Prosecuter Payne: “The law can be a very subtle thing.”

Doug Payne, Benewah County prosector, told the House Judiciary Committee that in his view, his county didn’t renege on the deal with the tribe last spring after the Legislature ended. “That was not what occurred in this case,” he said. “I thought the deal was workable.”

But he said the county wasn’t willing to accept the tribe enforcing its civil jurisdiction over things like boating speeds, hunting and fishing on tribal lands, and so forth, through citations. The pending bill doesn’t address that; it deals with criminal law enforcement only. Betsy Russell, EOB

Hmm… “The deal was workable?”