IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Two candidates for the Seventh District Judicial Court took to the stand tonight and answered questions from the community.
Incumbent District Judge Steven Boyce is being challenged by Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Neal.
In their opening arguments, Boyce laid out his extensive experience on the bench, while Neal primarily emphasized that judges should be elected officials, not just appointed officials.
Steven Boyce: “Currently I was voted unanimously by our district judges as the administrative judge. There’s seven of us in the state. We’re in charge of all assignments of other judges and administrative matters for the entire district. So I spent a lot of time in the Supreme Court working on those administrative issues, and I was with them last week.”
“I’m also the chair of the magistrate commission for our district,” he said. “So when we select new magistrates, we recently selected three new magistrates in Jefferson County. I chair that commission with a group of attorneys, citizens, county officials, mayors, etcetera.”
Randy Neal: “I think all of you know that currently I’m the prosecuting attorney here for Bonneville County. I’ve been elected twice to that position. I’ve been an attorney now for 23 years, and I was in law enforcement for 18 years before that. Law is my second career.
“What do I think you have to bring to the bench?” he asked. “I think that the fact that we have, a principle embodied in our state constitution that our judges are elected, we bring the idea that we are accountable to the community.”
The forum was hosted by Stand Up for Idaho at the Snake River Events Center.
While judges at the district level are appointed by the Governor in case of a vacancy, voters will directly choose who will serve as judge at the ballot box next month.
Usually, these non-partisan, judicial races go uncontested.
However, that will not be the case for the Seventh District Judicial Court on May 19th, which is holding its first contested race since 2014.
You can watch the full debate at Stand Up for Idaho’s website to hear the judicial candidates respond to audience questions.
