Idaho Code
Idaho Code

Idaho Code § 19-6009 (2026)

Right to counsel of indigent person — Representation at all stages of criminal and commitment proceedings — Payment. 

✓ current as of May 2026
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Right to counsel of indigent person — Representation at all stages of criminal and commitment proceedings — Payment. 

(1) An indigent person who is being detained by a law enforcement officer, who is confined or is the subject of hospitalization proceedings pursuant to section 18-212, 66-322, 66-326, 66-329, 66-404 or 66-406, Idaho Code, or who is under formal charge of having committed, or is being detained under a conviction of, a serious crime is entitled:

(a)  To be represented by an attorney to the same extent as a person having his own counsel is so entitled; and
(b)  To be provided with the necessary services and facilities of representation, including investigation and other preparation. The attorney, services and facilities, and the court costs shall be provided at public expense to the extent that the person is, at the time the court determines indigency pursuant to section 19-6011, Idaho Code, unable to provide for their payment.
(2)  An indigent person who is entitled to be represented by an attorney under subsection (1) of this section is entitled:
(a)  To be counseled and defended at all stages of the matter beginning with the earliest time when a person providing his own counsel would be entitled to be represented by an attorney and including revocation of probation;
(b)  To be represented in any appeal; and
(c)  To be represented in any other post-conviction or post-commitment proceeding that the attorney or the indigent person considers appropriate, unless the court in which the proceeding is brought determines that it is not a proceeding that a reasonable person with adequate means would be willing to bring at his own expense and is therefore a frivolous proceeding.
(3)  Upon a finding of indigency, representation by an attorney under subsection (1) of this section shall include the following cases, excluding those cases where the state appellate public defender has jurisdiction pursuant to section 19-5905, Idaho Code, and excluding those cases of guardian ad litem representation pursuant to section 16-1614(4), Idaho Code:
(a)  Felony and misdemeanor cases;
(b)  Actions arising under the Idaho juvenile corrections act, chapter 5, title 20, Idaho Code;
(c)  Proceedings under the uniform post-conviction procedure act, chapter 49, title 19, Idaho Code;
(d)  Civil contempt proceedings where incarceration is sought;
(e)  Actions arising under the child protective act, chapter 16, title 16, Idaho Code, but excluding actions brought exclusively under chapter 20, title 16, Idaho Code; and
(f)  Appeals from adjudicatory decrees or orders under section 16-1625, Idaho Code.
(4)  The office of the state public defender shall be required to provide indigent defense services only in cases listed in subsection (3) of this section, provided that such limitations shall not obligate a county to finance or oversee indigent defense service for any action not provided for in this chapter.
(5)  An indigent person’s right to a benefit under subsection (1) or (2) of this section is unaffected by his having provided a similar benefit at his own expense, or by his having waived it, at an earlier stage.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 2024–2026 · leading case: Jane Doe v. John Doe (2025-33) (Idaho 2026).
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Jane Doe v. John Doe (2025-33) (Idaho 2026). · cites it 42× “§ 7, at 1360 (amending I.C. § 19-6009). The bill then prohibited Idaho’s counties from being required to provide indigent defense services in cases for 2 which the SPD is not responsible.”
State v. Blazek / State v. Smith (Idaho 2024). · cites it 14× “§ 19-852, amended and recodified as I.C. § 19-6009 by 2023 IDAHO SESS. LAWS 670.”
Tucker v. State (Idaho Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 3× “The Court reiterated that there is no Sixth Amendment right to appointed counsel in a civil, collateral challenge to a criminal conviction: “We have never held that prisoners have a constitutional right to counsel when mounting collateral 2 Idaho Code §§ 19-852 and 19-853 were…”
IDHW v. Jane Doe (2025-22) (Idaho Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 2× “Doe’s counsel is a contract attorney assigned to child protection actions as authorized by the State Public Defender Act, I.C. § 19-6009(3)(e) (providing that an indigent person has a right to representation by an attorney in “actions arising under the child protective act,…”
State v. Knight (Idaho 2025). · cites it 2× “During Knight’s arraignment, and again at Knight’s preliminary hearing, the magistrate court strongly suggested that Knight would not qualify for a court-appointed attorney because he was working at the time, thereby implying that Knight was not indigent.”
— Idaho Code § 19-6009(1) — 1 case
State v. Blazek / State v. Smith (Idaho 2024). “§ 19-852, amended and recodified as I.C. § 19-6009 by 2023 IDAHO SESS. LAWS 670.”
— Idaho Code § 19-6009(1)(a) — 1 case
State v. Knight (Idaho 2025). “During Knight’s arraignment, and again at Knight’s preliminary hearing, the magistrate court strongly suggested that Knight would not qualify for a court-appointed attorney because he was working at the time, thereby implying that Knight was not indigent.”
— Idaho Code § 19-6009(1)(b) — 1 case
Jane Doe v. John Doe (2025-33) (Idaho 2026). “§ 7, at 1360 (amending I.C. § 19-6009). The bill then prohibited Idaho’s counties from being required to provide indigent defense services in cases for 2 which the SPD is not responsible.”
— Idaho Code § 19-6009(3) — 2 cases
State v. Blazek / State v. Smith (Idaho 2024). “§ 19-852, amended and recodified as I.C. § 19-6009 by 2023 IDAHO SESS. LAWS 670.”
Jane Doe v. John Doe (2025-33) (Idaho 2026). “§ 7, at 1360 (amending I.C. § 19-6009). The bill then prohibited Idaho’s counties from being required to provide indigent defense services in cases for 2 which the SPD is not responsible.”
— Idaho Code § 19-6009(3)(e) — 2 cases
IDHW v. Jane Doe (2025-22) (Idaho Ct. App. 2025). “Doe’s counsel is a contract attorney assigned to child protection actions as authorized by the State Public Defender Act, I.C. § 19-6009(3)(e) (providing that an indigent person has a right to representation by an attorney in “actions arising under the child protective act,…”
Jane Doe v. John Doe (2025-33) (Idaho 2026). “§ 7, at 1360 (amending I.C. § 19-6009). The bill then prohibited Idaho’s counties from being required to provide indigent defense services in cases for 2 which the SPD is not responsible.”
— Idaho Code § 19-6009(4) — 1 case
Jane Doe v. John Doe (2025-33) (Idaho 2026). “§ 7, at 1360 (amending I.C. § 19-6009). The bill then prohibited Idaho’s counties from being required to provide indigent defense services in cases for 2 which the SPD is not responsible.”
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