Respectfully - AT did not represent one of the girls' families against BK, nor did she switch sides.
At the time she was personally assigned to represent BK, AT was head of the Kootenai County public defender's office, which had previously been assigned to represent Xana's indigent mother Cara, who was criminally charged for her own conduct in cases unrelated to BK's.
The judge overseeing Cara's case had the responsibility to assure that AT's personal withdrawal from the sentencing phase of one of the cases was in accordance with court rules and professional ethics.
At a hearing, AT told the judge that her name appears on every document in the public defender's office, but below that is the name of the attorney that represents the individual in the case. A felony case involving Cara was an open felony case to which she was not personally assigned before it was transferred out of her office.
AT explained that her practice is to transfer all cases that are pending withdrawal or have a bench warrant (usually over failure to appear in court) issued to her.
That is why a 2017 misdemeanor case in which Cara was already sentenced and that her office was waiting to withdraw from, ended up being assigned to her on October 20. The attorney who had represented Cara in that case left the public defender's office in September or October last year. AT told the judge that from October 20 until the date she withdrew from this case, she had no contact and no professional relationship with Cara. AT said she had not met her or provided her any legal advice.
AT also told the judge that she had spoken with Latah County prosecutor Bill Thomas and Ashley Jennings, senior deputy prosecutor, to explain the situation. People she spoke with at the Bar Counsel's Office of the Idaho State Bar agreed that there was no conflict of interest.
AT stated that there was no other person that she is connected to in BK's case, and stated that Mr. Kohberger is the only individual in this case to whom she owed a duty of advocacy and loyalty. The judge found there was no ethical reason she could not withdraw as Cara's counsel and continue to represent BK.
The Idaho State Bar has taken no disciplinary action against AT in the circumstances.
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