Finney pleads to reduced charge

SANDPOINT — A local attorney accused of felony battery pleaded guilty Thursday to reduced charges of disturbing the peace.

Rex Adam Moyle Finney entered the pleas the same day he was scheduled to undergo a preliminary hearing on aggravated battery charges in Bonner County Magistrate Court.

Finney, 43, and his 21-year-old son were accused of either directly breaking a man’s collarbone or aiding and abetting others in the infliction of great bodily harm, according to court documents. The elder Finney was further accused of kicking a man in the head during the clash outside the Cabinet Mountain Bar & Grill in Clark Fork on April 22, 2017.

Kootenai County Deputy Prosecutor Laura McClinton, who was appointed handle the case due to Finney’s ties to the Bonner County legal community, recommended concurrent 180-day jail sentences with 170 days suspended and the balance of the custodial term converted to court and community service.

McClinton recommended two years of unsupervised probation because Finney obtained an anger management evaluation and completed counseling.

Finney’s defense counsel, Scott McKay, asked that the community service be converted to pro bono legal work through the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program, which would benefit from Finney’s experience in family law cases. McKay also lobbied for a withheld judgment due to Finney’s lack of a prior criminal record.

A withheld judgment would effectively nullify Finney’s convictions upon successful completion of his court-ordered obligations. Such judgments are entered when a defendant’s misconduct is considered an aberration.

“It has profoundly affected him. He has learned a lesson,” McKay said.

Finney admitted his decision-making was flawed on the night of the altercation.

“I made some really poor choices on the night in question,” Finney said.

Judge William C. Hamlett granted the withheld judgment, but warned that the full six-month sentence would hang over Finney’s head if he violates the terms of his probation.

“I usually don’t give second chances,” Hamlett said.

Hamlett imposed 100 hours of service, 60 hours of which would be done via pro bono legal work and 40 of which must be done in the community. The matter of restitution was held open while his son’s case is pending.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.