murder suspects, Hawley said its release would only make it more difficult to find an impartial jury.

It is a strangely reasoned and highly troubling decision.

Search warrants are presumed to be public records. They have been made public prior to other high-profile local trials. Hawley concedes this point, then proceeds to ignore it.

An open court process ensures accountability and holds police and prosecutors to healthy scrutiny. Again, Hawley concedes the point. “Moreover,” he writes, “given the immense concern and emotion evoked by national publicity and extensive media coverage, the public has a strong interest in making sure that appropriate steps have been taken to investigate and prosecute those responsible for Robert’s death.”

And yet, when it came time to uphold the public’s right to know, Hawley failed. His concern for the suspects’ Sixth Amendment rights is valid. His compromise of the public’s First Amendment rights is not.

Nor is it even necessary. Hawley’s curious ruling seems to dismiss the notion that fair-trial concerns are better addressed through the jury selection process. The Statesman argued this point while seeking the release of the warrant.

We have no doubt that it will require a painstaking and costly effort to find an unbiased jury. We have seen this before. Last year, 325 potential jurors were summoned to Boise for the sentencing of confessed child killer Joseph Duncan III.

The parallels are clear. Another highly and appropriately public search for a missing child has evolved into a highly public murder case. It is impossible for a judge to unring this bell. It remains possible to seat a jury – without sealing documents.

After his July 24 disappearance, Treasure Valley residents got to know the smiling face and short life story of young Robert Manwill. Since Aug. 3, when Robert’s body was found in a canal, they have learned precious little about his slaying. The case has been presented before a grand jury – and is based, to some unknown extent, on records Hawley doesn’t want the public to see. A community that deserves answers is left only with new questions.

“Our View” is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman’s editorial board. To comment on an editorial or suggest a topic, e-mail editorial@idahostatesman.com.

Editorial from the Idaho Statesman