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Judge: Evidence lacking in hate crime case

Brothers Ira Tankovich, left, William Tankovich, center, and Frank Tankovich are charged with malicious harassment. The brothers are accused of harassing a man because of his ethnicity in August 2009. (Photo Dep / Courtesy of Kootenai County Sheriff's Office)
By D.F. Oliveria daveo@spokesman.com(509) 319-0354

The judge on a Coeur d’Alene hate crime trial said Thursday that if he were ruling on the case instead of a jury, he would find that insufficient evidence existed for conviction.

Kootenai County 1st District Judge John Luster made the comment while denying a defense motion to dismiss the case against three brothers accused of racially harassing a Hispanic man in August.

Deputy Prosecutor Art Verharen expressed concern that the judge’s personal opinion would be reported by the media. Alison Boggs, SR

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* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Huckleberries Online." Read all stories from this blog