IDAHO, USA — An Idaho judge denied attorney John Prior's motion to withdraw as counsel from Chad Daybell's triple-murder case.
Prior filed a motion to withdraw from the case last week, claiming in part that Daybell wouldn't be able to pay him and that remaining on this case through trial would mean several more months without compensation.
Daybell is facing a slew of charges in Idaho, including three counts of first-degree murder in the death of his first wife, Tammy Daybell, and the deaths of his current wife's children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow. Chad Daybell has been in Idaho custody since June 2020 after investigators found the children's bodies buried in his backyard.
The children and their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, used to live in Arizona. Vallow Daybell was convicted of Tylee, JJ and Tammy's deaths in May 2023 and sentenced to life in prison without parole in Idaho in July 2023.
In November 2023, she was extradited to jail in Maricopa County to face conspiracy charges in Arizona. In a hearing Thursday morning, Judge Steven Boyce heard arguments from both sides about Prior's motion to withdraw.
The motion states that Chad Daybell was found indigent by the court and can't pay for counsel's continued services. It also states that Chad Daybell seeks to be appointed two capital-qualified attorneys as he's facing the death penalty. The state filed an objection to the motion to withdraw on Wednesday.
Prior is privately attained by Chad Daybell and has been representing him in the current murder case since May 2021. He also represented Chad Daybell in a previous, related case in 2020.
Prior stated in court Thursday that he's been trying to find help for this case since the judge approved a second chair in 2022, but has had difficulty finding a death-penalty qualified attorney. He said by now he expected to have another attorney helping him, but that's not the case.
"If the court decides to deny the motion, I want to make clear, Judge, that I'm prepared to go forward and push the case to the end regardless," Prior told the judge. "And I'm committed to do that. Do I think it's fair that I don't get paid? No. Do I want to get paid? I absolutely want to get paid for the work that I do."
Prior said his motion to withdraw is not just about the money. He explained that if he withdraws from the case, Chad Daybell would be able to be appointed two attorneys qualified to handle death penalty cases.
"It's not a choice I want to make," Prior said. "Mr. Daybell should get two attorneys to help him with this. I would have liked to have been one of those, but there's no mechanism to do that."
Prosecutors for the state argued that Prior was aware of Chad Daybell's financial situation since at least January 2023 when he was found indigent by the court. Their concern was that this motion was an attempt to delay the case again.
"We’re frustrated for the citizens, we’re frustrated for the victims in this case," said prosecutor Lindsey Blake. "If this motion is granted, the state recognizes it’s going to cause a pretty significant delay. Now the victim’s families have to wait that much longer. The state now has to absorb additional costs."
Judge Boyce also recognized that granting this motion could cause significant delays in the case. He noted that Chad Daybell's been in custody for over three years and that appointing two new attorneys could mean the upcoming trial could get pushed back a year or more.
He ultimately denied John Prior's motion to withdraw from the case.
"I do not find that there is good cause for withdrawal of counsel," Judge Boyce said at the end of the hearing.
Chad Daybell's triple-murder trial is scheduled for April 2024 in Ada County, Idaho.
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