Idaho Code

Idaho Code § 18-802 (2026)

Arson in first degree — Burning of dwelling or other structures where persons are normally present — Penalties. 

✓ current as of May 2026
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Arson in first degree — Burning of dwelling or other structures where persons are normally present — Penalties. 

Any person who willfully and unlawfully, by fire or explosion, damages:

(1)  Any dwelling, whether occupied or not; or
(2)  Any structure, whether occupied or not, in which persons are normally present, including without limitation: jails, prisons or detention centers; hospitals, nursing homes or other health care facilities; department stores, office buildings, business establishments, churches or educational institutions, or other similar structures; or
(3)  Any other structure which the actor has reasonable grounds to believe is occupied by a human being; or
(4)  Any real or personal property, whether the property of the actor or another, with the intent to deceive or harm any insurer or any person with a legal or financial interest in the property, or obtain any financial gain for the actor or another;
is guilty of arson in the first degree, and upon conviction thereof shall be sentenced to the custody of the department of correction for not more than twenty-five (25) years or fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or both.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 34 cases, 1975–2019 · leading case: State v. Azad Haji Abdullah, 348 P.3d 1 (Idaho 2015).
State v. Azad Haji Abdullah, 348 P.3d 1 (Idaho 2015). · cites it 8× “is guilty of arson in the first degree____” I.C. § 18-802. Abdullah contends that he is liable only for attempt to commit first-degree arson.”
State v. Leferink, 992 P.2d 775 (Idaho 1999). · cites it 17× “Richard Leferink (Leferink) appeals from an order withholding judgment after being found guilty of the crime of First Degree Arson pursuant to Idaho Code § 18-802 . The distinct court concluded that the First Degree Arson statute is not unconstitutionally overbroad or void for…”
State v. Norton, 254 P.3d 77 (Idaho Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 4× “Theresa Norton appeals from the judgment of conviction entered upon a jury verdict finding her guilty of arson in the first degree, Idaho Code §§ 18-802 and 18-204, conspiracy to commit arson in the first degree, I.”
State v. Shackelford, 247 P.3d 582 (Idaho 2010). · cites it 4× “” Idaho Code § 18-802 provides that “[a]ny person who willfully and unlawfully, by fire or explosion, damages: (1) Any dwelling, whether occupied or not .”
Thomas v. State, 185 P.3d 921 (Idaho Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 4× “I.C. § 18-802. At trial, the escort testified concerning Thomas’s confession, and the video from the escort’s apartment containing Thomas’s confession was played for the jury.”
Thompson v. State, 436 P.3d 642 (Idaho 2019). · cites it 4× “In Thompson’s case, the jury was instructed on causation, as instruction 10a explicitly required the jury to find 9 Thompson “unlawfully caused” Blair’s death.”
State v. Knapp, 815 P.2d 1083 (Idaho Ct. App. 1991). · cites it 2× “§ 18-801, five counts of second degree arson, I.C. § 18-802, one count of third degree arson, I.”
Brown v. State, 50 P.3d 1024 (Idaho Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 4× “122 (1993) (“[T]he willful and malicious burning of or attempt to burn any building, structure, or property of another (as a house, a church, or a boat) or of one’s own usually with criminal or fraudulent intent.”
State v. Jerome Nathaniel Harris, 378 P.3d 519 (Idaho Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “I.C. §§ 18-802 and 18-806. The jury also found that Harris was a persistent violator.”
State v. Payne, 3 P.3d 1251 (Idaho 2000). · cites it 4× “I.C. § 18-802. The jury was provided the following aggravated first degree arson instruction: In order for you to find the Defendant guilty of the crime of Aggravated Arson in the First Degree as an included offense to Count I of the Information, the State of Idaho must prove to…”
State v. Keyes, 248 P.3d 1278 (Idaho Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “Daniel Ray Keyes, II appeals from his conviction for first degree arson, Idaho Code § 18-802 . He contends that the district court erred by denying his motion for a mistrial.”
State v. Lloyd Hardin McNeil, 313 P.3d 48 (Idaho Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “Lloyd Hardin McNeil appeals from the judgment of conviction and sentence entered upon jury verdicts finding him guilty of voluntary manslaughter, Idaho Code § 18-4006 (1); first degree arson, I.C. § 18-802; and grand theft, I.C. §§ 18-2403(1), 18-2407(l)(b).”
— Idaho Code § 18-802(1) — 1 case
State v. Steven Eugene Roberts, III (Idaho Ct. App. 2015).
— Idaho Code § 18-802(4) — 2 cases
State v. Smith, 942 P.2d 574 (Idaho Ct. App. 1997).
State v. Patrick Anthony Morrissey (Idaho Ct. App. 2014).
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