News & Commentary

 

 

BOISE—Idaho’s Fourth Judicial District Court ruled yesterday that an ACLU lawsuit challenging the State’s failure to adequately fund and support Idaho’s defective public defense system can go forth as a class action. The ruling is a landmark victory for Idaho plaintiffs and plaintiffs around the country. The ruling ensures that the impact of the lawsuit will extend beyond the four named plaintiffs and affect tens of thousands of Idahoans and their families who are unable to afford a criminal or juvenile defense lawyer every year. Under the court’s ruling anyone in Idaho with a pending charge against them and who cannot afford an attorney is now a part of the class action.“This is a tremendous decision in protecting the Sixth Amendment right to adequate legal representation for all Idahoans,” said ACLU of Idaho Executi

SAN FRANCISCO – Today the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became the first federal appellate court to strike down provisions of an Ag-Gag law, holding that Idaho’s ban on recording conditions at factory farms and slaughterhouses violates the First Amendment. This victory for free speech comes in a lawsuit filed in 2014 by a coalition of public interest groups and journalists led by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.Today’s decision states that Idaho’s law is “staggeringly overbroad, and that the purpose of the statute [is], in large part, targeted at speech and investigative journalists.” 

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. 

Boise, ID—Today, the Trump administration announced the termination of the DACA program. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, provided temporary protected status from deportation and offered work permits to certain immigrants who came to the United States as children. ACLU of Idaho released the following statement:

Federal Court Order Requires New Kosher Diet at All IDOC Facilities

Idaho Governor is the only one to join 10 State Attorneys General, including Idaho’s, to send Trump an ultimatum to rescind DACA

Boise, ID—On Wednesday morning, July 26, 2017, President Donald Trump tweeted to the nation and world that “…the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” The following statement can be attributed to Leo Morales, executive director for the ACLU of Idaho: