Court Systems
Tiffany M. Jones
Survey of Justice and Security/AJS 502
August 31, 2011
Richard S. Teresi Sr.
Court Systems
The criminal court system in the United States of America is very important today. Without it, there would be no justice for anyone. With the help of local, state, and federal courts around the country, criminals are tried, convicted and sentenced to jail or prison for crimes they have committed. However, there are those cases in which criminals are acquitted of crimes and are set free due to outstanding arguments by defense attorneys, sympathetic juries or technicalities that allow for dismissal of a case and the freedom of a criminal. In the case of State of Idaho vs. James D. Anderson, found guilty of second degree murder under Idaho Code §§ 18-4001, 18-4003, 18-4004, the District Court of the First Judicial District, State of Idaho, Bonner County, with the Honorable Steven C. Verby, District Judge has vacated the unified twenty-year sentence with a ten-year determinate term for second degree murder and has sent the case back for resentencing. The State Appellate Public Defender for the defendant is Molly J. Huskey. The Deputy Appellate Public Defender for the defendant James D. Anderson is Justin M. Curtis. The Attorney General is the Honorable Lawrence G. Wasden. The Deputy Attorney General for the State of Idaho, located in Boise is Elizabeth A. Koecheritz. The defendant filed a motion for a reduction in his sentence which the district court of Idaho denied. The district court contended that under Idaho Code Section 18-4004, “requires a minimum of ten (10) years fixed” and “[t]he court does not have the authority to reduce the fixed portion of Mr. Anderson’s sentence” (Idaho Code Section 18-4004). The defendant appeals this motion and believes his sentence is excessive and that the district court “abused its discretion in denying the motion” because the district court misinterpreted Idaho Code section 18-4004....