The Internet Guide to the Idaho Courts is an electronic companion to the hard-copy Media Guide to the Idaho Courts.  Both Guides are designed to provide a quick source of basic information for journalists covering the Idaho court system. The Internet Guide contains links to numerous relevant laws and rules, as well as to other Internet sources of legal information.  Topics in the Internet Guide are in the same order as topics in the Media Guide.   (NOTE:  The Internet Guide was updated July 2005; however, the hard-copy Media Guide to the Idaho Courts, published in November 2000, has not yet been reprinted.)

 

If at any time you do not know the meaning of a legal term used below, you can check the definition by clicking on "Law Dictionary" at http://law.com. There also is a glossary at the end of this Guide, and a brief list of legal "jargon" terms and their definitions.

 

 

 

• Idaho's Judicial Structure
• Courthouse Etiquette for Media
• Special Rules for Cameras and Recording Equipment
• Getting Court Records
• Criminal Proceedings
• Civil Proceedings
• Juvenile Proceedings
• High Interest Proceedings

      Covering High-Interest Proceedings

Child Abuse

Domestic Violence

Capital Cases

Snake River Basin Adjudication

• The Appellate Process
• Judicial Selection and Election
• Access to Jurors
• Other Resources

      What to do if you are denied access to court proceedings

      Media and the Courts Conflict Resolution Panel

      Complaints against Judges or Attorneys

      Program for the Appropriate Response to Criticism of Judges and Courts (ISB)

• A Short List of Internet Resources
• Appendix

Sample Court Records Request Form

Sample Request Form: Cameras in the Courtroom

Understanding Legal Citations

Glossary of Legal Jargon

Glossary of Legal Terms

Public Access Terminals

Telephone and Fax Directory to County Courthouses

• A Note on "Privilege" and Reporting Court Proceedings

 

 

The Supreme Court, the state's top appellate court, includes the Chief Justice and four other justices. You may link to specific information about Idaho’s justices and judges on the Court’s web site at http://www.isc.idaho.gov. Computer users with Acrobat Reader installed can access the "Supreme Court of Idaho Internal Rules Text," a detailed description of the operation of the court.  The Supreme Court employs an Administrative Director of the Courts, supervised by the Chief Justice, whose duties include acting as the public information officer for the Court.

 

The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals hear appeals from District Courts and from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission and the Industrial Commission. The Court of Appeals hears cases assigned by the Supreme Court except capital murder convictions and appeals from the Public Utilities Commission or Industrial Commission. This Court includes a chief judge and two other judges. You may link to specific information about the Court of Appeals judges at http://www.isc.idaho.gov/scopins.htm.

 

Idaho is divided into seven judicial districts, each with an Administrative Judge chosen by the other judges in the district. See chapter one of  "Overview of the Idaho Court System," for a judicial district map, a chart of the judicial structure, and for more information about the state’s judicial districts, including telephone numbers of Idaho Courts.

 

Each county has a District Court, which includes a Magistrate Division. There are 39 district judges and 83 magistrate judges in the state. District judges hear felony criminal cases and civil actions if the amount involved is more than $10,000, and appeals of decisions of the Magistrate Division. Each district judge employs a Court Reporter who is responsible for capturing the record of proceedings in that judge's court. See http://www.isc.idaho.gov/district.htm to link to the web sites of several of Idaho’s district courts. See also a statewide County Courthouse Directory, including addresses and telephone numbers.

 

The Magistrate Division hears probate matters, divorce proceedings, juvenile proceedings, initial felony proceedings through the preliminary hearing, criminal misdemeanors, infractions, civil cases when the amount in dispute does not exceed $10,000, and cases in Small Claims Court, established for disputes of $4,000 or less. See chapter two of  "Overview of the Idaho Court System," for more information about the operation of Idaho’s district courts and magistrate divisions.

 

Each judicial district employs a Trial Court Administrator, supervised by the administrative district judge and the Administrative Director of the Courts. The Trial Court Administrator helps to manage the district court operations, and often handles media contacts with court personnel and judges. See chapter three of  "Overview of the Idaho Court System," for more information about the work of Trial Court Administrators.

 

The elected Clerk of the District Court (the "county clerk") is an important link between the judiciary and county government. District court clerks and their deputies provide crucial services to district magistrates and judges. One important role of the elected clerk is to serve as one of the county’s jury commissioners, a group responsible for managing the jury selection process under supervision of the court.  See Idaho Code § 2-205 and Idaho Code § 2-207 for more information on the jury commission and its operation.

 

 

• The presiding judge controls what happens in the courtroom. Ask a court clerk or bailiff if the court has a written list of rules for the media.

• Judges are bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct, and generally cannot comment on any ongoing or pending case in any court. This rule extends to court personnel under the judge's control--for example, clerks, bailiffs, reporters, law clerks, and probation officers.

 

• Judges explain their reasons for handing down a particular punishment when the defendant is sentenced. If you have procedural questions about a judge's ruling, order, or sentence, the judge may be able to answer it for you. The Trial Court Administrator, or other authorized court personnel can provide you with a copy of the order, but cannot, for example, interpret or analyze the judge's decision for you.

 

• Turn off your beeper or cell phone or put them on "vibrate" mode. Find out ahead of time if you can use a laptop computer in the courtroom, and if you can, where you should sit. Never conduct interviews inside the courtroom while a proceeding is in session.

 

 

 

The Idaho Supreme Court has adopted Idaho Court Administrative Rule (ICAR) 45, for the use of cameras and recording equipment in the courtroom. The presiding judge authorizes and may revoke the use of cameras and other recording equipment at any time without prior notice. The judge’s decision cannot be appealed. Additionally:

 

• Approval to photograph or broadcast a court proceeding must be obtained in advance from the presiding judge. Check with the court to see if a special request form is available. A sample request form is included in the Appendix to this Guide.

 

• Unless the judge specifically allows for more, only one still photographer and one camera operator will be allowed in the courtroom. The media must arrange for pooling their coverage in advance. Be sure that your news organization has made arrangements for pooling before proceeding.
   
• The judge will indicate where you will sit. Be in position at least 15 minutes before court begins. Don't move around during the proceeding.

 

• Never photograph or videotape the jury, including during jury selection ("voir dire").

 

• Photographers may not use artificial lighting, electronic flashes, external motor drives on cameras, or do fast, random shooting.

 

• The judge will determine where audio equipment is placed. Only one set of microphones for all the media present will be allowed.

 

• Video or television cameras cannot indicate when they're running.

 

• Conversations in the courtroom between attorneys and their clients, between attorneys for a client, or between attorneys and the presiding judge at the bench ("sidebars") may not be broadcast.

 

• Photographs shall not be taken of notes on the counsel’s table or of any exhibits, before they are admitted into evidence.

 

• Sessions in the judge's chambers or the jurors’ deliberations may not be recorded or broadcast.

 

• Special rules apply to appellate courts. Contact the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

 

 

Idaho Court Administrative Rule 32 (ICAR 32), governs access to judicial records. This is not the same as Idaho's public records law (I. C. sections 9-337 to 9-342).   ICAR 32 covers all court "records," which includes almost everything in the possession of the court or its staff, whether or not it is filed in a case. (See Appendix for a sample records request form.)

 

The Idaho Statewide Trial Court Record System, known as ISTARS, is a computer system used by Idaho's trial courts to assist in the processing of all cases filed at the trial court level. The case file serves as the official court record and includes all documents filed in that case. Open court records are listed on ISTARS. Ask a clerk for assistance in using ISTARS on a public access terminal, if one is available. Remote access to most ISTARS records is planned for the future.  A county by county list of public access terminals is included in the appendix.

 

Open records:

Minutes
Orders
Opinions
Findings of fact
Conclusions of law
Judgments and notices
Warrants after they have been served and returned
Records offered or introduced as exhibits in trials or hearings
Pleadings
Motions
Affidavits
Responses
Memoranda
Briefs
Other records which are not exempt from disclosure by law or rule

 

Closed records:

Child Protection Act Proceedings
Pre-sentence Investigation Reports
Mental Commitment Case Records
Records relating to unserved search warrants.
Records relating to identity of Grand Jurors or Trial Jurors in certain cases
Adoption Records
Parental Rights Termination Records
Domestic Violence Protection Files except orders of the Court
Records
   to determine an individual's need for counseling/rehabilitation
   to determine appropriate custody of minor children
   to provide the court with a psychological evaluation
   to assist in assigning an appropriate disposition
Judicial Work Product or Drafts
Personnel Records Including Applications for Employment
(Some employment records of a public official are open)
Computer Programs and related intellectual property records
State Law Library records linking patrons to materials borrowed
Grand Jury records
Records of the Idaho State Bar relating to attorney discipline
Records relating to judge performance or discipline, unless formal charges are

  filed with the Supreme Court.

Juror qualification forms and questionnaires

Applications and test scores of persons seeking to be placed on the Supreme

  Court’s roster of persons providing court services

Records whose release would endanger innocents invade privacy, defame, humiliate or ridicule innocent individuals, disclose proprietary business records or trade secrets, or otherwise make public certain private facts.

 

Juvenile records: Access to Juvenile Correction Act records is governed by Rule 32 of the Idaho Court Administrative Rules. Following the juvenile's admit/deny hearing, case records and files are open unless the court enters an order exempting them from disclosure. If a juvenile is adjudicated guilty of an act that would be a criminal offense if committed by an adult, the name, offense, and disposition of the court are open to the public. However, if the juvenile is found not to have committed the act or the charge is reduced to less than a felony if committed by an adult, the court may close all those case records and documents.

 

Trial transcripts and recordings: Typewritten transcripts of proceedings are sometimes part of the court record and you may obtain one for the cost of copying. You may request that a typewritten transcript of a proceeding be prepared; however, the cost for this could be significant. You may re-record audio records of a proceeding, but listening to extensive real-time entire proceedings may be less efficient than buying a transcript.

Custodians of court records: Contact the official custodian of a court record, identified below, with your initial request.

 

Location of Record	Custodian
Supreme Court or Court of Appeals	Clerk of the Supreme Court or a deputy
case file	clerk designated in writing
Supreme Court or Court of Appeals,	Administrative Director of the Courts or
but not in a case file	other person designated in writing by
	the Chief Justice
District court or magistrate division,	Clerk of the District Court or a deputy
but not in a case file	clerk designated in writing
District court or magistrate division,	Trial Court Administrator of the judicial
but not in a case file	district, or judge or magistrate designated by the Administrative District Judge
Judicial Council	Executive Director of the Judicial Council.
Idaho State Bar	Executive Director of the Idaho State Bar or other
	person designated in writing by the Idaho State Bar
	Commissioners.

 

Custodian Judges: Custodian judges are those who hear appeals of denials of requests from custodians, and vary depending upon the location of the record requested. 

 

Location of Record	Custodian Judge
Supreme Court or Judicial Council	Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court, or the
	Vice-Chief Justice in the absence of the Chief Justice
Court of Appeals	Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, or a Judge of
	the Court of Appeals designated in writing
District court or magistrate division	The presiding magistrate or judge of that case, or
	Judge or magistrate designated in writing by the
	Administrative District Judge
Idaho State Bar	Administrative District Judge of the Fourth Judicial
	District of the State of Idaho or a district judge
	designated in writing by the Administrative District
	Judge

Requesting the court record: A detailed description of the court rules regarding access to records may be found in Idaho Court Administrative Rule 32.

 Most requests to see a court record need not be in writing; simply ask the clerk for a record by its case number, or if you do not know that, the case name.

 If there is some doubt as to whether the record is available to the public, or if it is not readily available, it's best to put your request in writing. A sample request form is included in the Appendix to this Guide.

 The custodian has up to three working days to either disclose the record; notify you that it will take more than three days to determine if your request should be granted (in this case the custodian has ten working days to respond); refer the request to the appropriate custodian judge, or deny the request in writing. 

If a custodian denies your request, you have the right to appeal to the custodian judge. If the custodian judge also denies access, you can pursue the matter in court under Idaho Code § 9-343. 

 

 

 

A proceeding is "criminal" when the defendant is alleged to have violated a criminal statute. There are two basic types of crimes: misdemeanors and felonies. An "infraction," such as most speeding tickets, is not technically a crime, but a civil public offense punishable only by a fine of up to $100 (plus court costs) and no imprisonment. General misdemeanors have a maximum fine of $300 and incarceration of not in the county jail more than six months. A felony may be punished by imprisonment in a state correctional facility of more than a year or, in some instances, by death (a "capital crime").  See Idaho Code § 18-111 for basic definitions. See also Chapter VI in "Overview of the Idaho Court System," for more information. The Idaho Criminal Rules apply to criminal cases. Most of the steps in the process described below apply to felony charges.

 

• Pre-Trial

The police investigation: This first stage of the criminal proceeding often involves the investigation of a crime by law enforcement. This may include the issuance of a search warrant by a Magistrate Judge, and/or interrogation of the defendant by law enforcement, and may include arrest of the defendant.

 

Filing the complaint: The complaint describes the formal charge against the defendant and may be signed by a prosecutor or police officer. If the defendant has not already been arrested, the court may order an arrest warrant allowing police to take custody of the person charged, or a summons requiring the person to appear before the court.

 

The first appearance in the magistrate division: This is the first time the defendant is before a judge regarding the complaint. Don't confuse first appearance with preliminary hearing or arraignment. The defendant is advised of his or her rights and the judge explains the legal procedure that will be followed in the case. If the defendant cannot afford an attorney, the court will consider whether to appoint one. A defendant charged with a felony may not enter a plea at this stage of the process, but if this is a misdemeanor case, the first appearance is combined with the arraignment, where the defendant must enter a plea. If this is a felony case, at the first appearance the defendant is entitled to a preliminary hearing unless the defendant waives this later proceeding, when the prosecutor must show there is probable cause to believe a crime has been committed and the defendant committed it. At this stage bond will be addressed if the defendant is incarcerated.

 

Bail bond: Bond will be addressed at any time if the defendant is incarcerated.

 

The preliminary (or "probable cause") hearing: At this hearing, the magistrate judge determines if there is probable cause to believe that a felony crime has been committed and that the defendant committed it. If so, the defendant is "bound over," that is, the case is sent to district court for arraignment and other future proceedings. If the prosecutor fails to make an adequate showing at the preliminary hearing, the Magistrate Judge may dismiss the case or the charge may be reduced to a less serious offense.

 

The arraignment in a felony case: This proceeding is held before a district judge. The defendant is again advised of his or her rights and the procedures the court will follow, and enters a plea. At this stage, the court may again consider bond. If the defendant pleads not guilty or remains silent, the case will be set for trial. If the defendant pleads guilty, the judge will order a presentence investigation and set a sentencing date.

 

The grand jury process: This is an alternative to the process described above, which is authorized in Idaho Code section 19-1101 and the Idaho Constitution.. The grand jury is a panel of citizens called together to hear evidence and decide if criminal charges should be brought by its indictment (rather than the prosecutor's complaint). The grand jury has broad investigative powers to gather evidence, and can call witnesses and compel them to testify. Grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret. If the grand jury returns an indictment, the court issues an arrest warrant or summons for the person indicted, and that person appears before the District Court for arraignment and consideration of bail.  See Idaho Criminal Rule 6.5 and Chapter XI in "Overview of the Idaho Court System,"  for more information.

 

Pre-trial motions: During the post-arraignment, pre-trial period, the judge may consider and rule on any number of motions, often involving whether certain evidence may be introduced. The judge may schedule pre-trial hearings to hear attorneys argue the motions. Additionally, a pre-trial conference with the judge and the attorneys for both sides will be held to set the ground rules for the trial.

 

Plea agreements: Most criminal cases do not go to trial. In criminal actions, the prosecutor and the defendant's attorney may come to an agreement about what the defendant will admit to and what the prosecutor will recommend as a sentence. Some plea agreements are informal agreements between the defendant and prosecutor, which do not bind the judge. In plea agreements made pursuant to Idaho Criminal Rule 11, the judge will then hold a hearing to determine whether to accept the agreement. The judge is not bound by the plea agreement, and if the judge doesn't follow it, the defendant may be allowed to withdraw his plea. See ICR 11, found at http://www.isc.idaho.gov   /rules/crim11.rul, for more information.

 

• The Trial

Deciding whether to call a jury or hold a court trial before a judge: Generally, unless there is a waiver of the right to a jury trial, a jury will be called. Felony trials are conducted before a twelve-person jury. A six-person jury hears misdemeanors.  See Idaho Criminal Rule 23.

 

Jury selection: This stage begins with voir dire (vwor der)--when attorneys for both sides question potential jury members under oath. An attorney may challenge a prospective juror for cause (meaning the attorney has found a demonstrable reason why a person should not serve) or use a "peremptory" challenge, in which case the attorney need not state why this person should not be on the jury. Attorneys will have a certain number of peremptory challenges.  See Idaho Criminal Rule 24 for more information.

 

Opening statements: After the jury has been impaneled, each side has the opportunity to make an opening statement in which the attorneys talk to the jury about what they will hear in the case. A defendant's attorney may choose to wait to give an opening statement until it is the defense's turn to present their case.

 

Prosecution's case: The prosecution calls its witnesses and questions them--this is direct examination--and the defense attorney will cross-examine them. Attorneys are not supposed to "lead" their own witnesses; that is, they may not provide answers to the questions they ask. On cross-examination, however, an attorney is allowed to lead the witness.

Throughout the case, attorneys will make objections to what the other side attempts to do--the form of questioning, the introduction of certain evidence, for example. The judge may overrule or sustain the objection. "overrule" means the objection is not correct under the law. "Sustain" means the judge agrees that the objection is correct under the rules of the law.

 

Defendant's case: The defense attorney may begin with an opening statement if one has not already been given. After both sides have questioned the defendant’s witnesses, the defense rests.

 

Rebuttal witnesses: At this time attorneys may call rebuttal witnesses, to explain or contradict testimony that previously has been heard.

 

The judge instructs the jury: The judge explains the law--what the elements of the crime are--so the jury can apply it to the evidence presented.

 

Closing arguments: This is the lawyers' last chance to convince jurors to see the evidence their way.

 

Jury retires and reaches a verdict: When the jury reaches a verdict, the judge, attorneys and defendant come back into the courtroom to hear it read. Afterward, upon the request of either counsel, the judge may poll the jury; that is, inquire of each juror individually if this is his or her verdict. Verdicts must be unanimous; if the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict (a "hung jury"), the judge may declare a mistrial, and the prosecutor will determine whether or not to re-file the case. See Idaho Criminal Rule 31.  If the defendant is acquitted, the defendant is released from the custody of the court. If the defendant is convicted, a new part of the process begins.