News & Commentary

Too many Idahoans have been negatively affected by our criminal justice system--a system that still relies on out-of-date, "tough on crime" policies and punitive approaches to justice that don't work and aren't right for Idaho. We believe in the power of Idahoans stories to shape the conversation around criminal justice reform in our state. Together, we can transform Idaho's criminal justice system to be more fair, equitable and rooted in community based solutions.

Too many Idahoans have been negatively affected by our criminal justice system--a system that still relies on out-of-date, "tough on crime" policies and punitive approaches to justice that don't work and aren't right for Idaho. We believe in the power of Idahoans' stories to shape the conversation around criminal justice reform in our state. Together, we can transform Idaho's criminal justice system to be more fair, equitable and rooted in community based solutions. RobRob

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. 

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.

Originally published in the Idaho Statesman on May 7, 2015. Link here.By: Ritchie Eppink, Legal Director, ACLU of Idaho

Unnecessary solitary confinement of adolescent amounts to punishment before conviction, ACLU brief contendsBoise, Idaho—On Friday, July 21, 2014 the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho Foundation (ACLU) filed documents in District Court in Kootenai County in support of a petition by the County Public Defender’s office to end the solitary confinement of fifteen-year old Eldon Samuel III, who has been held in isolation in an adult jail while awaiting trial. Eldon, who recently turned fifteen, has been in isolation for more than 70 days in a makeshift child isolation cell near the Kootenai County adult jail’s booking area. The cell’s windows are covered with dark blinds, limiting his access to any natural light or viewing outside his cinderblock cell. He is allowed out only for showers, exercise on a cement slab, and religious and attorney visits.