FREMONT COUNTY, Idaho — The murder and conspiracy case against Lori Vallow remains on track to proceed to trial, now scheduled for April 3. Judge Steven Boyce on Monday filed a written order denying Vallow's motion to dismiss the case for lack of speedy trial.
Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, are set to be tried jointly on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of Vallow's children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and for Daybell's late wife, Tammy Daybell. The case originated in Fremont County, but the trial will take place in Ada County, with jurors selected from a pool of Ada County residents. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
Under Idaho law, a person facing criminal charges must go to trial within six months from the date of arraignment in district court, which for Vallow was April 19, 2022, unless "good cause" can be shown. Under that standard, her trial would have had to begin by Oct. 19, 2022.
Judge Boyce heard arguments Feb. 9 on Vallow's motion to dismiss. In his written memorandum outlining the reasoning that went into his order, Boyce noted that he had already determined that the state had shown "good cause" to delay Vallow's trial beyond the six-month time frame.
Vallow has been incarcerated since February 2020, when she was arrested in Hawaii on charges that were later superseded by the murder indictment returned in May 2021.
While Daybell has waived his right to a speedy trial, and his defense has moved multiple times to have the trial postponed and have Daybell's case split from Vallow's, Vallow has never waived her right to a speedy trial.
“On balance, though the court is mindful of the overall length of time Lori has been in custody on charges preceding the indictment, and the potential anxieties or concerns Lori has in a long pre-trial incarceration, the relevant time frame to consider the merits of a motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of a speedy trial cuts against finding an intolerable delay given this exceptionally complex conspiracy case," Boyce wrote. “The delay is, as a whole, minimal given the overall charges and maximum penalties that could be imposed.”
Boyce wrote that Vallow's attorney of record before the murder indictment was returned had already filed a request for the court to order a mental health evaluation in the previous case, which was stayed at the time the indictment came. Idaho law, Boyce wrote, creates an exception "when a defendant's trial is postponed by their own application." Boyce wrote that the delay for evaluating Vallow's competency and for restorative treatment was not attributable to the prosecution's handling of the case.
The murder case against Vallow was stayed in June 2021, less than a month after the indictment, and Vallow was ordered to a state hospital for restorative treatment. In October 2022, more than five months after her arraignment, Vallow's was again found mentally unfit to proceed, and her case was again stayed, this time until Nov. 15, 2022.
Adding another 13 days for time to determine the statutory time frame for speedy trial, Boyce found that Vallow's six-month statutory right was extended to Nov. 28, 2022, and that beginning the trial on April 3 would amount to a 126-day delay in proceeding to trial.
In his memorandum, Judge Boyce cited the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Barker v. Wingo, a 1972 case that draws distinctions between when delays in trial are allowed and when delays violate the defendant's constitutional rights: Justice Lewis F. Powell, writing for the court in that decision, explained, "The right of a speedy trial is necessarily relative. It secures rights to a defendant. It does not preclude the rights of public justice.”
"Any inquiry into a speedy trial claim necessitates a functional analysis of the right in the particular context of this case," Boyce wrote, again citing Barker v. Wingo.
Judge Boyce looked at interests that "comprise a three-pronged inquiry" in weighing whether a trial delay would prejudice the case against Vallow: to prevent oppressive pretrial incarceration; to minimize anxiety and concerns of the accused; and to limit the possibility that the defense will be impaired.
Of the three, he wrote, the most important point to consider was whether the delay would impair Vallow's ability to adequately prepare the case. Boyce determined "there has been no showing that the currently scheduled trial date in any way would impair the defense."
In addition to his denial of Vallow's motion to dismiss, Judge Boyce has agreed to issue a proposed juror instruction to be reviewed before the trial jury is empaneled. He has also granted a defense motion for "individual voir dire." That relates to questioning and examination of potential jurors during jury selection. The court will issue guidance on the scope of that examination at a later date.
Still on the court calendar for Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell ahead of the April 3 trial are an evidentiary hearing, set for 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, and a pretrial conference, set for 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 23. Both of those court dates are in Fremont County.
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