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Idaho Appellate Public Defender seeks deputy position to reduce contract costs
Summary
The Office of the State Appellate Public Defender told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee it is fully staffed now but requested authorization and funding for an additional deputy appellate public defender to handle noncapital appeals and reduce reliance on outside contract attorneys.
The Office of the State Appellate Public Defender asked the Idaho Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee for authorization and funding for a deputy appellate public defender to absorb noncapital appeals and curb expensive contracting out of overflow cases.
Budget analyst Christopher Lahoset told the committee the office is authorized for 26 full-time positions and reported no vacancies as of Dec. 15, and that personnel costs account for about 85% of total expenditures in FY24. Lahoset said the office’s five-year average personnel appropriation is about $2.8 million and that the agency has used roughly 95% of that appropriation on personnel costs.
The request, presented by agency director Eric Leightonen, would add a thirteenth attorney to the office’s appellate unit to take a share of noncapital felony, misdemeanor and juvenile district and postconviction appeals. Leightonen told the committee, “It has been a challenging year,” citing a significant post‑pandemic increase in caseload and turnover tied in part to formation of the State Public Defender and other departures.
The office said continuing to contract overflow cases costs about $254,000 annually; by contrast, a state attorney position with an estimated salary of $140,000 would be less expensive over time. Lahoset and agency staff also asked to retain reappropriated one‑time funds from a prior supplemental (about $1,259,000 remaining as of the hearing) to keep paying for overflow cases through the fiscal year.
Committee members asked about current contracting and staffing. Leightonen said the office always contracts for conflicts of interest and that it has used contract attorneys for overflow cases — roughly 14 cases in the last year and a half — when salary savings made that feasible. He said contracting is more expensive and can cross fiscal years, complicating budgeting.
Committee members pressed for clarification on caseload distribution and how a new hire would change assignments; the director said the new attorney would become part of the unit’s caseload rotation and that assignments are tailored by experience level. No formal committee action or vote occurred during the hearing.
The presentation also noted a prior one‑time legislative supplemental in 2023 of about $1.31 million to address an influx of cases; those funds were reappropriated and are not part of the base budget.
