Investigation Support for Appointed Counsel in Idaho

01The system

Idaho's State Public Defender, Two Years In

On October 1, 2024, Idaho's Office of the State Public Defender took over trial-level public defense under legislation passed in 2023. In its first year, according to the office, it absorbed 14 county public defender offices with more than 300 employees, signed more than 150 contract attorneys to cover the remaining 40 counties and opened four new county offices. The governing statutes now sit in Title 19, Chapter 60 of the Idaho Code. Delator's Idaho investigation team works with lawyers in each of those arrangements.

The structure matters to any appointed counsel investigation because it determines who approves spending and how. A district public defender's office may have its own procedures for outside services, while a contract attorney in a rural county may be the only defense lawyer for many miles. Court-appointed private counsel, conflict counsel and federal panel attorneys each have separate funding paths. How the State Public Defender budgets for investigators internally was not something we could verify, so we ask counsel at intake which route applies and prepare the estimate for that reviewer, using our usual engagement process for attorneys.

02The funding motion

What Idaho Criminal Rule 12.2 Asks For

Idaho Criminal Rule 12.2 governs a defendant's motion for public funds to pay for investigative, expert or other services. As published by the Idaho Supreme Court, the motion is generally submitted ex parte and must be filed and approved before costs are incurred. It should describe the scope of the services, explain why they are relevant and necessary on the facts of the case, name each provider and its location, state the provider's qualifications and give an estimated total cost including rates and expenses such as travel. Our published Idaho rate list makes that cost section straightforward.

One provision matters directly to Delator. When a provider is outside the judicial district or outside Idaho, the motion must explain why that provider is needed and what efforts were made to find local providers. We are a Tennessee firm with no Idaho office, so we help counsel state the reasons honestly: the specialty involved, availability within the case timeline, conflicts with local investigators, or travel already required. The court may also refer the motion to another judge and attach cost-control conditions. Counsel weighing options can read our guide to vetting an Idaho investigator.

• Scope and details of the requested services
• Why they are relevant and necessary
• Provider name, location and qualifications
• Estimated total cost with rates and travel
• Reason for any out-of-district or out-of-state provider

03Eligibility

Indigency, Private Counsel and Partial Funding

The rule requires a finding of indigency based on the standards in Idaho Code 19-6011, and the court may ask for financial information about income, property and expenses. Importantly, Rule 12.2 also says that having private counsel, or being found not indigent for appointed counsel, does not automatically defeat an indigency finding for investigative services. A family that stretched to hire a lawyer may still qualify for public funds to pay for a defense investigation, including records-based witness research. Counsel decides whether to file; we supply the estimate either way, much as we do for misdemeanor defense files.

When private counsel files the motion and the services would be paid from public defender funds, the rule generally requires service of the motion and any hearing notice on the public defender, and the court provides the public defender a copy of an order granting it. We keep our estimates and invoices in a form that can be shared with that office without exposing defense strategy beyond what the order already reveals. For complex staging questions, counsel can use our investigative consulting before the motion is filed.

04Estimates and billing

An Estimate Built to Be Approved, and Billing Built to Be Audited

For each appointed counsel investigation, our estimates list each task, the hours expected, the $100 hourly rate and the travel involved, and they divide larger cases into phases. A felony estimate might separate pre-preliminary work from trial preparation so counsel can seek approval in stages. Rule 12.2 orders state an authorized amount, and additional cost generally requires new authorization before it is incurred, so we track hours against the order and tell counsel well before the limit is reached. Our felony defense investigation page shows how a staged plan is structured.

Payment under the rule requires detailed billing listing each service and its cost. Our invoices list date, task, hours, mileage and expenses line by line and reference the order. Nothing is billed that was not in the approved scope. Case-based minimums are the same as on retained matters: $750 for a misdemeanor, $1,000 for a single felony and $1,500 for multiple charges. Those minimums and the hourly rate are confirmed in writing before any work starts, which is also how we handle DUI defense investigations.

05Geography

Forty Contract Counties and Long Distances Between Them

Most of Idaho's land area is covered by contract defenders rather than institutional offices, and the distances are real. Boise to Coeur d'Alene is roughly 380 to 390 miles, most of it on US-95, the only road connecting the Panhandle with the rest of the state. Boise to Pocatello is about 234 miles. The northern counties keep Pacific Time and the south Mountain Time. We group field work by region to keep travel charges down, and our investigators assigned to Lewiston and the Clearwater counties handle north-central Idaho as its own route.

When travel is unavoidable, the estimate says so plainly and the Rule 12.2 motion can explain why. A scene in Custer County or a witness in Bear Lake County may require a full day, and a witness who has since moved can often be found first through lawful witness location. Remote work, such as records research and phone interviews where counsel approves, can reduce that cost. For eastern Idaho appointments, our coverage around Idaho Falls and Ammon keeps most trips within the Seventh District.

06Client access

County Jails, State Prisons and Client Contact

Appointed clients are more often in custody, which shapes investigation. Clients may be held in a county jail, such as those serving Meridian and the rest of Ada County, pending trial or, after sentencing or a probation violation, in a Department of Correction facility. The main concentration is the prison complex on South Pleasant Valley Road near Kuna, with other institutions in Orofino, Cottonwood and Pocatello, and some Idaho inmates have been housed in Arizona. We coordinate any client meeting through counsel and follow each facility's visitation and legal-visit rules.

Many investigative steps do not require client contact at all. Witness interviews, scene documentation and lawful observation and records requests proceed on counsel's instructions. When a witness is also in custody, we follow facility rules for professional visits and document the interview the same way as any other. Defense subpoenas for witnesses can be delivered through our Idaho process serving division and documented with a signed affidavit.

07Other appointments

Federal Panel Cases, Tribal Questions and Same-Standard Work

Federal defendants in Idaho who cannot afford counsel are represented by appointed lawyers under the Criminal Justice Act, and investigative services in those cases are requested through the federal court's own process, not Rule 12.2. The District of Idaho has clerk's offices in Boise, Coeur d'Alene and Pocatello. We prepare estimates in whatever form the court or counsel requires, and our Pocatello investigators can reach the eastern counties and the Fort Hall area, where counsel will want to confirm tribal and federal jurisdiction before any field step.

The quality standard does not change with the payer, a point we make in every appointed counsel investigation estimate. Appointed counsel receive the same written reports, dated witness memos, photographs with metadata and testimony availability that retained counsel do. Our investigators are insured and vetted, and Delator Group holds a Tennessee private investigation firm license, applying that standard in Idaho, which has no statewide investigator license. Where a city such as Chubbuck or Coeur d'Alene regulates investigators locally, we confirm current requirements before work inside city limits, consistent with our guide on what Idaho investigators may lawfully do.

Services

Investigation services for Idaho appointed counsel

• Rule 12.2 estimate packageScope, necessity notes, provider qualifications and itemized costs including travel, prepared in the form Idaho Criminal Rule 12.2 asks for and ready to attach.Learn more
• Staged felony plansFelony investigations divided into approvable phases, such as preliminary hearing preparation and trial preparation, so counsel can request funds in steps.Learn more
• Narrow misdemeanor scopesSingle scene visits, short interview lists and targeted records requests for magistrate division cases, priced at the minimum where the work allows.Learn more
• Witness locationWitnesses who moved within Idaho or out of state located through lawful skip tracing, with addresses confirmed before any travel is billed.Learn more
• Witness interviewsApproved interviews documented in dated memos, including professional visits to witnesses held in custody under each facility's own visitation rules.Learn more
• Scene documentationPhotographs, measurements and sight lines recorded at the matching hour, grouped with other regional work to keep travel charges low.Learn more
• Records and timeline workDiscovery, phone records and public records organized into a single timeline, with Idaho's 21-day nonresident records window planned into the schedule.Learn more
• Defense subpoena serviceTrial and hearing subpoenas for defense witnesses delivered anywhere in Idaho and documented with a signed affidavit of service for counsel's file.Learn more
• Audit-ready invoicingLine-item invoices listing date, task, hours, mileage and expenses against the authorized amount, with early notice before any limit is reached.Learn more

How it works

How an appointed case investigation runs

1. 01

   Intake and scope

   Counsel sends the charge, court, hearing dates and the investigative questions. We return a written scope with tasks, hours, travel and total estimated cost within a short turnaround.

2. 02

   Funding approval

   Counsel files the Rule 12.2 motion or other funding request with our estimate attached. We start only after counsel confirms the order and the authorized amount in writing.

3. 03

   Field work within the order

   Investigators complete the approved tasks, track hours against the authorized amount and alert counsel early, in writing, if new facts justify a supplemental funding request.

4. 04

   Report and itemized invoice

   Counsel receives a written report with exhibits and witness memos, plus an itemized invoice that matches the order. Investigators remain available to testify at hearings or trial.

Compare

What an Idaho Criminal Rule 12.2 request generally covers, and what Delator supplies

Statewide coverage

Appointed counsel support across Idaho

District public defender offices and contract attorneys in the Treasure Valley are supported by investigators assigned to Boise and Nampa. Eastern Idaho appointments are covered from Idaho Falls and Pocatello, and Magic Valley cases from Twin Falls. Panhandle and north-central appointments keep Pacific Time and are staffed from Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston as separate operations. Every estimate states the travel involved, so the reviewing judge sees the real cost of covering a rural county before approving it, and counsel never receives a surprise invoice.

• Boise
• Nampa
• Idaho Falls
• Pocatello
• Twin Falls
• Coeur d'Alene
• All of Idaho

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Every service

Investigations available in Idaho

Every service below is available in Idaho and across Idaho, run by the same Delator Group leadership that manages our Tennessee casework. Choose a service to read how it works in Idaho.

Service areas

Private investigators across Idaho