Earlier this week, Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Bevan announced his impending retirement. According to CBS 2:
Born and raised in Twin Falls, Bevan earned his law degree from Brigham Young University in 1987 before returning home to practice law for 16 years. During that time, he served as Twin Falls County prosecutor and president of the Fifth District Bar Association.
He was appointed as a district judge in 2003, where he oversaw treatment courts and later served eight years as administrative district judge for south-central Idaho. He also played a key role in implementing Idaho’s now-standard electronic case management system.
Bevan’s experience on the bench led to his appointment to the Idaho Supreme Court by Gov. [Butch Otter] in 2017. Four years later, fellow justices selected him as Chief Justice.
I wasn’t able to find election records from his 2006 election following his appointment to the 5th District Court, but records show Bevan was unopposed in 2010 and 2014. Following his appointment to the Supreme Court in 2017, he won reelection unopposed in 2018 and 2024. Stepping down this year gives Gov. Brad Little the responsibility of selecting his successor from a list provided by the Judicial Council. That person will serve the remainder of Bevan’s term and will not appear on the ballot until 2030.
I wrote in depth last year about how the Supreme Court, though ostensibly an elected office, is insulated from voters:
Something happened in 2000 that had not occurred for a generation: a sitting Idaho Supreme Court justice was voted out of office. Incumbent Cathy Silak had drawn criticism for writing the majority opinion in Potlatch Corp. v. United States, which held that water rights in certain designated wilderness areas were reserved to the federal government. Daniel Eismann, a judge in Idaho’s 4th District Court, challenged Silak, drawing support from notable Republicans, including Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth.
The race became heated. Democrats claimed that Eismann was improperly courting partisan support by speaking to Republican committees and responding to a survey from the Idaho Christian Coalition. Nevertheless, Eismann won 58.6% of the vote in the May primary. He would later serve a term as Chief Justice and retired in 2017.
That remains the only time since 1946 that a sitting Supreme Court justice was defeated in an election. In fact, the last time anyone even challenged an incumbent justice was in 2010, when John Bradbury ran unsuccessfully against Justice Roger Burdick.
Technically, judges in Idaho are accountable to voters, but in reality, they owe their positions to an entrenched system overseen by the Idaho Judicial Council. Four of the five current Supreme Court justices were appointed to their positions by the governor, who receives a list of qualified candidates from the Council.
It was Justice Eismann’s retirement that prompted Justice Bevan’s appointment.
Rather than holding a special election, retiring justices are replaced through an appointment process. The Idaho Judicial Council, which will submit a slate of candidates to the governor, is made up of nine members. Those nine include the Chief Justice himself, a district court judge, a magistrate judge, two lawyers, and four non-attorney members appointed by the governor. Current members of the Judicial Council are:
- Chief Justice Richard Bevan, ex-officio chair by virtue of his position
- Todd Garbett, magistrate judge from eastern Idaho
- Rick Carnaroli, 6th District judge
- Keely Duke, founding partner of Duke Evett PLLC in Boise
- John Bush, founding partner of Comstock & Bush in Boise
- Jason Kreizenbeck, co-founder of Lobby Idaho LLC, a lobbying firm
- Scott Madison, executive vice president of MDU Utilities Group, an energy company
- Michael Kennedy, president of Intermax Networks, a Coeur d’Alene telecom provider
None of my concerns stem from the performance of the judges themselves, nor would I cast aspersions on members of the Judicial Council. It’s just that the whole system seems wrong, doesn’t it? What’s the point of putting judges on the ballot if they run unopposed 99% of the time? Our next Supreme Court justice, who could serve for a decade or more, will not be elected by the voters of Idaho, but by ten individuals—the nine members of the Judicial Council and the governor.
That system is ripe for reform. Sen. Phil Hart introduced two bills in the 2026 session regarding judicial appointments. Senate Bill 1324 would have made the appointee ineligible to run for reelection, ensuring that voters would have a choice. When that idea was not enthusiastically received, Hart returned with Senate Bill 1343, which would prohibit judges who retire early from gaining senior status, which allows retired judges to preside over a limited number of cases. Neither bill advanced past committee.
The weakness of the first bill is obvious—judges and attorneys are already giving up potentially lucrative careers to sit on the state’s highest bench. Currently, Supreme Court justices earn $186,508 per year, a number set by the Legislature in Idaho Code. That may sound like a lot to me—and maybe to you—but it’s a fraction of what someone with the experience required to serve on the Supreme Court could earn in private practice. The Supreme Court’s 2025 annual report requested an increase to $215,000 per year to attract more qualified candidates.
If a potential justice knew he or she would only serve a few years, it would be even more difficult to convince qualified people to take the position. Nevertheless, kudos to Sen. Hart, who is one of the few lawmakers looking for solutions to this issue.
Perhaps Chief Justice Bevan’s impending retirement will attract enough public attention to motivate lawmakers to seriously tackle this issue in 2027. I’m not sure what the ideal solution is, but let’s start the debate now and work toward a system that makes our judicial branch accountable to the people while preserving the highest standards for those entrusted with these decisions.
Feature image by Otto Kitsinger for the Idaho Capital Sun
About Brian Almon
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
