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Each year, Idahoans report civil liberties violations to the ACLU of Idaho. Year after year, one thing remains the same: over half of the civil liberties violations we learn about are the result of our state’s broken criminal legal system.

We know all Idahoans deserve equal access to their constitutional rights, including the right to an attorney, the right to access medical care, and the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. Our criminal legal advocacy is rooted in the simple fact that being accused or convicted of a crime should never mean restricted or reduced access to these rights.

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Our Criminal Legal Reform Work

A Broken System

From arrest to incarceration to reintegration, the failures of Idaho’s criminal legal system impact the lives of tens of thousands of Idahoans. It’s clear the system is broken:  

Arrest

  • 48% of people in Idaho’s jails are not convicted of a crime, threatening the due process, access to legal counsel and other fundamental rights of Idahoans. 
  • Pretrial detention—when someone is held in jail while awaiting their trial—is linked to lost wages and harsher sentencing. It also disproportionately harms folks in rural and low-income communities and communities of color.
  • Failures in Idaho’s public defense system prolong the legal process and significantly contribute to high rates of pretrial detention across the state.

Incarceration

  • In 2024, more than 1/3 of Idaho’s jails failed inspection for violating their own standards. Idaho is one of a few states without regulatory oversight of jails. Annual inspections are voluntarily conducted by the Sheriffs Association — the same non-governmental agency that sets jail health and safety standards. 
  • While incarcerated folks are legally entitled to receive necessary medical care, Idaho jails and prisons charge copays for health care visits and services.  
  • In Idaho, the minimum wage for in-prison labor is $0.10. To afford a single, $5.00 medical co-pay, an incarcerated person would have to work 50 hours. 
  • Idaho incarcerates more women than any other state, most of whom are charged with a non-violent offense.  
  • Idaho women spend nearly twice as long behind bars for drug possession charges compared to the national average sentence for possession charges. 

Reintegration

What We're Doing

The ACLU of Idaho advocates for the constitutional civil rights of those impacted by the criminal legal system by:  

  • Working in the courts to protect, defend, and expand the constitutional and civil rights of defendants and incarcerated people. 
  • Advocating strategically in the legislature to fight policies that contribute to over-criminalization and mass incarceration, and to support reform policies that advance the rights, freedoms, and dignity of those impacted by the system.    
  • Empowering defendants, prisoners, and folks with convictions to know and exercise their rights, including the right to due process, humane conditions of confinement, medical care, and voting. 
  • Amplifying the voices and lived experiences of those impacted by Idaho’s criminal legal system, with the goal of increasing public awareness of the harms, dangers, and injustices within the system. 

Defending Idahoans' Right to an Attorney

Idahoan’s constitutional right to an attorney continues to be undermined, despite our decade-long fight for equal access to legal counsel. In 2015, we filed a lawsuit against the State of Idaho over its defective public defense system. Today, the state’s reckless handling of Idaho’s public defense crisis continues to hurt Idaho families. 

Learn more about our public defense work

Defending Idahoans' Rights in Prison

Day after day, the constitutional rights of Idaho’s incarcerated community are ignored. We consistently receive reports of inadequate or inaccessible health care, poor living conditions, and lack of access to the courts. Through advocacy, lawsuits, and public education, we are fighting for the safety and dignity of a community often forgotten by the outside world.

Learn more about our prisoner’s rights work 

A Long History of Criminal Justice Work

Since the ACLU of Idaho’s inception more than 30 years ago, we’ve remained committed to defending the rights of those impacted by the injustices of our criminal legal system.  

Our historical criminal justice work in Idaho includes:  

Other Idaho Organizations Fighting for Criminal Legal Reform

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