Judicial Council: No complaints against Idaho judge

The Idaho Judicial Council says it has not yet received any verified complaints against the judge who sentenced a teen to probation for assaulting a high school football teammate with a coat hanger.

But the council, which is the disciplinary entity for Idaho’s judges and magistrates, says it will investigate if a verified complaint is received.

Fifth District Judge Randy Stoker was widely criticized after the sentencing of John R.K. Howard last week by some who thought the sentence was too lenient and that the judge failed to recognize the racial implications of the case.

Howard, who is white, was one of three defendants charged with assaulting a disabled black teen in the locker room of southern Idaho high school in 2015.