CALDWELL -- Former Canyon County Prosecutor John Bujak was back in court Friday to deal with issues related to several criminal charges.
He is accused of felonies, including misuse of public funds and falsifying evidence.
A judge handled two issues today. Should Bujak's bond conditions be changed or revoked? And should he be allowed representation by a public defender at no cost to himself?
First, the issue of Bujak's bond.
Each time Bujak has been arrested, his family has been able to post bond. For a while, Bujak had GPS monitoring. But earlier this year, just weeks after getting the tracking device removed - prosecutors say Bujak sent fake documents to the prosecutor's office - documents that if true, would help Bujak's case. So while out on bond, prosecutors allege Bujak is committing more crimes.
"That to us your honor indicates to us that Mr. Bujak is intentionally trying to undermine the integrity of the judicial process and affect the outcome of this case," said prosecuting attorney Stephen Bywater.
With that accusation, prosecutors asked the judge to set Bujak's bond at $500,000 and put him back on GPS monitoring.
Countering, Bujak's attorney argued that he has made every court appearance, has been helping his attorneys on the case, and amongst his criminal cases has posted thousands of dollars in bail.
"So he's out on $130,000 right now among the three cases, and I think that's more than adequate," said Rolph Kehne, Bujak's attorney.
The judge decided to keep Bujak's bond conditions as they are, so Bujak remains out of custody.
The other main issue today was whether Bujak has the money to help pay for his own attorneys.
Recently, a judge ordered Bujak to pay $1,000 a month toward his attorney fees.
But today, Bujak said he couldn't afford that and asked to represent himself instead. After some discussion, the judge decided Bujak doesn't have to pay - at least not now. After the case is over, he could be asked to pay.
Bujak will be in court again next Friday to enter a plea in his latest charges of falsifying evidence and computer fraud. He faces up to five years in prison on each of those charges.
