Kootenai County judge placed on leave

COEUR d’ALENE — A Kootenai County magistrate judge has been on administrative leave since last month for unclear reasons.

Court schedules show that other judicial officers have been covering the docket for Judge Clark A. Peterson, 56, since mid-May.

The Spokesman-Review reported that Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan signed two sealed orders in May, titled “required administrative leave of first judicial district magistrate judge.”

Idaho State Supreme Court spokesperson Nate Poppino confirmed Wednesday that Peterson remains a duly elected magistrate judge.

“I can’t speak to any personnel matters,” Poppino said.

Peterson, who has been a magistrate judge since 2010, co-founded two game companies. He came under fire nearly a decade ago for his involvement in the hobby and for reportedly posting hundreds of comments in a gaming forum during working hours.

“As I expressed some years ago, I regret if anyone viewed my postings regarding one of my hobbies as not being up to the standards of the Idaho judiciary,” Peterson told The Press in 2016. “I changed my practices immediately.”

He was not publicly disciplined by the Idaho Judicial Council, which investigates complaints of judicial misconduct.

In 2020, the council publicly reprimanded Peterson for inaccurately reporting vacation and leave time. Peterson forfeited seven days of vacation pay, in addition to the reprimand.

Because complaints to the Idaho Judicial Council are kept confidential until the council issues a finding, it’s not yet clear if any complaint has been filed against Peterson.

The council reviews all complaints it receives. If an allegation involves legal issues or is not within the council’s jurisdiction, it is dismissed. Otherwise, the council conducts an investigation.

If the council finds a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct, it can take a number of private disciplinary actions, including education, reprimand and warning.

The council can petition the Idaho Supreme Court for temporary paid suspension of an accused judge, according to its rules of procedure. This can happen if the council determines that the judge’s continued service “is causing immediate and substantial public harm or harm to himself or others” or is causing “an erosion of public confidence.”

The Idaho Supreme Court has disciplinary authority and reviews any recommendation from the council for censure, suspension removal of a judge for misconduct or retirement of a judge for disability seriously interfering with the performance of judicial duties.

The Supreme Court is not required to follow the council’s recommendation.