Appeals court upholds dismissal of Cliven Bundy case

Separate decision in Bunkerville case

An Idaho man serving a 14-year prison sentence for his role in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff had his conviction overturned Thursday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Todd Engel was convicted in April 2017 on charges of obstruction of justice and interstate travel in aid of extortion during the first of three trials in the case.

The appeals court found that U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro, the same judge who threw out the charges against rancher Cliven Bundy and others, should not have appointed a standby attorney to represent Engel when he had asked to act as his own lawyer. Engel’s case was sent back to the lower court for a new trial.