JOIN OUR TEAM

Join the Office of the State Appellate Public Defender for a deeply meaningful career that offers competitive salaries, generous vacation and sick leave accrual, lifetime retirement benefits, professional growth, and work-life balance. Work alongside the most experienced and highly skilled appellate attorneys and support staff in Idaho. The SAPD supports its amazing employees by fostering a sense of purpose, encouraging professional growth, and offering a collegial and supportive work environment.

Current Openings

Lead Counsel & Unit Chief, Capital Litigation Unit

The State Appellate Public Defender (SAPD) seeks an experienced capital defense attorney to join its Capital Litigation Unit in either a Lead Counsel or a Lead Counsel/Unit Chief role. The precise position will depend on the applicant’s skills, experience, and interests.

Lead Counsel in the Capital Litigation Unit oversees team representation of capital clients. Each team is composed of a lead attorney, at least one deputy attorney, a fact investigator, and a mitigation specialist. The team represents indigent capital clients throughout the post-conviction proceedings in district court. If post-conviction proceedings are unsuccessful, the team represents the client in a unified direct/post-conviction appeal.

Unit Chief in the Capital Litigation Unit oversees the CLU as a whole. When fully staffed, the CLU consists of two lead attorneys, two deputy attorneys, one investigator, one mitigation specialist, and one administrative assistant. The Unit Chief will have primary responsibility for ensuring the smooth operation and continued improvement of the entire CLU.

For more information or to submit an application, please click here.

Employee Benefits

In addition to rewarding and meaningful work, the State Appellate Public Defender offers its employees excellent benefits.

Nation’s leading public employee pension plan – PERSI
Excellent low-cost medical, dental, and vision insurance
Eleven paid holidays
Paid vacation leave
Paid sick leave
Paid parental leave
401K and deferred compensation plan
Life/Disability/Supplemental life insurance
Employee assistance program
Flexible spending accounts
Wellness programs

The State of Idaho offers a robust compensation package, for a summary of benefits click here.

The State Appellate Public Defender is a qualifying employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PLSF).

Student Opportunities

The State Appellate Public Defender (SAPD) offers summer and spring externship and internship opportunities.

The SAPD will consider applications from both 1Ls and 2Ls. Applicants must have excellent research and writing skills and be creative, critical thinkers. They must be comfortable working with clients from diverse backgrounds. Successful candidates will have strong academic credentials and an interest in indigent defense. The internship/externship is unpaid.

To apply, please submit the following: (1) cover letter; (2) resume; (3) most recent law school transcript (unofficial ok); and (4) writing sample (no more than ten pages, excerpts ok). For the writing sample, please indicate if any work is not your own. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Please email application materials to documents@sapd.idaho.gov with SAPD Intern/Extern Application in the subject line.

With close supervision and guidance from experienced attorneys, interns/externs will be involved in the following activities:

Reviewing trial court records and evaluating legal claims;
Drafting appellate briefs;
Conducting legal research and drafting memoranda;
Participating in attorney issue conferences and moot arguments; and
Observing oral arguments before the Idaho Court of Appeals and the Idaho Supreme Court.

In addition, interns/externs may be involved in:

Communicating with clients in-person, over the phone, and/or in writing;
Drafting motions; and
Observing hearings and/or depositions in capital cases.