An Owyhee County judge ordered Idaho State Public Defender Eric Fredericksen to appear in court to explain why he should not be held contempt after public defenders have failed to appear for hearings. (Getty Images)
Alicia Price’s fiance has been in the Canyon County Jail for more than 121 days. Her fiance is facing felony charges, and he has not had access to a public defender since Oct. 1, when his previous attorney resigned. Price requested her fiance’s name remain anonymous, fearing naming him would impact his case.
On Oct. 1, Idaho transitioned to a new public defense system consolidating 44 county-level state public defender’s offices into one statewide office. The reform was meant to address concerns and lawsuits claiming the previous system was inadequate.
Price said she was unaware that Idaho had just transformed its public defense system, but she noticed issues when her fiance was left without representation, she told the Idaho Capital Sun on Monday.
“They deserve everything that someone who can afford representation should get,” she said. “Many of these men and women are sitting there (jail), their fate in somebody’s hands, and they just have to sit there because the public defense system is a mess.”
Concerns raised about Idaho’s new public defense system after exodus in public defenders
Her fiance is not alone. Between Oct. 1 and Oct. 12, there were 1,100 case withdrawals in Idaho, meaning 1,100 defendants were left without a public defender because many attorneys, particularly contract attorneys, resigned after the transition, according to Idaho State Public Defender Eric Fredericksen.
Challenges with the public defense transition have also drawn the attention from at least one Idaho judge, who demanded answers in Owyhee County court on Tuesday.
“Out of those 1,100 withdrawals, there were seven hearings we missed throughout the state during that two-week period,” Fredericksen told Owyhee County Judge Shane Darrington. “It was sent to us, as soon as we discovered it we put attorneys on the case.”
Idaho State Public Defender ordered to court
Fredericksen appeared at the Owyhee County Courthouse after Darrington ordered him to appear in court to explain why he should not be penalized after a defendant appeared without a public defender in a preliminary hearing, court records show.
Idaho State Public Defender Eric Fredericksen photographed in Boise on November 15, 2023. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)
Fredericksen leads the Office of the State Public Defender, the new statewide public defense system that replaced county-run systems. The transition has been disruptive, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported, with several former and current public defenders voicing concerns that the change has led to significant staff resignations.
Keith Roark, an attorney representing the Idaho state public defender, apologized to the court for the inconvenience, and said the office did not willfully fall behind assigning public defenders to cases.
“Mr. Fredericksen has made clear to the court there were extreme difficulties that I think are very, very unusual,” Roark said. “There’s an overwhelming problem for the state public defender’s office, which I don’t think can be ascribed directly to him.”
Owyhee County judge addresses public defense issues
Darrington said two out of the seven hearings without a public defender present took place in Owyhee County.
“What am I supposed to tell those seven people?” Darrington said, adding that one of them now has an extra week of jail because they did not have a public defender.
“I realize that this is a daunting task,” Darrington said. “I realize that to some extent, Mr. Fredericksen, you are in an untenable position because you were tasked with doing a lot of things – your hands were tied in many ways. But I also know there have been truckloads of suggestions that have been made by those who are local, and those have been given short shift.”
Darrington said the inconvenience he put them through for the last two hours to come to Owyhee County “pales” in comparison to the inconvenience the defendants experienced unsure if someone would defend them throughout the court process while they faced felony charges.
Darrington excused Fredericksen without penalty from the order, but still expressed his concern about the system.
“There was nothing I loved more during my time as an attorney than public defense work, because those people have never had anyone stand up for them,” he said.
Price said she has contacted Fredericksen about assigning her fiance an attorney. As she awaits for an update, she said she is hopeful that by speaking out for her fiance, she is also speaking out for others in the criminal justice system who are in a similar situation as him.
“There’s so many that have nothing,” she said. “They have no family, they have nothing, and I hope I can help them too.”
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