Idaho Supreme Court rules DA’s office must pay for appeal records • Idaho Capital Sun

The Idaho Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Idaho State Public Defender Office is responsible for covering the costs of appeal protocols for indigent defendants, eliminating months of uncertainty among authorities.

The decision comes a month later Prosecutor, public appellate defender, Ada County prosecutor and Canyon County prosecutor argued in court why they should not be responsible for the costs of the appeal protocols.

Appeal transcripts are detailed records of court proceedings required during the appeal process. According to the court on Thursday, “appropriate transcripts are among the necessary services and representation opportunities that must be made available to indigent defendants at public expense.”

This confusion comes from the State Public Defender Acta 2023 law that took away public defense responsibility from the county and applied it to the state. The law established the Idaho State Public Defender Office, a statewide public defender system that went into effect on October 1. Since its enactment, the law states that counties have been relieved of “any further financial or legal obligation to provide indigent public defense.”

The Idaho Supreme Court said the new law was “clear and unambiguous” and demonstrated the legislature’s intent to transfer all legal and financial responsibility for indigent public defense services from counties to the state.

The court said the new law contains no indication that the State Appellate Public Defender’s Office is responsible for appellate records, and that the law’s language makes it clear that Idaho’s new public defender’s office is responsible.

“We are aware of the State Public Defender’s budget limitations, but whether the (agency) currently has funds to pay for appeal records for indigent defendants is irrelevant to the question of whether it is required by law to do so,” the court wrote in his judgment decision.

On November 5, the parties involved in this case presented their case to the Idaho Supreme Court.

After the transition to public defense in Idaho, authorities are unclear about who will cover the cost of court records

Public Defender Eric Fredericksen and the State’s Appellate Defense Attorney Erik Lehtinen argued that because the new law does not specifically identify the costs of appeal records as expenses no longer covered by the county, the previous law’s requirement that these costs be paid “from the county treasury” still applies.

“We are not convinced,” the court responded to this argument in its decision.

In contrast, Ada and Canyon County attorneys argued that the new law overrides the previous one and makes the state fully responsible. Shawna Dunn of the Ada County District Attorney’s Office previously told the court that the new law was a “legislative oversight.”

The Idaho Capital Sun has reached out to the Idaho State Public Defender’s Office for comment.

Fredericksen previously told According to the Idaho Capital Sun, the office will make a significant budget increase request in the 2025 legislative session.