Justia Idaho Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

S Bar Ranch owned approximately 3000 acres of land in rural Elmore County, Idaho. S Bar purchased the land in 2015. There were very few structures on S Bar’s property, save for an airplane hangar that included a five-hundred square-foot apartment. S Bar’s address was listed in Sun Valley, Idaho, and its principal, Chris Stephens, used the property for recreational purposes. Cat Creek Energy, LLC, an Idaho company managed by John Faulkner, owned and managed more than 23,000 acres of land in Elmore County near Anderson Ranch reservoir. Faulkner, on behalf of his other companies, leased land to Cat Creek to develop the project at issue in this dispute. In late 2014 and early 2015, Cat Creek began the process of obtaining conditional use permits (“CUPs”) for a proposed alternative energy development (“the project”) in Elmore County. As initially proposed, the project had five components: a 50,000 acre-foot reservoir with hydroelectric turbines, up to 39 wind turbines, approximately 174,000 photovoltaic solar panels, electrical transmission lines, and an onsite power substation. Cat Creek sought to build the project on approximately 23,000 acres of land that it had leased near Anderson Ranch Reservoir. In 2019, the district court issued a Memorandum Decision and Order, affirming the Board’s decisions with respect to the CUPs. The district court found that S Bar only had standing to challenge the CUPs relating to wind turbines, electric transmission lines, and the on-site substation. The district court also reiterated its prior oral ruling that a 2017 CUP Order was a final agency action and that S Bar’s petition for judicial review of that order was untimely. With regard to the development agreement and a 2018 CUP Amendment, the district court concluded that the Board did not err in a manner specified by Idaho Code section 67-5279 and that S Bar had not shown that its substantial rights had been prejudiced. S Bar appealed, but finding no reversible error in the district court's judgment, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed judgment in favor of Cat Creek. View "S Bar Ranch v. Elmore County" on Justia Law

Cory Campbell appealed his sentence arising from his conviction of two counts of battery with attempt to commit rape. Campbell, who was seventeen at the time, was charged with five felony offenses related to multiple victims: four counts of rape and one count of forcible penetration by use of a foreign object. He was charged as an adult pursuant to Idaho Code section 20-509. Campbell ultimately pleaded guilty to amended charges: two counts of battery with attempt to commit rape, both against the same victim. The district court accepted Campbell’s pleas, and the State dismissed all remaining counts. In accordance with the plea agreement, both sides were free to argue at sentencing and nothing was binding on the court. In determining an appropriate sentence, the district court was permitted to consider not only the crimes perpetrated against the victim of the amended charges, but also the crimes alleged by the victims of the dismissed charges and of additional uncharged offenses. In all, Campbell had ten victims. The district court sentenced Campbell to a twenty-year determinate sentence on Count I and to a twenty-year indeterminate sentence on Count II, sentences to be served consecutively. Finding no reversible error, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed Campbell's sentence. View "Idaho v. Campbell" on Justia Law

Defendant-appellant Desiree Karst appealed a district court’s partial denial of her motion to suppress evidence obtained during a traffic stop. Karst argued on appeal that the police sergeant impermissibly extended the traffic stop when he briefly interrupted his traffic-related investigation to contact dispatch and request a drug-dog unit at the scene. The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision, citing its recent decision in Idaho v. Still, 458 P.3d 220 (Ct. App. 2019). The Idaho Supreme Court granted Karst’s petition for review, overruled Still, reversed the district court’s decision, and remanded for further proceedings. The Supreme Court found that an unlawful extension of a traffic stop occurs when an officer’s detour prolongs, or adds time to, the original purpose for the stop. The Court of Appeals’ decision in Still improperly required “abandonment” of the traffic mission for a stop to become unlawfully extended. Here, the Court found the arresting sergeant indeed impermissibly extended the duration of the traffic stop when he requested the drug- dog unit, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. View "Idaho v. Karst" on Justia Law

Defendant Mark Wilson was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in violation of Idaho Code section 18- 3316. The charge also carried with it a persistent violator sentencing enhancement. In a bifurcated trial, a jury first found Wilson guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm. The jury then found Wilson subject to an enhanced sentence due to his status as a persistent violator. Wilson appealed to the Idaho Court of Appeals, arguing that the State had failed to present sufficient evidence that he had been convicted of at least one previous felony at the time he possessed a firearm. Wilson also argued that the State failed to present sufficient evidence that he had been convicted of two prior felonies (an essential prerequisite of the persistent violator enhancement). The Court of Appeals affirmed Wilson’s convictions. Finding no reversible error, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed Wilson’s convictions. View "Idaho v. Wilson" on Justia Law

Miguel and Janice Aizpitarte sued their neighbors Michael and Laura Minear to quiet title to what they contended was an established easement for an access driveway, and sought a declaratory judgment to recognize their right to an implied easement by prior use. The Aizpitartes also sought injunctive relief enjoining the Minears from blocking access to the drive(10) Wilkins (way. The Aizpitartes moved for summary judgment, which the district court granted. The district court concluded the Aizpitartes had an implied easement by prior use of the driveway crossing the Minear property to the Aizpitarte property. The Minears appealed, arguing the district court erred in granting summary judgment against them because there were genuine issues of material fact in the record. They also argue the scope of the easement recognized by the district court was too broad. Finding no reversible error in the trial court’s grant of summary judgment, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed. View "Aizpitarte v. Minear" on Justia Law

Defendant-appellant Jennifer Olsen contended the application of withheld judgments in Idaho violated Idaho Code section 19-2601 because it caused criminal defendants to be convicted, thereby negating the legal benefits envisioned by the statute. Olsen was charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence, first offense. She entered into a plea agreement with the State, but later asked the magistrate court to not accept her guilty plea and grant her a “true” withheld judgment instead—i.e., one by which no conviction would take place . The magistrate court denied her motion, accepted her guilty plea, and granted her a withheld judgment. As part of the withheld judgment, the magistrate court: placed Olsen on supervised probation for 12 months subject to certain conditions, including: a requirement that she pay a fine and court costs; that her driving privileges be suspended for 180 days; that an interlock system be installed in her car; and that she attend Court Alcohol School and the Victim’s Impact Panel. Olsen appealed the magistrate court’s denial of her request for a “true” withheld judgment, and contented that court’s grant of a withheld judgment was not appropriately applied or effectuated. Finding no reversible error in the magistrate court’s judgment, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed. View "Idaho v. Olsen" on Justia Law

Paul Stonecypher was stopped by law enforcement for vehicle equipment violations while driving through Idaho on a trip from California to Montana. Stonecypher contended his seizure was unlawfully prolonged to allow for a sniff of the vehicle by a drug-detection dog. After review of the trial court record, the Idaho Supreme Court disagreed, finding the extension of the stop was justified by reasonable suspicion of illegal drug activity. View "Idaho v. Stonecypher" on Justia Law

After a 21-year career as a firefighter with the City of Pocatello, Richard Nelson was diagnosed with leukemia. Nelson brought a workers’ compensation claim against the City. The Industrial Commission determined that the City failed to rebut a statutory presumption of causation with substantial and competent evidence. The City appealed, arguing there was substantial evidence to rebut the presumption that Nelson’s cancer was caused by his employment. The City also argued Idaho Code section 72-438(14)(b) unconstitutionally discriminated between the employers of firefighters who had cancer and the employers of other employees who claim to have contracted an occupational disease. After review, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the Industrial Commission. View "Nelson v. City of Pocatello" on Justia Law

In September 2018, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) officers arrested Darren Temple in California as he crossed the border from Mexico into the United States. Temple had been in Mexico for legitimate business purposes, but CBP officers received a positive alert for his name from the National Crime Information Center indicating that Temple was wanted in Idaho on an outstanding warrant for lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor. Prior to his arrest, Temple had filed for a divorce from Jennifer Temple in March 2018. Then, in May 2018, Jennifer’s daughter, J.P., filed a report with the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office alleging that Temple, her then stepfather, had sexually abused her. Though J.P. did not report the sexual abuse to law enforcement for some time, she testified that she had told her best friend, her boyfriend, and her mother, Jennifer, immediately following the last incident of sexual abuse in late November 2014. After encouragement from her therapist, J.P. eventually reported the incident to law enforcement in May 2018. Two days after his CBP arrest, Idaho charged Temple with one count of lewd conduct with a minor under sixteen. Under the case caption and case number of his criminal case, Temple served Jennifer’s divorce attorney with a subpoena duces tecum seeking “any and all documents related to the billing and payment records related to the representation of Jennifer Temple, to include, but not limited to the number of hours worked and the number of hours charged.” Jennifer’s attorney moved to quash the subpoena , arguing the requested records contained attorney-client privileged information and attorney work product. Temple did not respond to the motion to quash his subpoena. The district court granted the motion to quash, concluding the information sought was irrelevant and, alternatively, covered by the attorney-client privilege. Temple appealed the subpoena issue to the Idaho Supreme Court. Finding no reversible error in the decision to quash, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Idaho v. Temple" on Justia Law

This appeal stemmed from a family dispute concerning ownership interests in Nelsen Farms, LLC (“LLC”). The LLC, as originally established, included equal ownership for two of the Nelsen’s sons, Jack S. and Jonathan. However, in 2015, Jack H. Nelsen (“Jack H.”) and Joan Nelsen modified their estate plans and decided to pass their interests in the LLC to Jonathan via an inter vivos transfer, rather than through their wills. In August 2017, members of the LLC held a special meeting, during which the transfer of the membership interest to Jonathan was approved. The next month, Jack S., his wife and son, and Jack S.’s sister Janice Lehman, filed a complaint against Jack H., Joan and Jonathan alleging Jack H. and Joan were incompetent and lacked testamentary capacity to modify their 2015 wills and to make the 2017 inter vivos conveyance. Appellants also alleged Jonathan unduly influenced Jack H. and Joan to obtain the estate modification. Appellants amended their complaint in October 2017, adding a claim for dissolution of the LLC. The district court ultimately granted summary judgment to Respondents and dismissed all of Appellants’ claims. After review, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the district court in all respects save one: dissolution of the LLC. To this, the Court held that when the district court granted dissolution on summary judgment, Jack S. was ipso facto deprived of his membership interest and relegated to the status of economic interest holder, without the right to petition for dissolution since, under the statute, only members could do so. Jack S. was reinstated as a member of the LLC, and had the right to seek dissolution upon remand. View "Nelsen v. Nelsen" on Justia Law