Doctor's lawyer
pulls house arrest request
Byline: C.G.
Wallace
Published:
09/20/96
LaVar Withers' attorney Thursday
dropped a request for the retired doctor to spend the remainder of his 30-day
jail sentence in house arrest.
It is Dr. Withers' wish that he withdraw the motion," attorney Fred Hoopes
said during the Thursday motion hearing. His client was not present for the
hearing, remaining in his Madison County Jail cell.
Hoopes said the original motion for the house arrest was filed out of the
family's concern for Withers.
After the hearing, one of about 20 victims and their family members at the
hearing said maybe Withers came to his senses.
I suspect they just they just recognized the futility of it," concluded
Jack Egbert of Sugar City, who says his two daughters were fondled by Withers.
He added that he thinks Withers' sentence was light.
I can't believe he only got 30 days," Egbert said. I've seen 'em catch a
salmon in the wrong creek and get more."
On Sept. 9, Withers pleaded to one misdemeanor count of battery for unlawfully
touching numerous female medical patients. That one count spanned 30 years, from
1965 to 1995. It was the result of a plea agreement that the special prosecutor
would drop 16 felony counts of sexual abuse of children in exchange for the
guilty plea to battery.
Withers was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with another 30 to be served at the
court's discretion. He must also complete two years supervised probation, during
which he must serve 10 hours a week of community service.
The motion for Withers to serve his 30-days of jail time in house arrest was
filed on Sept. 13, a day after he began the sentence.
Before that motion was dropped, there was some debate about who was the
prosecutor for the hearing.
The special prosecutor for the case has been Boise attorney Dan Hawkley. But
Hawkley now represents the retired doctor's victims in a civil suit. So a
Jefferson County deputy prosecutor stepped in at the last minute to argue
against the motion.
Fremont Magistrate Keith Walker said he had no written notification of the
change in prosecutors to alert him that Hawkley was off the criminal case.
I think once a prosecutor is on the case, he ought to stay on the case until the
appeal process is over," Judge Walker said.
Hawkley, standing from his seat among the victims, told the judge that Withers
cannot appeal the sentence under the plea agreement and that he considered his
job to be over with the verdict.
Two days after Withers was sentenced, Hawkley filed a civil suit on behalf of
the retired doctor's victims.
Clark, the Jefferson County deputy prosecutor who had originally taken on the
Withers case but declined to prosecute, was appointed Wednesday by the Madison
County Prosecutor and 7th District Court Judge Brent Moss for the motion
hearing.
It's kind of like, what do you do? Everyone else is gone," Clark said after
the hearing. He described his appointment as prosecutor an emergency
situation."
Hawkley stopped in on the hearing on his way to see a client in Driggs, he said.
After the trial, he said it was his understanding that his role in the criminal
proceedings was complete. I guess it was my fault because I just thought I was
done," Hawkley said after the hearing.
Hawkley said he doesn't understand critics who say he should not handle both the
criminal and civil aspect of the case. He said he took the criminal case when
other attorneys said there was not enough evidence.
You can't cross the line between civil and criminal. But the rules allow you to
go from public to private practice," said Hawkley, a private attorney.
I know the case. And if it weren't for the work I did on the case, there
wouldn't be a civil suit," said Hawkley.
He said there is nothing unethical about him taking the civil case and that he
checked with the state bar association, the Madison County Prosecutor, and a 7th
District Court judge before taking the case.
Now Hawkley is reviewing the case to see if other people or entities could be
named in the victims' lawsuit. He said the clinic where Withers worked and
doctors who knew of Withers' reputation could be included in the suit that
currently only names the retired physician.
About 19 of Withers' identified victims attended the hearing.
