Idaho Supreme Court must intervene in new, ‘disastrous’ public defense reform, ACLU says

The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho has filed an emergency motion calling on the Idaho Supreme Court to intervene in the state’s new public defense system, which the ACLU called a “disastrous step backward.” The organization decried “chaotic instances” under the new statewide system in which people were held in jail for weeks or months without being able to speak to their state-assigned defense attorneys. The ACLU called on the court to order the release of defendants who have not been able to reach their lawyers in a timely...