It would be interesting to see whether Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas would take a “do-over” if he could live his last two years again.

Would he have retired from office after his fourth term ended in January 2004 or continued, knowing that his fifth term would be marred by controversy and scandal? If he had quit after 16 years in office, he would be known as a solid prosecutor who kept the local justice system operating. Today, instead, he’s viewed as an enabler or out-of-touch boss of an office in disarray who divides his time battling office and personal controversies as well as crime.

Now, the Idaho Court of Appeals has added to Douglas’ woes by overturning an aggravated assault conviction, with Judge Pro Tem Alan Schwartzman describing the case as “yet another in a long line or pattern of repetitious misconduct” by the county prosecutor’s office. Schwartzman went on to say that the prosecutor’s office had a “less than enviable track record,” citing seven other Kootenai County cases as examples of alleged misconduct in the courtroom.

Douglas’ last two years can be summed up in subtitles: Courtroom misconduct. Sexual harassment claims against his Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rick Baughman. Chief deputy prosecutor, office staff and sheriff’s personnel swap obscene e-mails. Chief deputy prosecutor resigns after investigation into sexual harassment allegations. Idaho Supreme Court to decide if the 1,066 e-mails swapped between Douglas and former subordinate Marina Kalani are public or private.

In almost all the controversies, Douglas resisted public efforts to disclose e-mails or investigation findings.

The reputation of the Kootenai County prosecutor’s office has been damaged beyond repair by the controversies. As long as Douglas continues as the elected office administrator, it won’t recover. Douglas should have resigned when Baughman’s illicit e-mail scandal overwhelmed the office. He was responsible for promoting Baughman and for modeling questionable conduct with his own e-mail controversy. Now, he must accept responsibility for courtroom shortcomings by his office that prompted the appeals court to overturn the 2004 conviction of a man who allegedly threatened a woman with a pickax.

Again, it’s time for Douglas to go.

Douglas set the tone for his office’s struggles two years ago when his personal e-mail correspondence with Kalani was uncovered by reporters investigating the strange demise of Kalani’s youth drug court program. After a preliminary release of heavily redacted e-mails hinted at a romantic relationship between them, Douglas and Kalani fought attempts to release the rest. Kalani continues to fight further disclosure, citing privacy reasons.

The matter will be decided by the Idaho Supreme Court this spring.

Douglas viewed the controversy involving the illicit Baughman e-mails as an annoyance, while Sheriff Rocky Watson took immediate steps to prevent his office from misusing county e-mail again. Douglas “respectfully disagreed” with the court’s opinion that his office has a problem with courtroom misconduct. He continues to ignore signs that his office is in trouble. He has lost touch.