MY TURN: Where Idaho gets its judges

Idahoans have several ways they can participate in how their judges are selected. A recent column published in The Press provided some incorrect information about Idaho’s judicial selection processes. To ensure the public has the chance to engage with their government, it is important to provide a more accurate account. 

Idaho’s judges are elected officials. Through regularly scheduled elections, judges remain accountable to the public they serve. The process for those elections varies by type of judge. 

Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges stand for election every six years. District judges — local trial court judges who hear high-value civil cases and felony criminal cases in Idaho’s county courthouses — do the same every four years. These are contested, nonpartisan elections where anyone can become a candidate if they meet the requirements in Idaho law to be a judge. It has not been that long since Kootenai County voters helped decide a contested race for a district judge seat, or since voters just to the south did the same for a judge chambered in Nez Perce County.  

Idaho’s Constitution recognizes that if a judge leaves office in the middle of their term, the work of the courts cannot just pause. A judge may reach retirement age, encounter health problems or make a career change that does not allow them to stay in the role of a judge. But the people involved in cases before Idaho’s courts expect a fair and timely resolution of their issues. As a result, state law also includes a process for appointing a new judge or justice to fill out the remainder of someone’s term, just as processes exist to fill vacancies in the legislative and executive branches. 

For the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and for district judges, a statewide Judicial Council interviews applicants and recommends three to four possible appointees to the governor. The governor then decides who to appoint as the new judge. Aside from the chair — Idaho’s chief justice, who generally does not participate in votes — the members of this Judicial Council are selected by the governor and must be confirmed by the Idaho Senate, making them accountable to other elected representatives of the people. The Council’s interview process includes a chance for public comment and the interviews are public meetings that anyone can attend. The process focuses on the merit, competency and impartiality of the applicants. 

The newly appointed judge will serve some time in office, then stand for election, usually at the end of the term they are filling. This is a contested election, not a yes/no retention election, and anyone who meets the requirements in Idaho law can file to run against them. It’s similar to the processes used elsewhere in government to fill a vacancy — like when a new prosecutor was appointed for Kootenai County three years ago. 

Retention elections are used in one area. Idaho’s local courthouses also have a magistrate division. These judges hear a wide variety of cases, including misdemeanor criminal cases, lower-value civil cases and matters of family law. 

Each new magistrate judge is selected by a local magistrate commission made up of members of the public, city and county officials, and local attorneys and judges from across a few local counties. Through a public process, a commission will interview applicants, select a new magistrate judge, then monitor that judge’s performance during an 18-month probationary period. The new judge then stands for a retention election every four years. This approach retains the public’s voice while allowing these judges — who handle the largest number and widest range of cases — to run on their records of service. 

It is true that judges are bound by ethical rules — the Code of Judicial Conduct — that affect how they campaign for office during elections. These rules are in place to keep a judge impartial. No one wants to go to court and stand before a judge who has already publicly decided their issue on the campaign trail. Everyone who comes to court deserves to be heard through an impartial court process before decisions are made that impact their lives, property or family.   

However, this does not mean voters have no information available to them. Publicly available documents from the cases filed in Idaho’s courts form an ongoing record of each judge’s decisions. Particularly in contested elections, candidates in the past have published websites and made appearances where they discuss their view of the rule of law and what led them to seek judicial service. 

Idaho’s people depend on the courts to deliver on the promises of our Constitution, including fair, impartial justice. It is the people’s job to hold the courts accountable for that work. But it’s important that the people, when casting a critical eye, do so with accurate information about how Idaho’s system functions. 

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Joel P. Hazel is an attorney who has practiced law in Coeur d’Alene for more than 30 years. He has worked as a deputy prosecutor for Kootenai County, been a partner in a local law firm and works as an in-house counsel for a local hospital. Hazel served on the Idaho Judicial Council from 2012-2017 where he chaired the Committee to Revise the Idaho Code of Judicial Conduct. The views and opinions expressed in this column are his own and do not reflect the views or position of Kootenai Health.