Judge: Attorneys must stay on murder case

SANDPOINT - A district judge is declining to allow defense attorneys representing accused killer Keith Allen Brown to withdraw from the case.

Chief Public Public Defender Isabella Robertson and Chief Deputy Public Defender Janet Whitney sought the court's permission to pull out of the case due to concerns that Brown or his wife might be planning to file complaints against them with the Idaho State Bar over their handling his case.

Brown, according to court documents, has accused his attorneys of misleading him, keeping him in the dark about his case and improperly filing motions.

Under those circumstances, Robertson and Whitney said their attorney-client relationship with Brown could not continue, according to their motions to withdraw.

The motions were taken up by 1st District Judge Fred Gibler on Friday, but part of the hearing was closed to prosecutors and the public to protect the confidentiality of the attorney-client relationship and aspects of the defense case.

The discussion behind closed doors lasted about 15 minutes.

Afterward, Gibler said he would not grant the defense counsels' motions to withdraw. Gibler acknowledged there was a breakdown in communication between Brown and his attorneys, but said Brown had expressed confidence in their abilities.

Moreover, the defense attorneys are not required to follow their client's directives. Gibler said their obligation is to exercise independent legal analysis and expertise in their defense of Brown.

“I've heard nothing to indicate that they're not doing that,” Gibler said.

Brown, 47, and his wife, Tyrah, 26, are charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Leslie Carlton Breaw at Priest Lake in January 2007. Breaw's remains were discovered in a wooded area near his Coolin home several months after he was reported missing.

The Browns were apprehended in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., in March 2007, the day after Breaw's corpse was discovered. The couple is also charged with grand theft by possession of stolen property for allegedly forging and cashing a $56,000 check belonging to Breaw, 48. Enhanced charges are being pursued against Keith Brown because a firearm was used in the killing and he has prior drug and theft convictions.

The couple has pleaded innocent to the charges. They are awaiting separate trials in July and August.