After months of ambiguity among public entities, the Idaho Supreme Court decided Thursday that the Idaho State Public Defender Office must pay for the expense of appeal transcripts for destitute defendants.
The state public defender, state appellate public defender, Ada County prosecutor, and Canyon County prosecutor all argued to the court why they shouldn’t be liable for the expense of appeal transcripts, and the ruling was made a month later.
Transcripts of appeals are thorough documentation of the court proceedings required for the appeals procedure. Relevant transcripts are one of the essential services and representational facilities that impoverished defendants must receive at public expense, the court said Thursday.
The State Public Defender Act, a 2023 statute that transferred public defense duties from the county to the state, is the cause of this misunderstanding. On October 1, the law went into effect, creating a statewide public defense system known as the Idaho State Public Defender Office. The statute states that counties are no longer legally or financially obligated to provide indigent public defense since it went into force.
The new legislation, according to the Idaho Supreme Court, is plain and clear, demonstrating the Legislature’s intention to shift all financial and legal accountability for indigent public defense services from the counties to the state.
The court ruled that the language of the new statute suggests Idaho’s new public defense agency is in charge of appeal transcripts, and that nothing in the law suggests the State Appellate Public Defender’s Office is in charge of them.
Although we are aware of the State Public Defender’s financial limitations, the court stated in its ruling that whether the agency now has the resources to cover the cost of appeal transcripts for defendants who are impoverished is unrelated to the question of whether it is required by law to do so.
Arguments previously made to the Supreme Court of Idaho
The parties to this case presented their arguments to the Idaho Supreme Court on November 5.
State Public Defender Eric Fredericksen and State Appellate Public Defender Erik Lehtinen contended that the previous law’s requirement that appeal transcript costs be paid from the county treasury still applies because the new law does not specifically name these costs as expenses that the county is no longer responsible for.
In its ruling, the court responded to the reasoning by writing, “We are not persuaded.”
Attorneys from Ada and Canyon County, on the other hand, contended that the state is solely liable because the new statute supersedes the old one. Ada County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Shawna Dunn earlier informed the court that the new statute was a legislative oversight.
The Idaho State Public Defender’s Office has been contacted by The Idaho Capital Sun for comment.
Fredericksen previously informed the Idaho Capital Sun that during the 2025 legislative session, the office will be requesting a major boost in funding.
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