The Idaho Public Defense Comission (PDC) is tasked with promulgating rules concerning public defender competency, caseload standards, and funding. The PDC is also responsible for establishing procedures for oversight and enforcement of indigent defense standards.
The ACLU of Idaho offered public comment to the PDC on the proposed rules in October of 2020. However, none of our recommendations were incorporated into the rules that are now pending before the Idaho Legislature. Accordingly, we continue to reject most of the PDC’s pending rules as they fail to adequately address Idaho’s failing public defense system. Below is a detailed review of our concerns. You can read our testimony in full below.
WORKLOAD STANDARDS
The PDC workload standard is not well-founded and relies on dubious or unreliable sources. The ACLU urges the PDC to complete a workload study now, rather than waiting until 2023 and adopt National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (NAC) workload standards until the study is completed. The ACLU offers this recommendation noting that even NAC standards have been determined by experts to be too high.
TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS
The pending rules also seemingly remove existing standards that require public defenders be familiar with mental health, substance abuse, poverty, education, and other social issues that affect the lives of indigent clients.
LACK OF INDEPENDENCE
The ACLU of Idaho remains concerned about public defenders’ independence from authority of county commissioners and prosecuting attorneys. The proposed rules regarding the involvement of prosecuting attorneys is too vague to ensure independence.
MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT
The ACLU of Idaho urges legislators to reject the proposed definition of “material” violations. The proposed rule should provide, as the existing rules do, that all violations of the PDC standards are material. Furthermore, there should be a presumption that those deficiencies are caused by the state and county.
Additionally, rules should identify indigent criminal and juvenile defendants as the primary stakeholder in monitoring and enforcement of PDC rules. The rules should require the PDC to interview and gather information from indigent clients themselves.
Click on links below to view rule text.
