03/27/08

Members of the Idaho Supreme Court will examine whether a Blaine County teenager received a fair trial on charges of killing her parents.

Sarah Johnson is currently serving two fixed life sentences. She was 16 when she was charged in the murders of her parents in Bellevue in September 2003.

In an appeal scheduled for May 9th - Idaho high court justices will hear arguments regarding her conviction.

Those legal questions are based, in part, on Judge Barry Wood's instructions to jury members regarding their consideration of whether Johnson killed her parents or was not directly responsible, but aided another suspect in the killings.

Legal questions separate from the Idaho Supreme Court appeal is also surfacing.

During the trial, Johnson was represented by Bob Pangburn who was contracted to act as the public defender. Since then the Idaho State Bar Association has suspended Pangburn's license for 2-years, which could raise appeals questions if Johnson received adequate legal representation.

Brittany Cooper, KMVT News