Idaho Supreme Court

The Idaho Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday on a case that could decide the future of a 6 percent sales tax on groceries.

The Idaho Legislature passed a bill this year removing the tax. They adjourned and went home. Governor Butch Otter vetoed the bill, 11 days after adjournment. And that’s where the controversy started.

Some GOP lawmakers filed suit, arguing the Idaho Constitution says a governor has ten days to veto a bill after adjournment. But in 1978, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled the governor has ten days, starting when he gets the bill.

Fifteen candidates are vying for an open seat on the Idaho Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Justice Daniel Eismann announced earlier this year he will retire in August — 16 months before the end of his current six-year term. This Idaho Judicial Council has since solicited names, where they will then recommend up to four names to the governor for appointment instead of waiting until the 2018 election.

Idaho's Supreme Court positions are nonpartisan.

A federal judge has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit challenging two anti-abortion laws in Idaho now that lawmakers have repealed the targeted statutes.

In 2015, the Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands sued the state over two newly enacted bans that prohibited women from receiving abortion-inducing medication through telemedicine. Planned Parenthood argued that the laws placed unnecessary burdens on women seeking safe abortions.

An opening on the Idaho Supreme Court won't be filled through an election but through an application process.

Supreme Court Justice Daniel Eismann announced earlier this year he will retire in August — 16 months before the end of his current six-year term.

Idaho Supreme Court Justice Daniel Eismann says he will retire this fall after more than 16 years on the state's highest court.

Eismann has served in the state's judiciary for three decades, first as a magistrate judge in Owyhee County and later as a district judge in Ada County. He joined the high court in 2000 after defeating incumbent Cathy Silak in a highly contentious and partisan race.

Attorney Robyn Brody has been sworn in as the newest justice on the Idaho Supreme Court.

KTVB-TV reports that Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter administered the oath of office Tuesday at the Idaho Statehouse.

Brody won a seat on the state's highest court in November in a runoff election against opponent Republican Sen. Curt McKenzie, of Nampa. The last time there was a runoff election for an Idaho Supreme Court seat was in 1998.

The two Idaho Supreme Court candidates hoping to replace Chief Justice Jim Jones both say they support promoting pro bono work across the state.

Pro bono refers to work done by attorneys on a volunteer basis for free or reduced rates.

However, neither Twin Falls attorney Robyn Brody nor state GOP Sen. Curt McKenzie say they track how many hours of pro bono work they provide. Both candidates say they believe they clock more than the suggested 50 hours of free or reduced-fee legal services each year.

State Supreme Court justices bolstered Idaho's power to regulate cigarettes shipped to Indian-owned businesses in a ruling that touched not only on Native American sovereignty but also public health.

Justices wrote Thursday that Idaho could prevent Canadian-made cigarettes — ones that hadn't been taxed in the U.S. to help cover tobacco-related illness costs — from being shipped to a Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation-based retailer.

Sunday we learned that former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Byron Johnson passed away after a battle with cancer.

He was a lawyer and a political mover and shaker.  But in his heart, Byron Johnson was a poet.  “I think that poetry is a vehicle that I have used to deal with feelings I have that are hard to resolve,” he once said.