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Coeur d'Alene council introduced North Idaho's first Special Assistant U.S. Attorney
Summary
Benjamin Allen introduced Julia Zimney as North Idaho's first Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. Zimney, who started in late April, said she has worked closely with local prosecutors, is handling roughly 20 narcotics-related matters and aims to use federal prosecution to reduce trafficking along the I‑90 corridor.
Benjamin Allen, identified in the meeting as the Shoshone County prosecutor, introduced what he described as North Idaho’s first Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and said Coeur d’Alene was an original local partner in establishing the position.
Julia Zimney, who the council was told started in late April, told the council she works with the United States Attorney’s Office and local prosecutors in Kootenai and Shoshone counties. “I’ve been able to work on about 20 different, narcotics based cases,” Zimney said, and she described one aim of the role as adopting state cases for federal prosecution in order to “save state tax dollars.”
Zimney said the office is focused on the I‑90 corridor that runs through the region and that dedicating a SAUSA to the area makes it possible to hold accountable people trafficking drugs into or through the Coeur d’Alene community. She cautioned she cannot discuss logistics or specifics of ongoing cases and said the position involves collaboration with local law enforcement and prosecutors.
The prosecutor who introduced her said the hiring was the result of years of planning and local partnership; he asked the council to view the city as a founding local partner in the program. Zimney said she will pursue specialized narcotics training next week and that she hopes to return to council meetings in the future to report statistics on how the position affects trafficking and any savings to state resources.
No formal action was taken by the council on the introduction; the presentation was informational.
