Drug court official paid settlement

The administrator of Kootenai County’s failed juvenile drug court received a $69,150 settlement payment just two days after resigning.

The county’s insurance provider, funded from a pool of taxpayer money, paid Marina Kalani on March 23 for a claim having to do with “errors/omissions.” The insurance company’s attorney defined those types of claims as “employment mistakes.”

The reason for the settlement wasn’t disclosed by the insurer, and Kalani declined to comment. Two sources, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, verified that Kalani received the $69,150 payment.

Although Kalani refused to comment about the settlement, she spoke openly about how the last two months of her employment with the county were “hostile and certainly difficult.”

Yet she said her boss, Prosecutor Bill Douglas, wasn’t the cause of her difficulties and she never filed a claim against him personally.

Instead, she said, there were philosophical differences with other Juvenile Education and Training Court team members, specifically 1st District Judge Benjamin Simpson and J.T. Taylor, the manager of the juvenile detention center.

Kootenai County Commission Chairman Gus Johnson said the county’s insurer had informed the commission that it entered into a settlement with Kalani. Johnson said the commission wasn’t involved in the negotiation and often doesn’t know specifics about a settlement with a county employee other than the date and the amount.

Johnson added that the commission wouldn’t have any control over a settlement with an employee of another elected official.

JET Court came to an abrupt end Feb. 16 when Simpson quit, saying he had “serious concerns about ongoing personnel problems and legal issues.” The program that prosecutors offered to children in lieu of jail time ended because no other judge would step in.

Taylor blamed Kalani for the failure of JET Court, in which only 12 children out of 44 enrolled graduated. In a Feb. 14 letter to Simpson, Taylor wrote that his issues revolved around the “inappropriate, unprofessional and unethical conduct” of Kalani and that she has “significant character issues and questionable practices.”

Kalani said she never responded to the “scathing” letter because it was a personal attack.

Kalani resigned March 21, the day after the Kootenai County Commission released heavily edited copies of roughly half of the 1,060 e-mail exchanges in the past year between Kalani and Douglas.

The commission asked for the e-mails in an attempt to find out more details about the management and finances of the failed drug court that was paid for with a $498,000 federal grant. The e-mails didn’t reveal any financial problems but Johnson said they did raise concerns about an improper relationship between Douglas and Kalani. That’s why the commission contacted the county’s insurer, Idaho Counties Risk Management Program. The Spokesman-Review has also sued, seeking release of the e-mails.

Both Kalani and Douglas have repeatedly denied accusations of an affair. Kalani said she voluntarily quit after the commission made it clear they no longer wanted to provide money for a revised program that would replace JET Court.

This week, a 2nd District Court judge ruled on a suit by The Spokesman-Review that the e-mails are public record and are not exempt from the Idaho open records law. The judge still must decide if the Idaho Constitution grants public employees an overriding right to privacy, which would exempt the records from disclosure.

Douglas hired Kalani in March 2004. She was the third coordinator to oversee the court since it started in November 2002.

Kalani said she never discussed her job frustrations with the county’s human resources department or with the administrative court judge. She declined to say if these problems were related to the claim.

She said that she did try to talk to Simpson about their disagreements but that he was unreceptive.

Kalani described Douglas as an “exemplary employer” who offered her “direction to get through the difficult time.”

“It was highly stressful and very discouraging,” Kalani said.

Douglas declined to comment and referred all questions to his attorney, who is provided by the county’s insurer. Boise attorney Kirtlan Naylor wasn’t available for comment.