Idaho legislative panel kills public defender resolution

BOISE – Lawmakers on a committee charged with improving Idaho’s public defense system have killed a resolution that would have given the state full responsibly for assigning attorneys to indigent defenders.

Earlier this year, nearly 200 representatives from the state’s 44 counties voted that Idaho should manage the public defense system. However, members of the Legislature’s Public Defense Reform Interim Committee agreed at a meeting Monday that counties should remain in control.

The Idaho Association of Counties has repeatedly argued that it’s the state’s responsibility to fund the public defense system and to make sure it’s meeting its constitutional requirements. The association also has pointed out that county commissioners don’t have law degrees, and they end up making decisions on how to manage the public defense system based on finances rather than legal strategy.

The association worries that the new standards the committee is considering will be another series of unfunded mandates that could cripple counties already strapped for cash.

However, according to committee member and Republican state Sen. Dean Mortimer, county officials have the local expertise to best address the issue.