Legal Question in Personal Injury in Idaho

My sister-in-law's baby died from injuries sustained at daycare. The daycare owner confessed and later pled not guilty and later tried to enter and Alfred Plea. The judge rejected her plea and set a date for a jury trial. Now the county prosecuter said they canceled the trial because he said the county doesn't have enough money to try the case. I guess they have decided to do nothing to this woman because she moved and is broke and the prosecuter thinks that is enough punishment for someone that killed a baby. Is this legal? If an adult killed another adult by shaking them to death I don't think this would be such a problem. What should my sister-in-law do next?


Asked on 8/18/10, 8:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Russell L Johnson Johnson and Lundgreen, PC

There are actually two different issues. The first is the criminal aspect of the case. The prosecutor gets to decide what to do on that part of the case. It doesn't sound right with what you have described, and it is possible there are some victim's rights involved that may not have been followed, but the remedy on the criminal side is pretty limited, because the prosecutor has discretion to prosecute or not.

On the other side, she has a wrongful death case, potentially. That is her case, and it doesn't matter too much what happens on the criminal side. If there is insurance, (for the daycare) it is a much easier case to pursue to the end, but there may be some other avenues to pursue as well. I would be happy to discuss the case with her further if she wants to get some more particular advice and discuss the particular facts of the case and what would be involved. My number is (208) 376-5256, or my e-mail is [email protected]. I'm sorry for her loss, that must be a really tough thing to go through.

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Answered on 8/23/10, 9:50 am


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