What is the State Public Defender Office?

The Idaho Legislature created the State Public Defender (SPD) office in 2023 to consolidate all indigent public defense in the state under one under a single agency. This was done to create efficiencies in the system and establish a state-wide system of professional standards to help ensure any person who is charged with a crime in Idaho who cannot afford a defense attorney gets a robust and professional legal defense.

Who pays for public defense in Idaho?

The State of Idaho took over financial responsibility for public defense from Idaho's 44 counties in 2022. The SPD is paid out of the state general fund, which gives the residents of Idaho's 44 counties some property tax relief on the local level.

How will the SPD be managed?

Idaho Governor Brad Little appointed Eric Fredericksen as the State Public Defender in 2023. Eric runs the agency, which is comprised of an executive team in Boise, deputy State Public Defenders in all of Idaho's seven judicial districts, 12 county-based institutional offices, and a network of private attorneys who do public defense work in the Idaho counties without established public defender offices.

What counties have institutional public defender offices in Idaho?

Ada, Bannock, Blaine, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Gooding, Jefferson, Kootenai, and Twin Falls counties have established public defender offices. The counties of Minidoka and Cassia - and Power and Oneida - have combined offices. The remaining 30 counties had contract agreements with private attorneys to do public defense. Those private attorneys now contract with the SPD.

How will the SPD manage public defense in a state as varied as Idaho?

The SPD will begin uniting public defense in Idaho with two specific strategies. By Oct. 1, 2024, all cases involving public defense will be entered into the Legal Server case management system - and all contract attorneys will be paid the same hourly rate.

Can I track specific public defense cases through the SPD?

No. Our agency manages Idaho's public defense system, not the cases themselves. Specific cases are handled on a county level.

How can I track the progress of active criminal cases in Idaho?

The Idaho Supreme Court has created a searchable state-wide court information website called ICourts (https://icourt.idaho.gov/) where all current and historical criminal cases in Idaho are searchable by name or case number. You can find that at https://portal-idaho.tylertech.cloud/odysseyportal. Please make sure you have the correct spelling of the person you are looking up. Having a specific case number will make searching more accurate.

How does the State Public Defender get assigned to a criminal case? Can I request a public defender?

Only a magistrate or district judge in one of Idaho's seven judicial districts can assign a public defender to a criminal case - and only if the judge determines the person charged with a crime is indigent. The only time someone can request a public defender is if they are charged with a crime and are indigent.

How does the State Public Defender get assigned to a criminal case? Can I request a public defender?

Only a magistrate or district judge in one of Idaho's seven judicial districts can assign a public defender to a criminal case - and only if the judge determines the person charged with a crime is indigent. The only time someone can request a public defender is if they are charged with a crime and are indigent.

The SPD is hiring 20+ attorneys to bolster public defense across Idaho

July 8, 2025 by Patrick Orr

The State Public Defender office is looking for attorneys who want to make a difference as we work to transform public defense in Idaho.

The SPD is currently hiring 20+ new attorneys to bolster our institutional offices that need more attorneys – and to staff four new offices in Shoshone, Benewah, Jerome, and Elmore counties.

The SPD’s new attorney salary matrix for staff attorneys makes us more competitive in the marketplace and will help reduce the amount of pressure on our contract attorneys in north and central Idaho – where we are adding new offices. Check out the job postings for all SPD openings here.

Our biggest area of need is north Idaho, where we are hiring three attorneys and a legal assistant to set up a new office in Benewah County; four attorneys and two legal assistants for our new office in Shoshone County; five attorneys to cover vacancies in the Kootenai office; and two attorneys to fill open positions in the Bonner office.

Having established public defense offices and staff attorneys in four of the five counties in the 1^st Judicial District will reduce the demand for contract attorneys and help stabilize public defense in the region.

We are also actively hiring for the new Elmore and Jerome offices.

When the positions are full, the SPD will have offices in 18 of Idaho’s 44 counties. That means we have 26 counties where public defense is served by contract attorneys.

Thanks to the support of the Idaho Legislature, we’ve been able to raise the state-wide hourly rate for contract attorneys from $100 to $125, which should bolster public defense in our more rural and remote areas. Attorneys interested in doing contract work for the SPD should send us a message at Info@spd.idaho.gov.

Everything we are doing or have done – preserving vertical representation, getting rid of unconstitutional flat-fee contracts in counties without established offices; the creation of a statewide case management system for every public defender to use; and increasing the salaries and contract rates for attorneys are all designed for the continual improvement and evolution of public defense in Idaho.

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