News & Commentary

The Idaho Public Defense Commission is creating rules that will set the standards for public defense in Idaho, including rules pertaining to investigations, use of experts, parity in investigators, experts, and testing resources between public defenders and prosecutors, and qualifications for public defenders who work on death penalty cases. The rules also include a new enforcement standard that outlines how the Commission will hold counties accountable to meeting the standards and other rules. These rules will be discussed throughout the month of October and then sent to the Idaho Legislature for approval in early 2018. The Commission needs to hear directly from people who are dealing with Idaho's public defense system, whose stories and experiences can play a big role in fixing that system. If you’re interested in providing feedback and want more information about the rules creation process, review our 2017 Public Defense Commission Rules guide here. 

We applaud the legislature for taking the first step in reforming the public defender system in Idaho. 

“We will appeal this decision. We disagree with the court that it has no role in deciding the fate of our constitutional right to adequate representation."

Thousands of defendants left without representation at critical points in their prosecutionBOISE, Idaho – The ACLU, the ACLU of Idaho, and the global law firm Hogan Lovells filed a class action lawsuit against the state of Idaho asking the court to force the state to fix its unconstitutional system of public defense, which deprives thousands of Idahoans of their Sixth Amendment right to adequate legal representation and withholds the resources needed by public defenders throughout the state to effectively represent those prosecuted by state government.