Aryan Nations Aryans Get ‘Levelheaded’ Judge Hosack Won’T Be Affected By Attention, Colleagues Say

Part 2 of 4

Don’t expect a truckload of excitement from Charles Weeks Hosack, 1st District judge.

Colleagues describe the man - who will preside over next week’s civil trial aiming to bankrupt the Aryan Nations - as a hard-working, get-what-you-see type of judge who avoids attention.

“I wouldn’t say he’s shy. He’s reticent,” former law partner Sid Smith said of Hosack, who declined to be interviewed for this story. “He’s not a guy who will toot his own horn.”

Those traits likely will serve him well next week when the national media descend on Coeur d’Alene, eager to cover anything concerning the trial, including its judge.

“He is so levelheaded that (media attention) wouldn’t even show on him,” Smith said. “But I’ll say this: He’ll run a firm court.”

Hosack, 54, will preside over the trial in which the jury will be asked to give monetary awards to a mother and her son whose car was riddled with bullets in 1998 after it reportedly had backfired outside the Aryan Nations compound north of Hayden Lake.

Noted civil rights attorney Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, is representing Victoria Keenan and her son, Jason.

Dees has said that he is seeking a jury decision that will bankrupt the Aryan Nations and its leader, 82-year-old Richard Butler.

Area law enforcement officials have braced for the worst. They are screening all packages received by the county and are prohibiting anyone from carrying electronics into the Kootenai County Justice Building.

The Aryans, also apparently concerned about security, picked up a map last week showing all of the buildings and parking lots around the courthouse campus.

But none of that activity should change how Hosack guides the trial, Smith said.

“All I know is that he will handle it well,” Smith said.

Hosack has a wiry build and intense eyes. His furrowed forehead is topped by thinning black hair and gray sideburns. A salt-and-pepper mustache gives him a look that would fit perfectly beneath a cowboy hat.

He speaks with a soft, flat voice and is quick to challenge attorneys with questions.

The son of a University of Idaho political science professor, Hosack spent 25 years as a lawyer, handling mostly personal-injury civil cases. The North Idaho native graduated from the University of Oregon in 1968. He earned his law degree from the University of Colorado and was admitted to the bar in 1972.

Hosack first worked in private practice in Boise before moving north and joining Sid Smith, whose term as the U.S. Attorney for Idaho ended in 1976.

In 1985, Smith and Hosack joined the Coeur d’Alene office of the law firm of Lukins & Annis. Hosack worked there until he was appointed to the bench in October 1997 by former Gov. Phil Batt, a Republican.

That appointment was somewhat of a surprise; Hosack’s father, the late Robert Hosack, served from 1975 to 1978 as a Democratic Representative from Moscow.

“I didn’t try to consider politics. I did try to consider their philosophical views,” Batt said of selecting Hosack in 1997. “I thought Hosack was the best candidate.

“He was quite a modest person and rather reticent,” said Batt, who interviewed Hosack before selecting him. “He seemed that he had enough self-confidence to do the job. I also remember that his colleagues spoke very highly of him.”

Coeur d’Alene Attorney John Magnuson argued a few cases against Hosack, who for a time was a contract attorney for the City of Coeur d’Alene and the Lakes Highway District.

Hosack successfully defended the city in 1997 after it rescinded a building permit to developer Joe Chapman, who wanted to build a house on the south side of East Lakeshore Drive on Sanders Beach.

Magnuson now has several cases pending before Hosack.

“I’d say he’s fair, even-tempered, matter of fact and business-like,” Magnuson said. “When he was in private practice, he was one of the easiest colleagues to get along with.

“That’s not to say he is different now, but the job is a little more stressful than it used to be,” Magnuson said.

Deputy City Attorney Nancy Stricklin worked on a couple cases with Hosack for the city.

“He was always very nice and accommodating to work with,” Stricklin said. “I highly respected him.”

Hosack hasn’t been a judge long enough to build up a war chest of decisions that could hint at how he might guide the Aryan trial.

On Friday, Hosack ruled in favor of Kootenai County on a challenge to the voter-approved half-cent sales tax increase.

Post Falls Resident Thomas Macy, who filed the suit, still has about 40 days to appeal. The decision is huge because it will determine how residents pay for a $12 million jail expansion.

Last May, Hosack revoked permits from the Sun Meadow Resort near Worley after angry neighbors discovered that the owners, Tom and Linda Janson, were advertising the resort as a nudist colony.

Hosack ruled that all potential uses should have been considered by the county. Last week, the county upheld their previous vote and approved the Sun Meadow Resort.

The Idaho Supreme Court and Court of Appeals have only issued three published opinions on appeals of Hosack’s decisions. All three were upheld.

Paul McCabe, who retired last December as 1st District Judge, worked with Hosack and Smith before taking the bench in 1985.

McCabe said Hosack always worked hard but also took time for the annual Idaho Bar Association golf tournament or the occasional glass of beer after work.

“(Hosack) has a great sense of humor and he doesn’t take himself too seriously,” McCabe said. “He can laugh with you and at himself. He’s just a nice person.”

Hosack explored the idea of becoming a judge with McCabe, he said.

“I thought he would be a good judge,” McCabe said, “and I think that has proven out to be true.”