Lori Vallow: Chad Paid the Lawyer Who Did WHAT?!

Chad Daybell paid for Mark Means, and that payment became part of a legal problem that now reaches the Idaho Supreme Court. At oral arguments on November 2, 2026, the justices examined why Means was disqualified from representing Lori Vallow Daybell in December 2021, while she was deemed incompetent to stand trial. Chad had described Means as his lawyer on a jail call, according to the state’s argument. Lori’s appellate lawyer Craig Durham insists the lower court did not establish the actual conflict needed to take her chosen attorney away. The state says there was more than an awkward billing arrangement: Means had represented both people charged in the same killings and continued making filings during Lori’s period of incompetence. Judge Steven Boyce was required to protect the fairness of the proceedings, prosecutors argue. The procedural details matter. Lori was not present for important hearings leading to the disqualification. Her side says the court went ahead with a decision affecting her constitutional rights when she could not speak for herself. The state says the circumstances were unusually difficult and the judge acted to prevent further harm. The appellate court has not resolved those opposing positions. And the potential consequences are not small. Justice Cynthia Meyer asked whether undoing Lori’s Idaho convictions could revive the possibility of the death penalty at a retrial. Durham acknowledged that Lori understands the risk, but argued there are legal reasons the state could not simply bring capital punishment back. Her Idaho life sentences and separate Arizona convictions remain real regardless of this appeal. Bob Motta and Tony Brueski unpack the question beneath all the courtroom language: can a judge remove the lawyer a defendant wants because that lawyer may be damaging her case, and still get the procedure wrong? It is a conversation about legal rights, not a prediction that Lori is walking free. Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #LoriVallowDaybell #LoriVallow #ChadDaybell #MarkMeans #IdahoSupremeCourt #BobMotta #HiddenKillers #DeathPenalty #TrueCrime #DoomsdayMom