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Many states allow a jury in a criminal trial to return a verdict of “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.”  The law in Kootenai County and elsewhere in Idaho does not allow a complete insanity defense. Idaho statute 18-207 specifically states that a “mental condition shall not be a defense to any c...

The fact that a lawsuit has been filed in Kootenai County, or elsewhere in Idaho, usually means that attempts at settlement have been fruitless. Nevertheless, the settlement option will continue to reappear during the course of the pretrial process, and even during trial. Sometimes a lawsuit is ...

When working with an attorney to prepare a Will, most people will spend a great deal of time thinking about which family members they wish to leave their property to, but very little time thinking about who will be the Personal Representative of their estate upon their death. In Kootenai County ...

The general statute of limitations for negligence cases in Idaho is two years, as of this writing (May, 2020). This is the statute of limitations that would apply to car accidents, slip and fall cases, negligent supervision of children, and many other types of injuries that result from the carele...

One of the most tragic scenarios that can arise in serious motor vehicle collisions in Kootenai County and elsewhere in Idaho, is where the insurance policy of the at-fault driver is too small to cover the damages of the injured Plaintiff. At the time of this writing (May, 2020), Idaho law only ...

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, will Kootenai County and other Idaho counties see a flood of litigation stemming from physical or economic harm caused by the virus? In the case of Archer v. Carnival Corporation et al, filed in the Northern District of California, passengers of the cruise s...

Prior to 1954, lawsuits generally were commenced, and then went to trial some months later, without a lot of interaction between the attorneys. The problem with this format is that it led to “trial by ambush.” That is, the attorneys on both sides of the case really didn't know what the opposing s...

Drivers in Kootenai County and elsewhere in Idaho can be prosecuted if they drive while legally impaired, either from alcohol or drugs (even drugs prescribed by a physician). With regard to alcohol, there is a specific Idaho statute which makes it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level bloo...

When an employer hires a new employee, it is often customary to require an important or key employee to sign a non-competition clause. These clauses take many forms, but they are generally designed to prevent the employee from leaving the firm and starting a competing firm, and utilizing the skil...

A prudent person or married couple will go to an attorney to have a Will drafted so that their property goes to the people they intend after their death. However, it is very common for people to postpone having a Will drafted because the subject of death is naturally unpleasant. It is therefore c...

Patients in Kootenai County who have sustained a head injury in a car crash or other accident are often diagnosed with having sustained a “mild traumatic brain injury.” This diagnoses may exist even in the absence of any break in the skull (sometimes called a ‘closed head injury'). However this ...

Consider the following hypothetical. An employer hears an employee coughing and looking a bit run down. Fearing that the employee will infect the entire work force with Covid-19, the employer terminates the employee. Does the employee have a case against the employer? We must start this inquiry ...