The Idaho Supreme Court:

Conservative in the Extreme or Just Coy?

Summary of the Idaho State Supreme Court Whitepaper

For a PDF copy of the full Idaho Whitepaper, please click here

The Idaho Supreme Court is not an activist court. Instead, the Court, which considers itself a strict constitutional constructionist, is determined not to interfere with the legislature, preferring alternatively to interpret statutes as a whole according to their “ordinary meaning.”

Life Issues

Abortion

The Idaho legislature expressly prohibits using state funds to pay for abortion and requires the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare to publish and provide easily comprehended printed abortion related materials for pregnant women prior to an abortion; which was upheld in Idaho Chooses Life Alliance v. Kempthorne.

The Idaho Supreme Court has not directly addressed the issue of abortion; however Idaho’s parental consent legislation has been struck down twice by federal courts and is currently on appeal to the Ninth Circuit. A new “parental consent law” and “right to view law” have been proposed this year, which are expected to be enacted into law.

Protection of the Unborn from Criminal Violence

Idaho has two statutes protecting the unborn from criminal violence. One declares the unlawful killing of a fetus with malice aforethought as murder, and the unlawful killing of a fetus without malice as manslaughter. The other declares the aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, which results in great bodily harm to the fetus as an aggravated battery of the fetus.

In Blake v. Cruz, the Court recognized a cause of action for wrongful birth, but refused to recognize wrongful life as a tort. Therefore a parent may sue when a child born with defects would not have been brought to term if the physician had not been negligent.

The Court has not rendered any decisions interpreting the applicability of these statutes to the unborn.

Assisted Suicide

Idaho law does not permit assisted suicide. Under Idaho law, assisted suicide would be treated as a criminal act, however there are no Idaho Supreme Court cases discussing this issue.

Healthcare Rights of Conscience

Idaho law provides rights of conscience protections in the context of abortion, on the basis of personal religious or moral beliefs; however the Court has not yet rendered a decision on the statute.

Cloning and Destructive Embryo Research

Idaho has no cases in this area of law, or statutes dealing with this issue. Nevertheless Idaho manslaughter laws could conceivably theoretically apply to Destructive Embryo Research.

Judicial Restraint

This Court holds a conservative, strict constructionist ideology, and strictly interprets Idaho law according to the legislative intent. In Polini v. Albertson’s Inc., and State v. John Doe, the Court emphasized its determination to give effect to the legislative intent by strictly construing the Idaho laws narrowly rather than broadly.

Furthermore, in City of Boise v. Keep the Commandments Coalition, and Davidson v. Sun Valley, the Court strictly construed Idaho statutes and held that it did not have judicial authority over the matter because the validity of the initiative proposal was not ripe. The Court usually gives extreme deference to legislative enactments, and decides cases based on facts instead of the creation of new public policy.

The Court

The Idaho Supreme Court is composed of five justices, a chief justice and four associate justices. The justices and chief justice are popularly elected to six-year terms. However the Governor has the power to appoint a successor for any justice that retires mid-term. The Idaho State Supreme Court White Paper contains a table of biographical information for each current member of the Court.