Idaho has significantly reformed its public defense system since 2022. Now, the state Supreme Court will weigh whether the changes are enough to show the state is meeting its constitutional obligation to provide adequate representation or if it’s too soon to decide.

Attorneys representing indigent defendants — those who are charged with a crime who cannot pay for their own legal representation — argued on Friday before the state’s high court in Boise that despite an entirely different system, the state still isn’t meeting its constitutional requirement.

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