Prosecutor’s Appointment Nixed Judge Says Prosecutor Must Be Resident Of Blaine County

A judge has invalidated the Blaine County Commission’s appointment of Boise lawyer Doug Werth as the county’s new prosecutor.

Fifth District Judge George Granata Jr. of Burley named Blaine County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Doug Nelson on Thursday to act as special prosecutor until commissioners can appoint someone else.

Granata’s ruling came in response to a civil lawsuit from former prosecutor Fritz Haemmerle, who resigned last month, aimed at stopping commissioners from appointing an out-of-county replacement.

The judge said Blaine County commissioners did not comply with legal procedures in appointing Werth, who has been working for the state attorney general’s office.

The prosecutor must be a Blaine County resident, Granata said, and commissioners should have waited to receive Haemmerle’s resignation before appointing his successor.

Haemmerle notified commissioners in early August that he would be resigning to work on the Snake River Basin Adjudication, and commissioners began looking for his replacement immediately rather than waiting for him to formally step down.

Blaine County Commissioner Tom Blanchard has said Werth was the most qualified of the three applicants for the position. And Werth’s lawyers argued that he had every intention of becoming a county resident.

But Granata ruled that Werth must establish residency by living in the county for 30 days.