The Appellate Process

In Idaho, all appellate cases come to the Idaho Supreme Court, which at its discretion assigns a number of these to the Idaho Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court must hear appeals from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, the Industrial Commission and all death penalty case appeals. The Idaho Supreme Court hears disciplinary actions involving attorneys, and writs when filed directly with the Supreme Court. (A writ is a legal order to do or not do something, i.e., a writ of mandamus, prohibition or habeas corpus.) The appellate process is governed by the Idaho Appellate Rules (IAR). The parties in an appellate case are designated as the appellant and the respondent.

In most cases, an attorney must file a notice of appeal within 42 days of the official filing of the disputed judgment, order or decree, or in criminal cases, 42 days from entry of the judgment, which may be enlarged if the court retains jurisdiction or places the defendant on probation. In death penalty cases, the time for filing a notice of appeal does not begin until the death warrant is signed and filed by the District Court. See Idaho Appellate Rules (IAR) 14 for more information. It is important to understand that the purpose of the appellate process is not simply to second-guess the lower court. The purpose of the appellate process is to determine if there was sufficient legal error made by the lower court, which would warrant a reversal or other legal direction from the Supreme Court.

Once the District Court has issued a final appealable order, then the parties can seek relief from the Idaho Supreme Court. When an appeal is filed, the District Court provides the appellate court with a record of the proceeding below, as designated by the parties, who then submit written briefs detailing their arguments. Most appeals are heard in Boise. The Idaho Constitution requires the Supreme Court hear cases in Lewiston at least once a year. In addition to the Lewiston term, the Supreme Court hears cases annually in Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Twin Falls. The Court of Appeals has heard cases in these same cities.

A schedule and summary of the cases to be heard by both the Supreme Court and Idaho Court of Appeals can be found at http://www.isc.idaho.gov/. In oral argument, each party is allowed 30 minutes for its presentation. The justices may ask questions of the speaker at any time during oral argument. After hearing arguments, the appellate court will issue its written opinion, usually within a few months. Most appellate decisions are published in “Idaho Reports,” the official record of Idaho appellate cases, and can be found at http://www.isc.idaho.gov/. Depending on the nature of the case, the decision may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.