Judge Bruce Pickett of Idaho Falls, ID; incompetent boob  

The state of Idaho presented Bruce L. Pickett with a law license in 1997 after he graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) School of Law.

FYI: Bruce has had his significant snout firmly implanted in the public trough for the past seventeen (17) years. Apparently, no self-respecting law firm in the greater Idaho Falls area was about to offer him a good paying job.

In one matter, Judge Pickett presided over a case involving Nicole C. Packer v. Kingston Plaza and Riverbend Communications that dealt with a premises liability case when Nicole was injured when she fell from an unlit loading dock at the Kingston Plaza in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

In its defense, Packer alleged that Nicole had been directed to use the rear exit by a representative of Riverbend Communications, LLC, the organizer of the exposition and the occupier of the property.

In a display of his infinite ignorance and incompetence, Judge Pickett granted summary judgment to Kingston and Riverbend. He also denied Nicole’s motion for reconsideration of Pickett’s dismissal of her complaint based on his grant of summary judgment.

Shortly thereafter, Nicole appealed Judge Pickett’s moronic dismissal of her claims to the Idaho Court of Appeals. In reversing Judge Pickett’s rulings, the Court stated in part as follows.

• “The district court erred in concluding that Packer was not an invitee and that Riverbend only owed her the duty owed a licensee.”
• “The district court erred in concluding there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether of Riverbend breached the duty it owed to Packer.”
• “The district court also erred in its analysis of the duty owed Packer with respect to the lighting conditions. After concluding that she was a licensee and not an invitee, the district court proceeded in its analysis by assuming for the sake of argument that Packer was an invitee. However, its [Pickett’s] subsequent analysis was incorrect for two reasons. First, while the district court stated it was applying the duty owed an invitee, it failed to correctly apply the duty owed an invitee.”
• “The district court erred as a matter of law by analyzing only Riverbend’s knowledge (actual or constructive), and not the affirmative duty owed by an occupier (Riverbend) to an invitee (Packer) to “keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition.”
• “This Court reverses the district court’s grant of summary judgment because (1) it erred in determining that Packer was not an invitee; and (2) a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Riverbend breached the duty it owed Packer.”

It goes without saying that Bruce doesn’t much give a damn when he’s overturned (rebuked in truth) by the appellate court since he is well aware that no Idaho  judge has ever been tossed off the bench for being an incompetent boob. In addition, he isn’t concerned with the cost to the taxpayers of having his asinine ruling overturned.

As we speak (ca. August 2020), Bruce continues to sit as District Court Judge in Idaho Falls, Idaho.