Idaho Supreme Court holds hearings before full house in Rexburg
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REXBURG – The Idaho Supreme Court was in session on the Brigham Young University-Idaho campus Wednesday morning — the first time in five years it had been to Rexburg.
Four of the state’s five justices met in the Manwaring Center’s Special Events Room to hear three local cases — State v. Monroe, Farms, LLC v. Isom, and Yellowstone Log Homes v. City of Rigby.
Each hearing lasted about an hour.
Following the proceedings, the justices held a Q&A for students and members of the community.
The Supreme Court travels around the state four or five times a year to hold hearings. The purpose is to give the public a chance to see what it’s like and participate in the process, and it also gives justices a chance to get to know and interact with the communities they serve. Justice Greg Moeller tells EastIdahoNews.com it’s a constitutional requirement for them to appear in different locations.
He is pleased with the turnout Wednesday and the thought put into each question.
“We’re very impressed. We’ve traveled throughout the state, and we typically have people come and watch, but we have never had as big a crowd come to watch us as (we had today),” Moeller says. “They were such good questions. None of them were frivolous or silly. All were questions dealing with important issues we face. That speaks very highly, not only of the wonderful students here at BYU-Idaho, but (also the community) … and it was a privilege to let them see us in action.”
As a native of eastern Idaho and former adjunct faculty member at the university, Moeller was also thrilled to be back in Rexburg only half a mile from the firm where he began his law career many years ago.
“I spent almost 30 years of my life here as a law clerk, as a lawyer and as a judge. It’s hard to live in a place that long and not have it affect you personally. Seeing all the ditches, the river, the canals and the cottonwoods just reminded me how much I gave up to leave here,” says Moeller.
But Moeller also enjoys living in Meridian while serving as a Supreme Court justice.
Since his appointment in 2019, he’s been involved in so many cases and he’s seen a shift in the types of issues they’re addressing.
“We tend to be getting bigger cases that are more controversial,” he says.
He cites the state’s response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade as one example.
There’s also been a dramatic increase in cases revolving around the Second Amendment, lawsuits against the state Legislature, separation of power, decisions involving the initiative process and death penalty appeals.
“We just heard a death penalty appeal on a case from 40 years ago. The record in that case is 30,000 pages,” Moeller says.
As society becomes increasingly polarized on political issues, many feel that kindness and civility in public discourse is at an all-time low. Moeller says that’s long been the case dating back to the nation’s founding.
He says “public faith in all branches of government has eroded,” and things are definitely “not where they should be today.”
“The judiciary has been somewhat immune to that in the sense that … we’re still held in pretty high esteem by most people. But there has been some erosion and that’s because people that aren’t happy with some decisions … try to politicize the judiciary and make it look like (it’s all based on) politics,” Moeller says.
But Moeller says every decision they make as justices is apolitical and is governed by the rule of law. He and the other members of the Supreme Court took an oath to be “guardians of the Constitution,” and it’s a responsibility he takes seriously.
During the Q&A, Justice John Stegner said that while each member of the court may not agree on the outcome in different cases, they’re respectful and civil in their discourse with one another and they all “get along very well.”
“We are collegial and collaborative and by that … we show that we can get along. We can agree to disagree, but we are not disagreeable in doing so,” Stegner says. “I’m hoping that we will recognize the importance of an independent judiciary, that we will acknowledge that we as a society have to sometimes agree to disagree, and not do it in disagreeable ways.
“We live in troubled times,” Stegner added. “If we’re doing what we should be doing (as a society) … those troubled times will pass.”
The justices last visited Rexburg in 2018.
The Idaho Supreme Court will return to eastern Idaho later this summer. It will hear cases in Blackfoot and Pocatello in August.