SANDPOINT — The Bonner County Prosecutor’s office will be going international after county commissioners approved a deputy prosecutor to work both part-time and remotely.  

Prosecutor Louis Marshall brought up the request at an August Bonner County business meeting, sharing that the fully remote, part-time position would be in place of an already established full-time position. 

“I have made a pretty large strategic mistake,” said Marshall when bringing up the request. “I was talking to my attorneys about good movies, and I started talking about Braveheart, and lo and behold, one of my prize prosecutors Sarah Hyde watches the movie, and she’s like ‘oh my God, I want to go to Scotland.’”  

County commissioners unanimously approved Marshall’s request, allowing Hyde to work 20 hours a week for Bonner County while residing in Scotland on a student visa.  Hyde has also handled cases for Boundary County.

“I feel so fortunate to be given the opportunity to continue giving back to a county I care a lot about, while being able to further my education. The folks working in the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office are truly remarkable and I look forward to continuing to support them,” said Hyde.  

Through her position, Hyde will continue to work on administrative and background tasks for applicable court cases and office work, assisting Marshall through behind-the-scenes work.  

"She (Hyde) deals with very, very difficult cases. Right now, I'm doing those cases again, which I don't have time for, frankly. But what she can do is all of the background work, and then basically I can just be pushed into court and then do what I do. But there's a lot of work behind the scenes,” said Marshall.  

The ability to work outside of the country comes without tremendous difficulties, as the county does not have any specific policies in place that acknowledge remote work. Additionally, Hyde will only need access to a laptop to access case documents, discovery and any other important information necessary to fulfill her working requirements.