IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – The attorney for the Victor man accused of killing his pregnant wife and infant son is asking the court to transfer him out of the Bonneville County Jail for allegedly violating his constitutional rights.
According to court documents, Jeremy Best’s attorney, Jim Archibald, is petitioning the court to move him to the Madison County Jail in Rexburg.
Archibald writes that the Bonneville County jail breached Best’s constitutional rights to due process by “obstructions to expert examinations and testing necessary to prepare a constitutionally adequate defense in a death penalty case.”
Bonneville County Sheriff Samuel Hulse said the accusation is inaccurate.
“We run a constitutional jail,” Hulse told Local News 8. “We recognize our obligations as a jail to make sure that the constitutional rights of an individual are not being violated. Now, a lot goes into that, and there are certain challenges with the facility. We have answered the inquiries from the court and we’ll continue to do that process.”
Hulse adds that it’s the job of the defense and the prosecution to facilitate a fair trial, and the sheriff’s office is committed to helping in that mission.
Archibald’s team filed their first motion to transfer on May 28, 2024, due to concerns that people could potentially hear his private conversations with Best, thus breaching attorney-client privilege.
“A bench for the public to sit on is placed less than 5 feet from the room where the attorneys talk to their clients,” Archibald writes in the motion.
Sheriff Hulse said they’ve made accommodations to protect Best’s privacy while speaking to his attorneys, while working in a limited facility.
“Our facility has unique challenges based on structure and everything else. Fortunately, we’re opening our special housing unit that’s going to provide some opportunities we didn’t have before. So we’re excited about those changes that are coming, and we’re looking forward to those.”
Archibald also writes there has been “concerning communications that suggest a concerted effort to deprive Best of a meaningful ability to prepare his defenses in this case.”
He cites an email between a criminal investigator with the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s office and an employee at the Bonneville County Jail, where the investigator asks to pick up evidence weekly.
In a short excerpt from the email, Archibald quotes “we really want to convict this guy and not give him any type of defense,” in his motion.
The state says these emails have been taken out of context.
The court has scheduled a sealed hearing to discuss the motion on Jan. 16.
