The United States District and Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Idaho as well as Probation and Pretrial announce operating with reduced staff. For full details and pro se email filing links, please visit the COVID-19 Information section of this website.
Anyone who is experiencing COVID like symptoms or who has tested positive for COVID within the last 14 days must report this to the Court Security Officers at the entrance to any courthouse. Masks are required of all visitors and must be worn at all times while in the courthouse, this includes in court. All staff are required to wear masks while in public spaces at the courthouse. | ||
![]() Boise
Current Stage: IIICourthouse: Open Clerks Office: Open Gatherings: Max 50 People |
![]() Coeur d'Alene
Current Stage: IIICourthouse: Open Clerks Office: Open Gatherings: Max 50 People |
![]() Pocatello
Current Stage: IIICourthouse: Open Clerks Office: Open Gatherings: Max 50 People |
The United States District and Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Idaho will conduct a local contest to select finalists for the circuit-wide competition. To enter the local contest, students must reside in the State of Idaho. Local district winners in each category also will receive prizes of $1,000 for 1st place, $500 for 2nd place, and $250 for 3rd place.
For more information about the local contest, please contact
Chief Deputy Jeff Severson
(208) 334-9464
jeff_severson@id.uscourts.gov
Our Constitution both confers rights and establishes responsibilities. The Preamble that begins the Constitution speaks of the people's commitment to "secure the blessings of liberty," while also recognizing the need to "promote the general welfare." Among the many rights enshrined in the Constitution, for example, are the right to peaceably assemble, the right to free exercise of religion, and the right to a speedy and public jury trial in criminal cases.
Over the course of our country's history, global events have challenged us to find a balance between critical rights like these and our responsibilities to each other. The shelter-in-place orders implemented during the coronavirus pandemic, the rationing orders implemented during World War II and the Great Depression, and the mandatory smallpox vaccination programs instituted in the early 1900s are just some examples of times when we have been asked to curtail our normal freedoms for the benefit of our entire community. At the same time, each of us has a civic responsibility to participate in and contribute to our democracy. How should we as a society strike the appropriate balance within the framework of our Constitution between safeguarding our rights and fulfilling our responsibilities to each other?
"What Does Our American Community Ask of Us?" is the theme of a civics contest focusing on these important issues.