originally written and shared by Nate Eaton at EastIdahoNews.com
Lori Vallow Daybell’s new attorney has filed an amended notice of appeal and is asking the Idaho Supreme Court to take a closer look at over a dozen issues in the case.
Craig Durham, an appellate attorney based in Boise, is requesting transcripts from 35 court hearings between Daybell’s initial appearance in May 2021 and her sentencing in July 2023.
District Judge Steve Boyce sentenced Daybell, 50, to serve three life sentences without parole after a jury found her guilty of murdering her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, the spouse of Chad Daybell, whom she later married.
Jim Archibald, Daybell’s prior attorney, filed an original notice of appeal in September raising questions on multiple issues, which are also listed in the amended appeal. They include:
- Whether District Judge Steven Boyce erred in finding Daybell competent for trial after she spent 10 months in a mental hospital.
- Whether Boyce erred in denying Archibald’s request to send Daybell back to the mental hospital rather than proceeding to trial.
- Whether Daybell’s constitutional rights to a speedy trial were violated by the prosecutor’s requests for continuances.
- Whether Boyce erred when he allowed prosecutors to present evidence of crimes in the pending Arizona case concerning the death of Charles Vallow (Daybell’s fourth husband) and the attempted murder of Brandon Boudreaux (Daybell’s former nephew-in-law).
- Whether Boyce abused his discretion by sentencing Daybell to serve three consecutive fixed life sentences without parole.
- Whether Boyce abused his discretion by ordering Daybell, who is indigent and has a public defender, to pay $165,018 in fines and court costs.
Durham is also requesting all sealed filings in the case, including Daybell’s mental health records.
The appellate process can be lengthy and may take several years. The Idaho attorney general will assign a lawyer to represent the prosecution, and that attorney, along with Durham, will prepare written briefs and likely present oral arguments before the Idaho Supreme Court issues its decision.
There could be some delays in Daybell’s appellate case as the state of Arizona plans to extradite her for conspiracy to commit murder in relation to Vallow’s death and the attempted murder of Boudreaux. Daybell has been at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center since Aug. 1.
The trial for Chad Daybell is scheduled to begin April 1 in Ada County. A status conference in his case will be held via Zoom on Tuesday at 2 p.m. EastIdahoNews.com will livestream the hearing.
