Caribou County Prosecuting Attorney in Court

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Story Published: Jun 4, 2008 at 6:38 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 20, 2008 at 10:09 PM MDT

By Wes Horrocks

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The trial for Caribou County Prosecuting Attorney, S. Criss James, got underway this morning in Soda Springs. You may recall James has been charged with several counts of felony misuse of public money.

And today prosecutors began the trial by telling jurors how unusual this is. They say it's not often a Prosecuting Attorney is charged with a crime, but it's important that the law applies to everyone. Prosecutor Stephen Bywater added, "This is not a case about Mr. James being a bad person."

From June 2006 until May 2007 prosecutors say James accepted money in exchange for dismissing citations. During that time they say he deposited about $2,600 into a personal account. "These laws that it is alleged Mr. James has broken are every bit as essential to the integrity of our justice system as are the laws that prohibit violent crime," said Bywater.

James says the bank account is for the Caribou County Fair and annual 5K run. In fact, witnesses testified that James told them to send a check or money order made out to the fair, and once James received the money he would move to dismiss citations against them.

Soda Springs attorney James Aldrich says he helped several clients strike a deal with James. "The driver's could either admit or deny. And if they deny then they can go to trial, or they can go through an attorney like myself and try to get a negotiated settlement," said Aldrich. He added that if he knew James was putting the money into a personal account that he would not have counseled clients to accept the deal.

In a previous hearing James' attorney has argued that while his client did receive the money, what he did is not a crime. Now we've just learned that the state has just finished up their case, and starting tomorrow morning it will be the defense's turn to present their side of the story.

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