Idaho Legal Overview The Idaho Supreme Court is the highest court in Idaho, with five justices elected for six-year terms. The justice who has the shortest remaining term becomes the Chief Justice. The Idaho Court of Appeals has four judges elected for six-year terms, but a three-member panel hears cases assigned to it by the Supreme Court. The District Court is the main trial court with general jurisdiction, with 37 judges for seven judicial districts elected for four-year terms. The Magistrate Court has limited jurisdiction over misdemeanors, traffic infractions, minor civil cases and initial felony hearings.
Top metro Idaho areas for Legal Issues:
1. Capital punishment is legal in Idaho. Among the landmark cases that were initially filed in Idaho courts, the most famous are Sackett v. EPA (2012) and Idaho v. Wright (1990). In the former, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that recipients of compliance requirement notices sent by the EPA should have the right to an immediate judicial appeal. Idaho v. Wright clarified the power of the Confrontation Clause in the 6th Amendment. The case in question was about Idaho's residual hearsay exception law, with testimony provided by a pediatrician regarding what two sisters aged 5 ½ and 2 ½ had said. 2. A federal jury has awarded almost $888,000 in monetary compensation to an Idaho man who alleged his Idaho employer discriminated against him because of his ethnic background. 3. A national group concentrating on childrens' legal issues is stepping up to represent approximately 18,000 mentally ill and poor children in Idaho in a long-running federal legal claim against state leaders.
Trending Idaho Legal Topics: The unified Idaho State Bar (ISB) was established in 1923 as an independent state agency. All lawyers licensed to practice law in Idaho must become members of the ISB. There are around 3,550 active ISB members. Complaints for misconduct against judges have to be sent in writing to the Idaho Judicial Council in Boise. |