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Idaho Court of Appeals

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The Idaho Court of Appeals was established in 1980 as the intermediate appellate court in Idaho.[1] The court hears cases assigned to it by the Idaho Supreme Court, except capital murder convictions and appeals from the Public Utilities Commission or Industrial Commission which must be heard by the Idaho Supreme Court. Appellants may petition the Idaho Supreme Court to review an Idaho Court of Appeals decision, but the Idaho Supreme Court is not required to grant such a petition.

The Idaho Court of Appeals has three judges and a chief judge who are elected in nonpartisan elections to renewable six-year terms. Cases are heard by three-judge panels.

 
Idaho Court of Appeals
Intermediate Appellate Courts Seal-template.png
Court information
Judges:   4
Founded:   1980
Salary:  Associates: $178,508[2]
Judicial selection
Method:   Nonpartisan election of judges
Term:   6 years

Judges

Judge Tenure Appointed By

Molly Huskey

July 2, 2015 - Present

Butch Otter

Jessica Lorello

2017 - Present

Butch Otter

David Gratton

January 1, 2009 - Present

Butch Otter

Michael Tribe

March 29, 2024 - Present

Brad Little

Salary

See also: Idaho court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $178,508, according to the National Center for State Courts.[3]

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Idaho

The four judges of the Idaho Court of Appeals are elected in nonpartisan elections. They serve six-year terms, after which they must seek re-election if they wish to retain their seat. To learn more about these elections, visit the Idaho judicial elections page.[4]

Qualifications

To serve on the appeals court, a judge must:

  • be at least 30 years old;
  • be a U.S. citizen;
  • be an Idaho resident for at least two years;
  • be in good standing as an active or judicial member of the state bar for at least two years; and
  • a licensed attorney for at least 10 years.[4]

Chief judge

The chief judge of the court of appeals is appointed by the supreme court chief justice and serves in that capacity for two years.[4]

Vacancies

There is one current vacancy on the Idaho Court of Appeals, out of the court's four judicial positions. If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, an interim judge is appointed by the governor from a list of two to four names provided by a nominating commission. This judge will serve out the remainder of the unexpired term, after which he or she must run in a nonpartisan election to remain on the court.[4]

Elections

See also: Idaho intermediate appellate court elections, 2030

Jessica Lorello's seat


There are no official candidates yet for this election.


David Gratton's seat


There are no official candidates yet for this election.


See also: Idaho intermediate appellate court elections, 2028


There are no official candidates yet for this election.


See also: Idaho intermediate appellate court elections, 2026


There are no official candidates yet for this election.


See also: Idaho intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

Jessica Lorello's seat

General election

General election for Idaho Court of Appeals

Incumbent Jessica Lorello (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Idaho Court of Appeals on May 21, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Jessica Lorello (Nonpartisan)
 
100.0
 
212,011

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 212,011
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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David Gratton's seat

General election

General election for Idaho Court of Appeals

Incumbent David Gratton (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Idaho Court of Appeals on May 21, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of David Gratton
David Gratton (Nonpartisan)
 
100.0
 
212,553

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 212,553
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

See also: Idaho intermediate appellate court elections, 2022

General election

General election for Idaho Court of Appeals

Incumbent Molly Huskey (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Idaho Court of Appeals on May 17, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Molly Huskey (Nonpartisan)
 
100.0
 
222,238

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 222,238
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

See also: Idaho intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

General election

General election for Idaho Court of Appeals

Incumbent Amanda Brailsford (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Idaho Court of Appeals on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Amanda Brailsford
Amanda Brailsford (Nonpartisan)
 
100.0
 
268,481

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 268,481
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

See also: Idaho intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

Lorello's seat

General election

General election for Idaho Court of Appeals

Incumbent Jessica Lorello (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Idaho Court of Appeals on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Jessica Lorello (Nonpartisan)
 
100.0
 
186,406

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 186,406
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Gratton's seat

General election

General election for Idaho Court of Appeals

Incumbent David Gratton (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Idaho Court of Appeals on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of David Gratton
David Gratton (Nonpartisan)
 
100.0
 
186,659

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 186,659
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Previous election results


Ethics

The Idaho Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Idaho. It consists of five overarching canons:

“
  • Canon 1: A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.
  • Canon 2: A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligently.
  • Canon 3: A judge shall conduct the judge's personal and extrajudicial activities in such manner as to minimize the risk of conflict with the obligations of judicial office.
  • Canon 4: A judge or candidate for judicial office shall not engage in political or campaign activity that is inconsistent with the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary.[5]
 ”

The full text of the Idaho Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Idaho may be removed in one of two ways:

  • The Idaho Judicial Council may investigate a complaint against an Idaho judge and then recommend to the supreme court that the judge should face discipline, removal, or retirement. The supreme court may then review the recommendation and investigate further before determining whether to reject the recommendation, or order discipline, removal or retirement of the judge.
  • Impeachment by a majority vote of the Idaho House of Representatives and conviction by a two-thirds vote of the Idaho State Senate.[6]

State profile

Demographic data for Idaho
 IdahoU.S.
Total population:1,652,828316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):82,6433,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:91.7%73.6%
Black/African American:0.6%12.6%
Asian:1.3%5.1%
Native American:1.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
Two or more:2.6%3%
Hispanic/Latino:11.8%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:89.5%86.7%
College graduation rate:25.9%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$47,583$53,889
Persons below poverty level:16.9%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Idaho.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Idaho

Idaho voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.


More Idaho coverage on Ballotpedia

See also

Idaho Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in Idaho
Idaho Court of Appeals
Idaho Supreme Court
Elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in Idaho
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Justia - Idaho Statutes, "ID Code § 1-2403 (2013)," accessed July 7, 2014
  2. ↑ The salary of the chief judge may be higher than an associate judge.
  3. ↑ National Center for State Courts, "2025 Salaries and Rankings," accessed October 8, 2025
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed September 14, 2021
  5. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  6. ↑ National Center For State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Removal of Judges," accessed May 23, 2015

Idaho courts

Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Idaho • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Idaho

State courts:

Idaho Supreme Court • Idaho Court of Appeals • Idaho District Courts • Idaho Magistrate Division

State resources:

Courts in Idaho • Idaho judicial elections • Judicial selection in Idaho

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