Jury Chosen In Timber-Equipment Trial Activists Accused Of Vandalism In Civil Case

An attorney for activists accused of damaging road-building equipment in the Nez Perce National Forest has questioned whether an impartial jury could be chosen in Idaho County.

But, after nearly six hours of questioning a pool of about 100 people Tuesday, lawyers in the civil trial were able to agree on a panel of 12.

Highland Enterprises owner Don Blewett is seeking damages for the June 1993 vandalism of his heavy equipment as it was parked on the Noble Creek timber sale road, the second of eight sales in the Cove-Mallard area.

No criminal charges were filed in the case, but a number of activists were camped near the Noble Creek site and had vowed to do whatever they could to stop the project.

Attorney Bernard Zaleha of Boise expressed dissatisfaction with the number of times he could challenge potential jurors.

Each side was allowed four preemptory challenges, which allow lawyers to reject a person without giving a reason.

Zaleha said he would have liked eight considering that Idaho County “is timber country” and the case touches on the economic livelihood of a lot of people there.

“Both sides have been able to get a fair and impartial jury in this case,” 2nd District Judge George R. Reinhardt replied. Although some jurors acknowledged having ties to the Forest Service or the timber industry, all said they thought they could judge the case fairly.

During pretrial motions, Timothy Fleming of the University of Idaho College of Law asked Reinhardt to prohibit attorney Ron Blewett from referring to any of the defendants during his opening statements as ‘Earth First!ers.” Blewett is Don Blewett’s brother.

Earth First! has become a catchall term for resorting to “ecoterrorism” to protect the environment.

Blewett countered not being able to call the defendants Earth First!ers would handicap his case. But he agreed with Reinhardt’s suggestion he refer to them by name whenever possible.