State wants Hutchens held in contempt
SANDPOINT — Contempt-of-court proceedings are resurfacing in the case of a Sandpoint woman accused of battery on a city official.
Bonner County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank is moving for the issuance of an arrest warrant against Rita Nancy Hutchens for noncompliance with a court-ordered mental health evaluation.
A hearing on the contempt proceedings is set for July 19 in Bonner County Magistrate Court.
Hutchens has already been arrested once for contempt and once for failing to appear in court.
Hutchens, 57, is awaiting trial on a misdemeanor battery charge for allegedly hitting a deputy city clerk with an ink pen at Sandpoint City Hall last August. Hutchens contends in court documents she has no recollection of such an event.
At the time of the alleged incident, Hutchens was researching public records related to a claim for damages against the city for her wrongful arrest in a stalking investigation in 2011. Hutchens was forced to the ground and arrested for obstruction for declining to speak with a Sandpoint Police officer about the stalking allegations.
But the charge was dismissed by former magistrate court Judge Barbara Buchanan, who ruled that invoking a Fifth Amendment right did not amount to obstruction.
A day-or-night arrest warrant was issued against Hutchens last year after she failed to show up in court. In the meantime, Greenbank moved for a mental health evaluation, alleging that Hutchens’ erratic behavior and meandering court filings raised questions about her ability to assist in her own defense.
A sheriff’s deputy executed the warrant last spring after seeing Hutchens inside the home and forcing his way in. A suspected pot pipe was discovered when she was arrested, resulting in a misdemeanor charge for drug paraphernalia possession.
Judge Debra Heise granted the state’s motion for the evaluation, but Hutchens vowed to disregard it. Hutchens ended up being arrested for contempt after repeatedly interrupting Judge Debra Heise during a hearing in May despite multiple warnings.
Hutchens subsequently agreed to submit to the evaluation, but did so under protest. However, she ultimately declined to take part in the evaluation.
“IF THE GESTAPO WANTS TO ARREST ME AND HOLD ME WITHOUT BOND AND WATER BOARD ME, THAN (sic) SO BE IT,” Hutchens said in a June 6 email to Scott Bauer, a deputy prosecutor and civil counsel for the county commission.
Hutchens has found a sympathetic ear with local residents and bloggers who insist law enforcement and judicial systems are running amok and rife with corruption.
Greenbank downplays Hutchens’ legal arguments in court documents as her “usual confusion” over matters of law and her continuing belief that she is the “victim of a major conspiracy.”