Ada County

Ada County follows Idaho law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.

Who decides release first

Before the first court appearance, the jail can accept bail set by the Idaho Supreme Court's misdemeanor bail schedule. The schedule stops controlling once a magistrate judge sees the person or reviews the case, and the magistrate sets release at the initial appearance.

Idaho Misdemeanor Crim. R. 13Idaho Crim. R. 46

Time to see a judge

An arrested person must be taken before a magistrate without unreasonable delay and within 24 hours, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

Idaho Crim. R. 5(b)

Money bail

Money bail is allowed. Magistrates may raise, lower, or eliminate bail, and a statewide schedule sets misdemeanor amounts until a judge reviews the case.

Idaho Crim. R. 46Idaho Misdemeanor Crim. R. 13

Courts

Idaho has one trial court, the district court. District judges try felonies, and magistrate judges in its magistrate division hear misdemeanors, preliminary hearings, and bail matters that the district assigns them.

Idaho Code 1-2208

Judges and magistrates

Voters elect district judges on a nonpartisan ballot to four-year terms. Each judicial district's magistrates commission appoints magistrate judges on merit; after 18 months a magistrate stands in a county retention election for a four-year term. Both must be Idaho lawyers.

Idaho Code 34-616Idaho Code 1-2205Idaho Code 1-2206Idaho Code 1-2207Idaho Code 1-2220

Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Felony bond schedules set by judicial district were not confirmed.

Pretrial practice

Mapping Pretrial Injustice listed its risk tool in 2021 as the Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument, Revised (VPRAI-R).

MediaJustice and Movement Alliance Project, Mapping Pretrial Injustice county map (data as of fall 2021)

From Mapping Pretrial Injustice, a map compiled by MediaJustice and the Movement Alliance Project, advocacy groups that campaign against pretrial risk assessment tools. Its data is from fall 2021; CrimeDB uses it only where no court, government, or research list covers the county.

• Boise Police DepartmentCity238,450 served
• Ada County Sheriff's OfficeCounty145,483 served
• Meridian Police DepartmentCity145,320 served
• ID0010700City30,418 served
• Garden City Police DepartmentGarden City city13,104 served

Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.