Idaho County Challenging Negligent Operation of a Vessel Law

SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) — Bonner County is appealing a northern Idaho magistrate court judge's ruling that the state's statute regarding the negligent operation of a vessel is unconstitutionally vague. The Bonner County Daily Bee reports that Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Katie Murdock filed the appeal Wednesday asking a 1st District Court judge to determine if Magistrate Court Judge Debra Heise made the right decision in January.

The ruling ended up sinking two cases involving incidents law enforcement authorities say met the criteria for negligent operation of a vessel. One involved a Seattle man whose powerboat collided with another vessel on Priest Lake in July. The other involved a Sandpoint man who crashed his powerboat into an unoccupied sailboat on Lake Pend Oreille in August.