Otter Bypasses Women, North Idahoan to Pick Judge

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Gov. Butch Otter today appointed 4th District Judge Joel Horton to fill the Idaho Supreme Court vacancy left when Justice Linda Copple Trout stepped down Aug. 31. “It was a close and difficult call earlier this summer when I appointed Warren Jones to succeed Justice Gerald Schroeder on the Supreme Court. I was very pleased when the Judicial Council decided to advance Judge Horton’s name to me for this vacancy as well,” Otter said. “His insightful legal scholarship, keen intelligence, integrity and independence will make him a great asset to the court.” Horton, 47, is a Nampa native with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a law degree from the University of Idaho. He will serve the remainder of Trout’s term, which expires in January 2009, and will stand for election in May 2008/ Idaho Statesman .

DFO: Otter blew it. Symbolically, Idaho should have a woman on the high court, unless, of course, Joel Horton is head and shoulders above the two female finalists. If that be the case, I doubt that he’s head and shoulders above respected Coeur d’Alene attorney Ken Howard, who was the other finalist and a significant figure in the civil prosecution that brought down the Aryan Nations. A North Idaho representative on the high court would have been nice. I find solace in the fact that Horton is a UI grad.