New SCOID Civil Case Supports Wiebe and Fouser Lawsuit?

As regular SCOIDBlog readers know, Wiebe and Fouser have sued Canyon County for terminating its public defender contract. One of the arguments is that Canyon County may not invoke a 90-day termination clause because I.C. Section 19-860(a)(1) states that the public defender's term of office "may not be less than two (2) years." A hearing on W&F's motion for a preliminary injunction is set for tomorrow.

Happily, it seems that W&F received some support from the Idaho Supreme Court today. The Court, in Boudreau v. City of Wendell, http://www.isc.idaho.gov/opinions/Boudreau%20v.pdf, held that a statutory provision making city clerks "at will" employees could not be superseded by termination provisions found in the City of Wendell personnel manual. The Court wrote that "Idaho local governments cannot override statutes enacted by the legislature. [Citations omitted.] Thus, once the legislature determined that a municipal appointive office is at-will . . . the municipality could not alter that status by adopting a Personnel Manual."

That rule should apply to the Canyon County Public Defender Contract too. Since the statute requires the PD to get at least a two-year term, any contract provision permitting the termination of the contract before two years has elapsed must be void. Canyon County can't override the two-year term mandated by the Legislature. Right?