Felony Defense Investigations in Idaho

01The exposure

What a Felony Means Under the Idaho Code

Idaho Code 18-112 sets the default: a felony without its own penalty is generally punishable by up to five years in the state prison, a fine of up to $50,000, or both. Many offenses carry far more. Aggravated DUI under 18-8006 allows up to fifteen years, insurance fraud under 41-293 also allows up to fifteen, and first-degree stalking under 18-7905 carries one to five years. A felony conviction also disqualifies a person from jury service in Idaho until civil rights are restored. Our Idaho investigators scope each file to that exposure.

Idaho also has a persistent violator statute. Under Idaho Code 19-2514, a third felony conviction, whether the earlier ones were in Idaho or elsewhere, generally brings a sentence of at least five years that may extend to life. That makes every prior conviction worth checking: whether it is truly the client's, whether it was a felony where it was entered, and whether it was later reduced or set aside. We obtain certified records and lay out each one for counsel, much as we do for prior DUI counts on our Idaho DUI defense page.

02The first test

Preparing for the Preliminary Hearing in the Magistrate Division

Most Idaho felonies begin with a complaint and a preliminary hearing before a magistrate judge, who decides whether there is probable cause to bind the case over to district court. Some begin instead with a grand jury indictment. The preliminary hearing is often the defense's first look at how the State's witnesses tell their story under oath, and it can lock that testimony in. Investigation before the hearing lets counsel ask sharper questions. Background research on the people likely to testify is often part of that preparation.

Time is short. After the information is filed in district court, Idaho Code 19-3501 generally requires trial within six months unless good cause is shown or the defendant waives the right. Investigation that starts after bind-over competes with discovery review, motions and plea negotiations. We prioritize perishable evidence first: video, witnesses who may move, scenes that will change with the season. Counsel managing the clock may also want our investigative consulting on how to sequence the work.

03Where felonies are tried

Seven Judicial Districts and a Federal Court With Three Offices

Idaho's district courts hear felonies in all 44 counties, grouped into seven judicial districts. A felony in the Fourth District might be tried at the Ada County Courthouse on West Front Street in Boise, one in the Seventh District at the Bonneville County courthouse on North Capital Avenue in Idaho Falls, and one in the First District at the Kootenai County Justice Building on West Garden Avenue in Coeur d'Alene. Juries come from county residents qualified under Idaho Code 2-209, and our jury pool research helps counsel prepare for voir dire.

Federal felonies are a separate track. The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho has clerk's offices in Boise, Coeur d'Alene and Pocatello, with appeals to the Ninth Circuit. Federal cases often involve more documentary evidence, longer timelines and agents from several agencies. We support counsel in both systems with the same documentation standard, serve defense subpoenas through our Idaho process serving division, and our Pocatello investigators are a short drive from the federal office on East Sherman Street.

04Field work

Scene Reconstruction, Witnesses and Digital Records

Felony scenes in Idaho range from a Treasure Valley apartment complex near Caldwell to a ranch road in Owyhee County or a timber landing in the Panhandle. We photograph and measure the scene, record lighting and sight lines at the relevant hour, and note how weather and season have changed it. Where distance and travel time matter to an alibi or a timeline, we drive the route and document it. Our lawful surveillance work can capture conditions at the same hour of night as the alleged offense.

Witness work is the core of most felony defense investigation. We locate people the police interviewed and people they did not, interview the ones counsel approves, and write dated memos. Phone, location and social media records produced in discovery often need a second look; we organize them into a timeline and flag gaps, time-zone mismatches and assumptions. When a witness has moved out of the county or out of Idaho, lawful witness location usually finds them.

• Scene photographs, measurements and sight lines
• Route and travel-time documentation
• Approved witness interviews with dated memos
• Discovery records organized into one timeline

05Charge-specific work

Theft, Fraud, Stalking and Vehicle Felonies

Grand theft under Idaho Code 18-2407 includes property worth more than $1,000, any firearm, livestock over $150 and several other categories, so valuation and the aggregation of separate takings are frequent battlegrounds. Insurance fraud under 41-293, including false statements to obtain workers' compensation benefits, depends on what the claimant said, when and to whom. We trace documents, transactions and communications behind those allegations, drawing on our Idaho fraud and scam investigation methods. Where the case grows out of a workplace, our employee theft investigation experience helps counsel read payroll and inventory records.

First-degree stalking under 18-7905 adds an aggravating fact to second-degree stalking, such as violating a protective order or a victim under sixteen, so the investigation must address both the course of conduct and the aggravator. Leaving the scene of a crash causing injury or death is a felony under 18-8007. In vehicle cases we document damage, debris, cameras and witnesses, and crash witness tracing finds people who left before police arrived. In every case we help counsel distinguish what a witness saw from what they assumed, which is often the difference at trial.

06Sentencing

Mitigation, Retained Jurisdiction and Sentencing Facts

Sentencing in an Idaho felony can involve probation, a withheld judgment, a prison term or retained jurisdiction, often called a rider. Idaho Code 19-2601 allows the court to retain jurisdiction during the first 365 days of a state sentence while the Department of Correction places the defendant in programming. Facilities range from the prison complex on South Pleasant Valley Road near Kuna to institutions in Orofino, Cottonwood and Pocatello. Counsel arguing for a rider or probation needs a well-documented picture of the client.

We gather that picture lawfully and carefully: employment history, family responsibilities, treatment records the client authorizes, community support and the practical plan for supervision. We also verify facts the presentence report states, because errors in prior history or in the description of the offense can follow a client through the system. Where restitution is contested, we document the actual loss. This work is billed the same way as the rest of the investigation and appears in the written scope from the start, as our Idaho attorney services page explains.

07Working with counsel

Public Defense Funding, Retained Counsel and Cost

We work only at the direction of defense counsel, which keeps the investigation inside the legal strategy and helps protect it as work product. Idaho's State Public Defender has handled trial-level public defense since October 2024. Idaho Criminal Rule 12.2 generally requires a motion, filed before costs are incurred and usually ex parte, describing the services, the provider's qualifications and an estimated total cost, and explaining why a provider outside the judicial district or the state is needed. Our appointed counsel support covers that preparation.

Felony defense investigation is billed at $100 per hour with a $1,000 minimum for a single felony and $1,500 when multiple charges are filed. The scope and the price are confirmed in writing before work begins, and any expansion is approved in writing too, which fits the cost-control conditions courts commonly attach to Rule 12.2 orders. Itemized billing lists each task and its cost. Counsel can compare our full rate list on the Idaho investigative pricing page.

Services

Felony defense investigation services in Idaho

• Preliminary hearing preparationWitness backgrounds, prior statements and timeline problems assembled before the probable cause hearing so counsel can examine the State's witnesses effectively.Learn more
• Witness location and interviewsPeople the police interviewed and people they missed, located and interviewed with counsel's approval, each documented in a dated written memo.Learn more
• Scene reconstructionPhotographs, measurements, lighting, sight lines and travel routes documented at the relevant hour and season, with diagrams prepared for trial exhibits.Learn more
• Prior record auditCertified records of each prior felony checked for identity, classification and disposition before counsel responds to a persistent violator allegation.Learn more
• Digital records timelinePhone, location and social media records from discovery organized into one timeline, with gaps, time-zone mismatches and assumptions flagged for counsel.Learn more
• Financial and document tracingTransactions, invoices, claims and correspondence traced behind grand theft, embezzlement and insurance fraud allegations, with findings summarized in plain language.Learn more
• Jury panel researchLawful public-record research on the venire in a county where jurors may know the alleged victim, the officers or the defendant's family.Learn more
• Mitigation developmentEmployment, family, treatment and community information gathered and verified for sentencing, rider or probation arguments, and for correcting the presentence report.Learn more
• Funding motion supportScope, qualifications and itemized cost estimates prepared in the form Idaho Criminal Rule 12.2 asks for, ready for appointed counsel to file.Learn more

How it works

How an Idaho felony investigation runs

1. 01

   Intake with counsel

   Counsel shares the complaint or information, discovery to date, the client's record and the hearing schedule. We return a written scope and price before any field work starts.

2. 02

   Perishable evidence first

   We identify video, witnesses likely to move and scenes that will change, and give counsel a preservation list and early findings ahead of the preliminary hearing.

3. 03

   Full investigation

   Investigators conduct approved interviews, reconstruct the scene, audit priors and analyze records, reporting to counsel as each piece is completed and asking approval for any expansion.

4. 04

   Trial and sentencing support

   Counsel receives written reports, exhibits and witness memos. Our investigators remain available to testify at hearings and at trial, and to support the sentencing presentation.

Compare

Selected Idaho felony provisions (2026 Idaho Code, summarized; confirm with counsel)

Statewide coverage

Felony defense support across Idaho

Felony files in the Fourth and Third districts are supported by investigators assigned to Boise, Meridian and Nampa. Seventh District cases are covered from Idaho Falls, Sixth District cases from Pocatello, and Fifth District cases from Twin Falls. First and Second District files in the Panhandle and Lewiston area keep Pacific Time and are staffed as separate operations because of the distance and the single highway connecting them to the south. Federal cases are supported in Boise, Coeur d'Alene and Pocatello alike.

• 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