Stamped out: How the integrity of court orders was smeared with a standard rubber stamp

Deputy Bonneville County Clerk Heather Matheson told state investigators she "frequently" saw Kimball Mason sitting at her desk "utilizing magistrate judges' stamps on various forms and orders."

Clerk Janie Ker said she saw the same behavior.

Attorney John Stosich watched the former Idaho Falls city prosecutor wield Magistrate L. Mark Riddoch's signature stamp on a transport order in a mental-commitment case.

And this didn't take place at a clerk's desk. It was in Mason's office.

Stosich said he received at least 10 similar orders from Mason -- all with Riddoch's stamp.

"This investigation has revealed that (Mason) had the judge's signature stamp in his possession at his private law office and was seen using it to stamp one or more Court Orders," according to a Wednesday affidavit from the Idaho attorney general's office.

These accounts helped lead Deputy Attorney General Jay Rosenthal to charge Mason -- who is in a minimum-security prison for stealing from the Idaho Falls Police Department's evidence room -- with 13 more felonies Wednesday. Six of those were for forgery for misusing judges' signature stamps.

All of this, though, has led to these questions: How did a prosecutor gain access to stamps meant to reproduce a judge's signature? And why didn't anyone say anything when they saw Mason stamping court orders that only judges are supposed to sign?

Photo illustration by Steve Fischbach / Post Register

Burt Butler, trial court administrator for the 7th Judicial District, and other court officials don't have ready answers.

In some ways, the first question is probably easier to answer.

Court officials' best guess is that Mason absconded with one of the stamps when he entered the clerks' offices on the second floor of the Bonneville County Courthouse.

That can't happen anymore, Court Operations Manager Kelli Moss said.

Roughly two years ago, she had punch-code locks installed on the doors of the criminal and civil clerks' offices, which also house all court files from the past two years.

Before that, Moss said, attorneys routinely entered the office to look at files.

Moss and Butler also have enacted new measures to prevent misuse of judges' stamps.

Moss has for the first time inventoried all the signature stamps in circulation among clerks. She found 18 stamps bearing Magistrate Judge Linda Cook's name and signature, while there are only 10 stamps combined for Bonneville County's three district judges.

And now, when any of the county's 34 clerks is authorized to stamp a judge's name, it will be done in block lettering only -- no more signature replicas. Each clerk will have to put his or her initials next to the stamp to provide more accountability.

Idaho Supreme Court Administrator Patty Tobias said she didn't know of any statewide guidelines regarding the use of signature stamps.

During the past three weeks, Butler surveyed trial court administrators throughout Idaho to see what they do.

The results indicate other judges have stamps, but court officials have no uniform way of monitoring who uses them. Some keep closer tabs than others.

Holly Olvera, court operations manager for Canyon County, e-mailed Butler to say she and other clerks were just discussing how they had no handle on the judges' stamps.

"One of the clerks has created a check-off form, and each clerk marks down which stamps they have in their possession. ... It is a very rough draft right now," Olvera wrote. "If you find a better way, please let me know."

Second District Trial Court Administrator Steve Caylor, who works in Nez Perce County, wrote that only a few 2nd District deputy clerks and secretaries have block-letter stamps -- no reproduced signatures.

"No written guidelines exist nor have any formal audits been done, but since these stamps are closely held, though not typically under lock and key, that hasn't been an issue," Caylor wrote.

Bonneville County court clerks keep judges' stamps locked in desk drawers.

Butler said they are used when multiple copies of a ruling or judgment are made. Judges will sign the original, and their clerks will stamp the multiple copies sent out to interested parties. Butler said stamps also are used when judges are out of town and ask clerks to stamp their signatures on paperwork.

"Bottom line, any other use of a judge's stamp would be unauthorized," Butler said.

The question of why no one spoke out about Mason using the stamps is more complicated.

Mason, 52, was a courthouse insider for nearly 25 years, working as a county and city prosecutor for most of that time.

Everyone from judges to prosecutors to court clerks has said too much trust was placed in Mason, who by several accounts was seen as a font of knowledge on how things were supposed to work at the courthouse. Few thought to question him.

Meanwhile, those involved in the latest case against Mason are keeping quiet.

Matheson said investigators advised her not to talk about the case. Moss said Ker did not want to speak about the case while it's pending.

Stosich said he had been advised not to speak about the case and to "just go with the affidavit."

Efforts to reach Walker and Riddoch for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

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