Today, Senate Republicans passed SB 1373, a budget bill that includes a $2.2 million cut to the Idaho State Public Defender office. In response, Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Wintrow released the following statement:
“Idaho is required to provide adequate legal defense to people who cannot afford an attorney. That duty exists under both the United States Constitution and the Idaho Constitution, and it does not go away just because Republicans created this budget mess.
“For more than a decade, Idaho has been in court over serious failures in public defense. The State Public Defender was created to address those failures and build a system that finally delivers consistent, adequate representation across the state. Instead, before that new system has even completed a full fiscal year, Republicans voted to cut $2.2 million from it.
“That is a reckless decision. These cuts will strain the attorneys we have, shrink the system’s capacity, and raise the risk that cases fall through the cracks. That is how states violate people’s rights and end up back in court.
“With Tucker v. Idaho still pending before the Idaho Supreme Court, this vote only makes the state’s position harder to defend. Idaho should demonstrate that it is serious about fixing this problem, not undermining the very system created to solve it. There are better options, including restoring revenue or using reserve funds responsibly. Instead, Republicans chose to cut the very system Idaho created to meet its constitutional duty.”
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