Arrest Warrant Records not retained by the State of Idaho as Public Record

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho

On August 19th, 2013, I had filed a Public Records request with Ada County for The Voter Registration Card and Arrest Warrant for Lisa Marie Goold.
The supervisor for the Ada County Board of Elections had issued a response indicating that Lisa Marie Goold was not a registered Voter in Ada County.

Email response to records request from Ada County Idaho Board of Elections

Looking into the issue further, I had discovered that Arrest Warrant Records were not maintained under the Idaho Public Records Act.

Records retention policy for Arrest Warrant Records

In fact, as you look at the records retention guide for Idaho Law Enforcement, the Idaho State Historical Society lists Arrest Warrant Records as not having permanency of any kind.
According to Idaho Code, this is what is said about Law Enforcement records through Public Information requests

Audio/Visual Recordings are retained by the State of Idaho for 10 years, and then destroyed, according to the Idaho State Historical Society

Both sets of records do not have guidance on what to consider exempt and what to consider releasable to the Public.
Upon further review, nothing in the retention list and policy manuals for Idaho Counties had listed guidance on the subject of Arrest Warrant Records.
Every year, Idaho Public Records Act trainings are held by Idahoan’s for Open Government and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office. Meanwhile, increasing frustration in navigating the records act lingers in the background.