Russ Brown Lecture Series tonight: Courtroom history over the years

The Russ Brown Lecture Series celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Kootenai County Courthouse continues with its fifth presentation slated at 5:30 tonight in Courtroom 1, upstairs, at the historic courthouse.

This month's presenters will be retired Judge John Luster, sitting Judge Casey Simmons and Trial Administrator Kathy Booth, all of the Coeur d'Alene area. This month the focus of the presentations will shift to the First District Bar and will include discussions of the recent happenings and history of the courthouse cases through the eyes of our presenters. Day-to-day operations, twists and turns of cases, unusual outcomes and a colorful story or two will be the order of the day for this presentation.

John Luster is a graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law. He was admitted to the Idaho and Utah State bars in April of 1977.

He began his legal career in Coeur d'Alene as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Kootenai County. He also served as a prosecutor in Blaine County, Idaho before opening a private practice here in Coeur d'Alene in 1980. His area of focus included criminal defense, domestic relations, and personal injury litigation.

In 1986, Luster was appointed to serve as a First District Magistrate Judge in Kootenai County. In 2000 Governor Dirk Kempthorne appointed him to serve as a District Judge with chambers in Coeur d'Alene. He retired from the bench in 2013 and continued to serve as a Senior District Judge until March of 2026.

During his 40 years of service to the Idaho Judiciary he worked with the various Supreme Court committees involving Child Foster Care, Judicial Education, Court of Appeals Expansion, Judicial Retirement Funding, and Tribal Court Relations.

He also spent seven years as a member of the Idaho Judicial Council dealing with state judicial misconduct.

Luster is married to his wife, Maisy, and enjoys spending time with his stepdaughter and two grandkids. He is an avid snow skier, fly fisherman, bike rider and trains undisciplined bird dogs.

Casey Simmons grew up on the Palouse and attended the University of Idaho for both undergraduate and law school. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2009 and with her juris doctor in 2012. After graduating law school, Casey started her legal career as a law clerk for the honorable John T. Mitchell in the First Judicial District. After a year of clerking, she went to the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office where she prosecuted both misdemeanors and felonies until 2019. That year, she moved to the private sector and joined Winston and Cashatt Lawyers, where she handled a range of civil and criminal matters.

In the fall of 2024, Casey was appointed by Gov. Brad Little to the district court bench, filling the vacancy left by retiring judge Rich Christensen. She was sworn in November 2024 and handles felony criminal matters, civil matters over $10,000, appeals from the magistrate court and other various matters.

Casey and her family have lived in North Idaho since 2012. When she and her husband are not attending their children's numerous events, their family can often be found enjoying the outdoors, especially biking and camping.

Kathy Booth is a native Idahoan who began working for the courts in 1978. In her career, she has worked with Judges Craig Kosonen, Hardy Lyons, John Luster, Rich Christensen and Casey Simmons. Each has shared a wealth of knowledge with her.

Kathy has four children, six grandchildren, three dogs and a mass of chickens. In her spare time, she enjoys time in the outdoors, gardening, skiing, biking, hiking and hunting. Her most recent achievement was hiking the Camino through Portugal and Spain with her best friend.