Judge’s Decision To Step Down Ok’d

Seventh District Judge James Herndon has rejected a defense attorney’s appeal of Magistrate James Martsch’s decision to step down from hearing a kidnapping case involving a Shelley, Idaho, woman.

Herndon said judges have the legal right to step aside from a case without stating a reason.

Martsch reluctantly withdrew from the case of Cheryl Hesse, who is charged with abducting a Fort Hall toddler from a Blackfoot park almost a year ago, after Bingham County Deputy Prosecutor Carter Mackley sought to have him disqualified for bias.

Mackley said the magistrate was biased because he had heard the case before and had dismissed charges against Hesse.

Two weeks ago, an angry Martsch accused Mackley of “judge shopping,” denied he was biased and refused to disqualify himself, but then said he would involuntarily step down from the case.

Defense attorney Scott Hansen immediately filed an appeal and sought to have Martsch reinstated.

Herndon said at Monday’s hearing on that appeal that he strongly opposes judge shopping.

“Was this judge shopping? It doesn’t appear to me that it was,” Herndon said. “But if it was judge shopping, that is not the type of procedure this court will tolerate.”

The case has been reassigned to Magistrate Charles Roos, but no date has been set for a preliminary hearing.