Idaho Supreme Court

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the district court, holding that Jeff Conger lacked standing to enforce his option to purchase the Mountain Home property because the option remained part of his Chapter 7 bankruptcy estate.

The Idaho Supreme Court reversed the district court's judgment, vacated its decision, and remanded for further proceedings, holding that the lower court applied the wrong burden of proof to the parties' declaratory judgment claims. The Court also declined to award attorney fees to either party.

The Idaho Supreme Court held that grand theft of an automobile is a lesser‑included offense of armed robbery under the pleading theory, so Sedillo’s double‑jeopardy claim was viable.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s summary‑judgment dismissal of Triple Crown Development and its intervenors’ business‑damages claim under Idaho Code §7‑711(2) and denied the State’s request for attorney fees on appeal.

The Idaho Supreme Court held that the district court possessed subject‑matter jurisdiction and authority under Idaho Criminal Rule 35 to amend the judgment of conviction to resolve an ambiguous oral sentence, but erred by conducting the resentencing hearing without the defendant present, vacating the amended judgment…

The Idaho Supreme Court reversed summary judgment for the county clerk, holding that quasi-judicial immunity does not bar an official-capacity action. It further held that the administrative fee schedule conflicted with the governing court rule and statutory fee limits, determined that Smith was overcharged by…

The Idaho Supreme Court remanded a Professional Conduct Board Hearing Committee recommendation denying Brian L. Webb's petition for reinstatement following his 2022 five-year suspension (two years withheld) for stipulated Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct violations arising from a sexual relationship with a client…

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise and St. Mary's Catholic Church on a constructive fraud claim arising from the alleged 1968 sexual assault of nine-year-old Peter Leriget by Father Patrick O'Sullivan.

The Court affirmed the custody-modification judgment, holding that substantial and competent evidence supported the findings that no statutory domestic violence or child abuse occurred and that the increased parenting-time schedule served the child’s best interests.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of HMI's trespass and nuisance claims, holding that the City possessed an express easement for the sewer line and a prescriptive easement for the disputed water line.

The Idaho Supreme Court reversed the district court’s affirmance of an in-kind award transferring half of the community-held corporate shares to the former wife. It held that the magistrate court could not compel the husband to act as a corporate fiduciary, improperly relied on corporate governance considerations, and…

The Idaho Supreme Court held that two minor land division applications were subject to judicial review under LLUPA because they were similar to subdivision applications and were authorized under LLUPA.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the judgment quieting title to the Idaho property in Bobby Shaw. It held that Arizona's guardianship jurisdiction and later retroactive incapacity determination did not control the Idaho quiet-title action, and that the Idaho court properly denied a last-minute motion to add claims and…

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the district court's orders and judgment because Smith's appellate briefing failed to comply with the Idaho Appellate Rules, lacked cogent argument, and rendered his assignments of error too indefinite for review.

The Idaho Supreme Court reversed the summary judgment determining that Parsons owned 50% of the property because Bedell presented evidence creating a genuine dispute about the parties' intended ownership interests, and the district court improperly weighed competing testimony.

The court affirmed summary judgment for the defendant in a medical malpractice action because the plaintiff’s out-of-area expert did not establish the foundation required to testify about the applicable community standard of care.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed Garcia’s convictions and sentences but vacated the restitution order in the amount Garcia did not agree to pay. The court held that the victim’s in-life photographs were properly admitted, while some testimony glorifying the victim was irrelevant but harmless beyond a reasonable doubt…

The Court affirmed the denial of Gonzalez’s request for additional credit for time served because she changed the factual and legal basis of her request on appeal, raising a position the district court had not been given an opportunity to address.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed Herrera's second-degree murder conviction and life sentence with thirty years fixed. It held that the added firearm enhancement did not constitute vindictive prosecution, the incomplete appellate record prevented a finding that substitute counsel was improperly denied, and the…

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed a bench-trial judgment for a discharged chief operating officer: $60,000 in severance for termination without cause, trebled to $180,000 under the Idaho Wage Claims Act, plus $160,000 in attorney fees, with the corporate veil of My Fun Life pierced to reach sole shareholder Dan Edwards…

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed suppression of methamphetamine discovered during a search incident to Garcia-Rodriguez's arrest. The Court held that the State could not raise for the first time on appeal its argument that probable cause constitutionally justified the arrest without regard to Idaho's statutory arrest…

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the termination of Father's parental rights because substantial and competent evidence supported both statutory grounds for termination and the finding that termination was in Child's best interest.

The court affirmed Abdullah’s convictions, sentences, and dismissal of his post-conviction petition. In the portions shown, it held that the trial court acted within its discretion in denying funding for a DNA expert, that Abdullah waived his direct challenge to two jurors and failed to establish their actual bias for…

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed termination of Jane Doe's parental rights to five children based on neglect and the children's best interests. It held that the unappealed aggravated-circumstances determination remained reviewable because it was an interlocutory order encompassed by the timely appeal from the…

The court held that mandatory review of a capital sentence requires consideration of every error the defendant raises on appeal, whether preserved or not, but unpreserved errors remain subject to the defendant’s burden to show nonharmless fundamental error.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s decision upholding spousal maintenance, child-support income calculations, and an award of attorney fees in the divorce action.

The Court affirmed the denial of the personal representative’s request for attorney fees from estate funds because the fee claim had to be evaluated under all applicable reasonableness factors, including time and labor, and the attorney provided no time estimate or comparable information.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for the defendants because the plaintiffs failed to present admissible evidence creating a genuine issue that Petrovich's conduct caused or contributed to the collision.

The court affirmed Adamcik’s convictions for first-degree murder and conspiracy and upheld his life sentences and denial of his Rule 35 motion. It held that the evidence supported murder liability even without proof that Adamcik personally inflicted the fatal wound, that his parents’ invocation of counsel did not…

The Idaho Supreme Court held that it had jurisdiction to review the State's appeal because the memorandum decision was appealable based on its substance, notwithstanding its title.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed a protective order barring discovery of peer-review records in a physician’s lawsuit challenging the nonrenewal of his hospital privileges. It held that the peer-review privilege applies by its unambiguous terms to any action, not only medical-malpractice litigation, and that the…

The Court held that the governing statute unambiguously requires a defendant to be placed on probation before a district court may order a second period of retained jurisdiction.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of Taylor's claims against opposing counsel and affirmed denial of leave to amend. It held that Idaho recognizes a litigation privilege protecting attorneys from civil claims based on conduct or communications undertaken within the scope of representing a client in…

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the summary dismissal of Kelly's post-conviction petition. It held that Kelly waived any challenge to the sufficiency of the notice in the State's summary-dismissal motion by failing to raise that issue below, and that the district court provided adequate notice because it relied at…

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed summary dismissal of Lee Ridgley's petition for post-conviction relief, which alleged six instances of ineffective assistance of counsel surrounding his guilty plea to lewd conduct entered sixteen days after his wife's death.

The court held that evidence of Johnson’s prior sexual misconduct with his sister was inadmissible under the rules governing other-acts evidence because the similarities did not establish a common scheme or plan beyond criminal propensity.

The court held that McKay made a prima facie showing that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to jury instructions that omitted the requirement that his intoxicated driving be a significant cause contributing to the victim's death.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed Jerome Korn's convictions for possessing exotic animals in violation of a Payette County ordinance and for possessing deleterious exotic animals without a permit.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed summary dismissal of Paul Ezra Rhoades' 2005 petition for post-conviction relief as time-barred under I.C. § 19-4902. Reaffirming Charboneau, the Court held equitable tolling is available only for claims raising "important due process issues" that are adequately supported by admissible…

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the divorce decree, including joint legal and physical custody, property and debt allocation, and related support provisions. It held that Wendi's largely unsupported and unpreserved arguments could not be considered, and alternatively concluded that the custody decision was within the…