Inside the courtroom, Part 418

By TOM HASSLINGER

    COEUR d’ALENE — The packed courtroom was silent.

    Projected on the wall was video image of Denise Dobslaff, testifying about her vote in the Nov. 3 Coeur d’Alene general election from her couch in British Columbia, Canada, a place she’s lived since 1988.

Jim Brannon’s attorney Starr Kelso wanted her vote considered illegal. City elections have 30-day requirements where one has to live in the city that long before the vote, and Dobslaff said she considered Canada her primary home. She was a landed immigrant, even, and could only leave the country three months every five years.

But defense attorney’s said Dobslaff played by the rules and her vote counts. Married to a Canadian, but hasn’t registered to vote anywhere else, and she one day hopes to return to Coeur d’Alene — legal by federal laws.

Federal vs. municipal was the question for the judge.

The decision would determine if Brannon would be able to find enough illegal votes to overturn the election.

“What’s the benefit of being a landed immigrant?” Kelso asked, hammering away at the point that she had been gone for 20-plus years.

It was nearing the end of the weeklong trial. The courtroom had been contentious at times. The audience waited.

“Basically,” Dobslaff said, “I don’t have to deal with a bunch of political junk that goes on up here in Canada.”

The courtroom roared. Whether intentional or not, Doblsaff’s response was the one-liner of the trial.

But there were some other good ones — ‘zingers,’ as former Press columnist Tyler Wilson calls them — snappy one line jokes that cut the tension at times.

Here’s a rundown on some good ones either spoken on the record or muttered and caught.

• “I won’t ask the same question again at risk of receiving an answer,” said 1st District Judge Charles Hosack to defense attorney Peter Erbland, after asking the attorney to simply explain the math he used adding up absentee ballots, which the lawyer failed to do without confusing the judge.

• “She said she voted for Republican,” Erbland said attempting to illustrate that an illegal voter didn’t remember for whom she voted because the city race was non-partisan. “In fact, she said she was so Republican that she listened to Glenn Beck, didn’t she?”

“Maybe that should be reason enough to throw the vote out,” Kelso quipped.

• “The only thing missing right now is a guy going around selling peanuts and beer.” That was courtesy of Dan Gookin, interested audience member, waiting shoulder-to-shoulder in the packed, loud room for the judge to return.

Attorney Mike Haman caught it from his spot at counsel table, and turned and smiled.

“I agree,” he said.

• “You had to write in French,” Kelso said on why a letter was returned to a landlord who had attempted to mail it to a former tenant and city voter living for years in Montreal, Canada. The landlord had said she had written the zip code down incorrectly, which prompted Kelso’s reply.

• The trial was governed by 1890 Idaho statutes, which spurred the judge to be a little liberal with the rules since they were so outdated.

“Women couldn’t even vote then,” Hosack said.

“We’re not challenging that,” Kelso returned.

“I mean, a lot’s changed since then,” the judge said.