No public defender, no trial in Boise County

It has been almost a year and a half since an SUV carrying Centennial High track athletes and their coach was hit by a driver prosecutors say lost control of his truck and trailer on rain-slickened Idaho 55.

The force of the impact killed 17-year-old Steven Thompson, injured the two other teens, and put the coach, Glen Mabey, in intensive care.

The driver of the pickup, Ryan K. Howard, 38, was eventually charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. His jury trial was set to begin Tuesday, but that has been delayed indefinitely - because Boise County does not have a public defender.

Boise attorney Rob Chastain had been providing the service for the rural county for more than a decade when he resigned Sept. 30.

Fourth District Magistrate Roger Cockerille vacated Howard's trial and a handful of others so "the new public defender wouldn't be swamped with a bunch of cases he hasn't seen," Chastain said Monday.

The U.S. Constitution requires that everyone charged with a crime have access to an attorney, and Idaho counties provide them to people who can't afford to hire one. Chastain is still providing the basic service until a new public defender can be hired.

But the vacancy has delayed about four jury trials, Boise County Clerk of Courts Constance Swearingen said.

Boise County officials put out a request through the Idaho State Bar early this month, and 11 candidates have applied for the job.

A committee appointed by 4th District Administrative Judge Darla Williamson and Cockerille will whittle that list down to three candidates. The Boise County commissioners hope to choose from the three finalists by the end of the month, Swearingen said.

Chastain was paid $3,000 a month - plus travel expenses - to handle public defender work for the county, which averages about 200 to 250 cases each year that require the services of a public defender, Swearingen said.

But Chastain said he decided to quit when his contract ran out because the job did not quite pay enough to cover the work and time.

"There are no hard feelings - there are great people up in Boise County. It got to the point where the (compensation) just wasn't enough to cover my time," Chastain said.

PROSECUTORS BLAME INATTENTION FOR CRASH

Mabey and the students were headed to Stanley to scout out camping spots for a running camp when Howard lost control of his Dodge Durango pickup on Idaho 55.

As he rounded a curve at about 11:50 a.m. July 22, 2008, the trailer jackknifed and the vehicle went into the northbound lane, hitting Mabey's Subaru SUV.

Boise County prosecutors say Howard was responsible for the death of Thompson and the injuries of Mabey, Austin Stallings, 19, and Michael Dobkins, 17.

Mabey awoke about a week later to find himself hospitalized with a shattered arm, brain injuries that robbed him of his short-term memory, no spleen, problems with stamina and endurance, and a feeling of disbelief that one of his athletes was dead.

Both Stallings and Dobkins were hospitalized but had recovered enough by fall 2008 to run cross country.

Mabey has since recovered and is back to teaching science full time at Centennial and helping coach the cross country team.

Former Boise County Prosecutor Tim Flemming said in January he decided to charge Howard with misdemeanor manslaughter because the evidence did not show "gross negligence," which would have been required for charging him with a felony.

But the police reports indicated that careless and inattentive driving and a speed too fast for conditions led to the crash, Flemming said.

If convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, Howard could be sent to jail for up to a year and pay up to $2,000 in fines.

He is on probation for 10 years after pleading guilty to an unrelated felony DUI charge from September 2008 in Valley County.

Idaho State Police investigators say alcohol was not a factor in the Boise County crash.

Howard waived his right to a speedy trial Sept. 30 and a new trial date has yet to be set.

Patrick Orr: 373-6619