Prosecutor wants AG’s help in hospital case

The Bingham County prosecutor hand has delivered a letter requesting help from the state Attorney General’s Office in the Bingham Memorial Hospital investigation.

The attorney general’s public information officer confirmed Tuesday that the letter was received and says the office likely will be able to help the prosecutor, Scott Andrew, who is requesting the state take over the prosecutorial responsibilities of the BMH investigation.

Andrew says in the letter he is concerned about having an ethical conflict if he continues to represent Bingham County on civil matters involving the hospital while at the same time making charging decisions or directing an investigation of criminal matters involving people associated with the hospital.

You can read the entire letter here under “related content” (switch to full Web view if it does not appear on your mobile device).

The hospital’s attorney, Erik Stidham of Boise, said Andrew made the right call.”Mr. Andrew has taken an appropriate step,” said Stidham.

“He is correct in assessing that any appearance of conflict would not be helpful to the process. This is a typical step to take.”