Idaho Judge Orders Release of Officer Records, Including Separation Reasons and Dates
Updated
Updated · Idaho Capital Sun · Nov 10
Idaho Judge Orders Release of Officer Records, Including Separation Reasons and Dates
3 articles · Updated · Idaho Capital Sun · Nov 10
Summary
A Nov. 5 Ada County ruling said Idaho State Police and the Department of Correction improperly withheld officers’ employment histories and must release dates of service, separation reasons and some previously redacted employee names.
Judge Patrick J. Miller rejected the agencies’ argument that retirement, resignation or termination details were shielded because disciplinary records are exempt, saying those basic employment-history facts remain public even if stored in confidential files.
Idaho State Police was also ordered to search again for database records after claiming a disabled reporting tool left it with no responsive records; Miller said shutting off retrieval does not make public information nonexistent.
The records fight followed a June 16 lawsuit by InvestigateWest and the Invisible Institute after Idaho stopped providing data the outlets had used in reporting on alleged sexual misconduct by dozens of prison guards.
That 2025 reporting helped spur Idaho lawmakers to close a sexual-abuse loophole and order an independent review of how the women’s prison system handles abuse complaints.