Idaho Supreme Court: Bujak contract was public [The Idaho Statesman, Boise]

Kristin Rodine, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

By Kristin Rodine, The Idaho Statesman, Boise
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Jan. 06--Issuing a decision less than a month after hearing arguments in the case, the Idaho Supreme Court rejected Nampa insurance agent Bob Henry's appeal but agreed with Henry's primary assertion.

Henry filed a lawsuit in early 2010, seeking bank records from former Canyon County Prosecutor John Bujak's contract to use county resources to handle Nampa misdemeanor cases. At the time, the county backed Bujak's claim that the records were private, since the contract was directly between the city of Nampa and Bujak, and the money went into a private trust account that only Bujak could access. A district judge agreed.

By contrast, the high court said the contract and its records were public, not private, though it ruled that state law does not require the county "to turn over records that it had not prepared, owned, used or maintained." The county said it did not have access to the documents until about a year after the lawsuit when the records were released through Bujak's bankruptcy proceeding. As soon as the county got those records, it provided them to Henry.

Bujak resigned Sept. 30, 2010, amid allegations that he owed the county several hundred thousand dollars from the nearly $600,000 annual contract.

The dispute has sparked a wide range of legal wrangling since then, most recently the filing of two felony theft charges against the former prosecutor, alleging that he wrongfully and deceptively took money intended for county coffers and used it for his personal expenses. Bujak denies he owes the county money, saying he was only obligated to use Nampa funds to cover the actual costs of handling Nampa cases. Last week, Bujak entered into an agreement with the Idaho State Bar for interim suspension of his law license while his criminal case continues.

Kristin Rodine: 377-6447