Gov. Butch Otter is calling for applicants to be Idaho’s next state appellate public defender, after the previous SAPD, Sara Thomas, was appointed administrative director of Idaho courts.

The SAPD provides appellate representation to indigent defendants who have been convicted of a felony in district court, according to the office’s website; the office was created in 1998. The SAPD also provides appellate representation to petitioners in state felony post-conviction and habeas cases. In capital cases, where a defendant has been sentenced to death, the SAPD provides district court representation for post conviction proceedings, as well as representation on appeal from both the denial of a post conviction petition and the direct appeal from the judgment of conviction.

The office has 22 full-time employees, including 14 attorneys. Candidates must have practiced law in good standing with the Idaho State Bar for at least five years.

Thomas was appointed SAPD in January of 2012, after serving as chief of the office’s appellate unit for the previous 10 years. She replaced former SAPD Molly Huskey, who was appointed to serve as a 3^rd District judge.

Otter is taking applications through Nov. 15; there’s more info here.