Starting Tuesday, Idaho’s public defense attorneys will all work under a centralized state agency for the first time. Previously, each of Idaho’s 44 counties ran their own public defense systems.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to adequate legal representation.
A 2010 study by a national group found glaring problems with Idaho’s county-by-county public defense system and an ongoing lawsuit filed in 2015 has led to similar conclusions.
State lawmakers passed legislation in 2022 and 2023 to adopt the new centralized scheme to try to fix those issues.
Legislators budgeted $49 million to cover the department’s first nine months of operations. The vast majority of staff and attorneys will see a pay increase, though 15% of the workforce will take a salary cut.
“Probably the most difficult day I’ve ever had as an attorney,” said Idaho’s chief public defender, Eric Fredericksen. “You never want to give somebody a pay cut.”
Fredericksen said some attorneys are also unhappy with a shift away from flat-fee contracts. Instead, all contracted attorneys will earn $100 hourly, a structure recommended by the American Bar Association.
Fredericksen and some of his staff are pinch-hitting as they fill holes in their roster. He’ll be handling cases in Jerome County Tuesday.
“The first couple days might be a little bit bumpy, but we have plenty of coverage throughout the state, so I’m not extremely worried about that,” he said.
State officials will collect data over the coming months and years to determine if the system needs more funding to uphold its constitutional obligations.
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