Orphan To Get His Day In Court But Lawsuit Against Arrasmith Moved To Boise
Joshua Bingham will have his day in court - but not in Kootenai County.
First District Judge Gary Haman ruled Thursday that attorneys representing the teenage son of Ron and Luella Bingham filed his wrongful death suit against convicted killer Ken Arrasmith in the wrong county.
Haman ordered the case moved to Ada County where Arrasmith is serving a life sentence for killing Ron and Luella Bingham.
State law requires the lawsuit to be filed in the county where the defendant lives.
Joshua Bingham’s attorney, Harvey Richman, had argued that Washington state should be considered Arrasmith’s residence because he was living in Sunnyside before turning himself in to police in Clarkston. His cell in a maximum security prison in Boise should not be considered Arrasmith’s home because he is not there by choice, Richman said.
Civil suits can be filed anywhere in Idaho if the defendant lives outside the state.
Arrasmith testified Thursday that he was carrying an Idaho driver’s license when he was arrested and lived in Lewiston.
Arrasmith, who is representing himself, asked Haman to dismiss the case because it had been filed in the wrong jurisdiction.
“The only thing that has anything to do with Kootenai County is the plaintiff attorney’s law practice,” Arrasmith said.
Arrasmith was convicted of shooting the Binghams to death in a Lewiston auto body shop. He shot Ron Bingham 23 times and Luella Bingham seven times after he was told the couple had raped and abused his teenage daughter.
Arrasmith has filed a countersuit claiming Rilla Smith, Luella Bingham’s mother, and Joshua Bingham should have protected Arrasmith’s daughter.
Last month, Arrasmith filed a federal lawsuit against former Nez Perce County Sheriff Ron Koeper, former Capt. Scott Whitcomb and Sgt. Jim Colvin, plus Cliff Whitcomb, son of the captain, for allegedly violating his constitutional rights. He contends the men failed to include information in police reports about two guns found in the body shop.
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