Chief Justice Provides Update on Idaho’s Courts

A man’s life changed through participation in a treatment court. Separated families working through challenges with the help of a mediator. Judges taking time to speak with students about their role in our society.

Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan highlighted these examples and other work being done across Idaho’s courts in his annual State of the Judiciary address on Wednesday. The speech to members of the Idaho Legislature discusses the status of the courts and matters important to maintaining this state’s fair, timely and impartial court system.

State court users filed more than 155,000 new cases during the 2025 fiscal year. “Each one of those cases is a person filing a complaint, a charging document, some sort of paperwork seeking a just resolution to the problem before them,” Chief Justice Bevan said.

Amid a spike in high-value civil cases, judges are helping the people in their courts to find those resolutions, whether through trial or through thoughtful negotiation.

The chief justice touched on help for self-represented litigants and attorneys, described continued security concerns, and thanked county leaders for recent improvements to several Idaho courthouses.

He shared plans by the Judicial Branch to examine what the loss of peer support services means for Idaho’s long-established mental health courts. And he talked about a locally informed set of court priorities that will guide the next three years of Judicial Branch services.

“The rule of law is the guiding star of our civil society,” Chief Justice Bevan said. “We are its servants.”

A recording of the chief justice's speech is available to watch as part of the Idaho Supreme Court’s annual report.