On October 9, 2015, the Idaho Appellate Practice Section (IAPS) and the University of Idaho College of Law hosted An Appellate Practice CLE in Boise, Idaho. Steve Kenyon, the Clerk of the Idaho Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, spoke on a variety of matters concerning appeals before Idaho’s highest courts. Here are some updates, reminders, and other points of interest:
- The Idaho Supreme Court is still working with a vendor on an electronic appellate filing system. The date of the launch is still in flux.
- Until the new system is operational, there is no electronic filing with the Idaho Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. There are three exceptions, however. The Courts will accept the following documents via email: (1) an electronic brief pursuant to Idaho Appellate Rule 34.1 (an electronic brief is in addition to paper copies of the brief); (2) correspondence, such as oral argument notices; and (3) first motions for an extension of time to file a brief.
- The average time from notice of appeal to a decision in civil cases before the Idaho Supreme Court is 465 days. For the Idaho Court of Appeals, the average time is 380 days. According to Steve Kenyon, those times stay remarkably consistent.
- The average time from notice of appeal to oral argument before the Idaho Supreme Court is 12 months. The quickest time to oral argument is nine months.
- The average time from oral argument to a decision before the Idaho Supreme Court is 45 days.
- The Idaho Supreme Court retains between 90% and 95% of the civil cases filed with the Court. It refers between 85% and 90% of criminal cases to the Court of Appeals.
- Amendments to Idaho Rule of Civil Procedure 54(a) are coming. In particular, the rule will include a new provision on amended judgments. As proposed (in April 2015), the provision reads: “If the court orders an amendment to a judgment, the amendment will be effective only after the court enters an amended judgment setting forth all of the terms of the new judgment, including those terms of the prior judgment that remain in effect.” To my knowledge, the Idaho Supreme Court has not announced the final rule.
- Steve Kenyon suggested that amended judgments include redlines showing the amended language—underlining to show additional language and strikeouts to show removed language.
An Appellate Practice CLE was recorded and will be available for purchase in November 2015 through the Idaho State Bar at (208) 334-4500.