Teton County board authorizes outside counsel for two criminal cases, approves Spitzer Law contract

Teton County commissioners on Sept. 29 voted to hire outside counsel for two criminal matters and approved a contract with Spitzer Law LLC to represent the county's interests in those cases.

The board adopted a written finding, read into the record by Unidentified Speaker 3, citing Article 18, Section 6 of the Idaho Constitution and Idaho Code §31-8-13 and §31-2-604(1). The reading states Teton County is a party or interested in criminal cases CR41250977 and CR41250978 and that, because the county prosecuting attorney has a conflict, the county must provide legal defense and may retain outside counsel. "I move to find that it's necessary for Teton County to hire legal counsel for the named defendants in case numbers CR41250977 and CR41250978," the speaker said, specifying funds would come "from Commissioner's contingency 001-18-42036."

Following the reading, the board moved, seconded and approved the finding and the funding authorization. A subsequent contract from Spitzer Law LLC was presented to represent the two county interests; the contract was described in the record as a "not to exceed" maximum of $7,000 (the transcript also records the phrase "$3.50 an hour up to $7,000," transcribed as spoken). The board moved to approve the Spitzer Law proposal "as presented," the motion was seconded and members voted in favor.

The action follows the board's stated obligation under Idaho law to provide legal defense where the prosecuting attorney has a conflict of interest. The transcript does not record further detail about billing rates, specific defense tasks, or whether the named defendants have retained separate counsel. The record lists the two case numbers above; no other case-identifying details were provided in the discussion.

The board completed these actions during the special meeting before adjourning. No public comment related to the cases appears in the transcript.