Former sheriff asks Idaho Supreme Court to reverse his conviction

Attorneys for former Jefferson County Sheriff Blair Olsen appeared before the Idaho Supreme Court Wednesday.

Olsen has appealed his jury trial conviction on three counts of misuse of public funds by a public officer or employee. The charges arose when Olsen allowed his wife to carry and use a county-funded emergency backup cell phone during 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Olsen’s attorney, Gary Cooper, argued that Jefferson County Commissioners approved bills for the phone for two and a half years and after they learned that Olsen’s wife carried it.

Speaking on behalf of the state, Deputy Attorney General Ken Jorgensen told the court the only thing commissioners did was to vote to pay the bill, not on the way the phone was used.

Olsen also argued the statute under which he was convicted was vague and that the state’s decision to charge him with three separate counts violated his right not to be placed in double jeopardy.

The court took the case under advisement and will issue its decision at a later date.