Why It Matters
The Idaho Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a legal challenge to the state’s public defense system may be dismissed, leaving in place a lower court’s decision to end the case.
What Happened
The 3-2 decision found that the lawsuit did not present enough evidence showing that Idaho’s statewide public defense system carried the same constitutional problems alleged under the former county-based model.
Chief Justice Robyn Brody wrote the majority opinion. Justices G. Richard Bevan and Gregory Moeller joined her. Justice Cynthia Meyer and retired Justice Roger Burdick dissented; Burdick temporarily filled in for Justice Colleen Zahn.
Brody wrote that the law requires more than “a hunch that the new system will simply reprise the failures of its predecessors.”
The ACLU of Idaho filed the lawsuit in 2015, challenging whether the county-based public defense system adequately protected the Sixth Amendment rights of people facing criminal charges.
By the Numbers
- 3-2: The Idaho Supreme Court’s vote.
- 2024: The year Idaho’s statewide public defense system began operating.
- 2015: The year the ACLU of Idaho filed the lawsuit.
- 2022: The year the Legislature shifted public-defense costs to the state through House Bill 735.
- 2023: The year lawmakers created the Office of the Public Defender through House Bill 236.
Zoom Out
The Legislature’s changes replaced the prior county-based funding structure with a statewide system. The Office of the Public Defender began operating in 2024, and a district court dismissed the class-action lawsuit that same year after finding the case moot.
The Supreme Court did not rule on whether the changes to Idaho’s public defense system are constitutional or whether the new system has succeeded. Meyer argued that the lawsuit should continue because the alleged deficiencies had not been shown to be resolved.
What’s Next
The ACLU may appeal the decision. Paul Carlos Southwick said the ruling was disappointing for the thousands of Idahoans he said deserve an opportunity to properly defend themselves in court.
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