Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Johnson can challenge murder convictions

Judge rules attorneys at fault for filing original appeal too late


By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

Sarah M. Johnson has been granted the right to re-appeal her murder convictions to the Idaho Supreme Court.

Fifth District Court Judge Barry Wood ruled last week that Johnson's trial attorneys, Bob Pangburn and Mark Rader, were at fault for filing her original appeal to the Supreme Court after the legally mandated deadline.

"In this case there is strong and direct evidence that Johnson, who is incarcerated, requested her trial counsel to appeal, and they affirmatively assured her that they would," Wood wrote in his ruling.

Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Thomas, who led the state's case that convicted Johnson, took the decision in stride.

"We were not surprised by the judge's ruling," Thomas said. "It puts the defendant back into a position she should have been in the first place, so it seems to be a fair resolution."

Johnson, 19, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in March 2005 for the shooting deaths of her parents, Alan and Diane Johnson, at the couple's home in Bellevue on Sept. 2, 2003. She is serving two life sentences at the Pocatello Women's Correction Center.

Johnson's original appeal of the murder convictions was dismissed in April by the state high court, which determined it was filed too late.

She filed a motion on April 19 requesting that her appeal rights be reinstated. At the same time, she filed a petition for post-conviction relief that asked for a new trial on the grounds that she was denied due process of law and that she had ineffective legal counsel during her trial.

In his ruling, Wood also granted Johnson's request that proceedings on her post-conviction relief petition be suspended until after the Supreme Court has made a decision on her appeal.

At a court hearing in Hailey on June 6, Justin Whatcott, a deputy attorney for the Idaho Attorney General's Office, argued that Johnson's appeal motion and her petition for post-conviction relief were inseparable from a legal standpoint and should be heard together. The attorney general's office was appointed earlier as special prosecutor in the Johnson case.

Wood ruled, however, that linking the two issues would unnecessarily complicate the case and could cause unnecessary expense to Blaine County, since Johnson's post-conviction relief arguments could be affected by the Supreme Court decision on her appeal.

Wood also denied a request from Ketchum attorney Stephen Thompson, who the court appointed in April to represent Johnson, to withdraw from the case. Thompson contended he was not qualified to handle the case.

However, Wood appointed the State Appellate Public Defenders Office to represent Johnson on her appeal.

Attorney General spokesman Bob Cooper said the office is still reviewing Wood's rulings. He further pointed out that "the decision seems to put the case on the same track it would have followed had the appeal been filed timely."

As a matter of procedure, the court will re-enter a Judgment of Conviction legal document against Johnson. After the document is filed, Johnson, through the State Appellate Public Defenders Office, will have 42 days to file her appeal.




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