Sandpoint's magistrates hear every misdemeanor charged in Bonner County. The Bonner County Prosecuting Attorney brings these cases throughout the county, and by a contract renewed in late 2025, that office also prosecutes misdemeanors and infractions committed inside Sandpoint city limits. Whether the arrest was made by Sandpoint police, the sheriff, Idaho State Police or a smaller town's officers, the same county prosecutor and the same courthouse handle the case.

What happens right after an arrest

Officers often hand out a ticket listing a Sandpoint court date for lower-level offenses. When a person is taken into custody, booking takes place at the Bonner County Jail on Boyer Road, and release may follow once bond is posted. Someone jailed on a warrantless Bonner arrest is entitled to a judge's review of probable cause inside two days, and should be taken promptly before a Sandpoint magistrate. At that appearance the judge reads the charge, sets release conditions and addresses the right to counsel.

Requesting a public defender

The Office of the State Public Defender, which took over Bonner public defense on October 1, 2024, has a Sandpoint office at (208) 920-6530. Anyone in Bonner County who lacks money for a defense lawyer and is exposed to jail can apply at the First Avenue courthouse; the judge alone decides whether to appoint counsel. Bonner cases with a conflict are reassigned to Alternate Counsel within the SPD.

Resolving the case in Sandpoint

Bonner County misdemeanors most often close with a plea bargain, an amended charge, or the prosecutor dropping the case. Sandpoint magistrates have power under Idaho Code 19-2601 to withhold judgment, and a Bonner defendant who completes probation on those terms may move to withdraw the plea and see the charge dismissed. Bonner jury trials on misdemeanors use six jurors, all of whom must agree, and Idaho's speedy-trial statute sets a six-month deadline that starts when the not-guilty plea is entered.

Bonner County misdemeanor penalties

• General rule: a Bonner misdemeanor conviction can bring as much as six months in jail and fines reaching $1,000; certain offenses carry up to a year.
• First DUI in Bonner County: as long as half a year behind bars, a fine as high as $1,000, thirty days with no driving at all and then another 60 to 150 days of suspension (Bonner magistrates may allow restricted privileges), an alcohol evaluation, and twelve months of ignition interlock once driving resumes unless the court excuses it.

A typical misdemeanor in Sandpoint takes one to several months from citation to final disposition.

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Bonner County felonies are prosecuted by the elected county Prosecuting Attorney and are ultimately decided by a district judge of the First Judicial District sitting in Sandpoint. A felony case passes through two phases: an early phase in the Magistrate Division, where probable cause is tested, and a trial phase in District Court.

Bail and the first hearing

A Bonner felony arrest leads to booking on Boyer Road, then an appearance before a Sandpoint magistrate who goes over the complaint and fixes the bail amount. Idaho's Constitution entitles every Bonner defendant to bail unless the charge is capital and the evidence of guilt is plain or the presumption strong. Those who cannot post bond stay at the Boyer Road jail while the case proceeds.

Bind-over

Bonner's magistrates must hold the preliminary hearing within two weeks for someone sitting in the Boyer Road jail, or within three weeks for a released defendant, unless more time is granted. A Bonner case reaches District Court either through that hearing or through a grand jury indictment. The Bonner prosecutor next files a charging document called an information, the accused is arraigned before a Sandpoint district judge, and Idaho law then gives the State roughly six months to bring the case to trial.

Defense representation

Qualifying felony defendants in Bonner County get a lawyer from the SPD's Sandpoint office at (208) 920-6530, while conflict matters go to Alternate Counsel. Apply at the courthouse and be ready to show your income and expenses.

Outcomes and sentencing

Most Bonner felonies resolve through plea agreements. A Bonner district judge imposes a unified sentence: a minimum stretch that must be served, then an additional indeterminate stretch during which the Commission of Pardons and Parole controls release. Another option for Sandpoint judges is a rider, in which the court keeps jurisdiction while the defendant spends as many as 365 days in Department of Correction programs, and then weighs probation. The Bonner County Felony Drug Court offers supervised treatment to eligible defendants. Bonner defendants with two prior felonies risk being sentenced as persistent violators, which means five years to life. A Bonner felony jury seats 12 citizens, and their verdict has to be unanimous. Most Bonner County felonies take six to eighteen months to finish.

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Murder, rape and robbery charges in Bonner County travel the same path from magistrate to district judge as any other felony, with the Bonner County Prosecuting Attorney in charge of the case. The penalties, the investigation and the time involved are all substantially greater, and a conviction almost always means prison.

Pretrial detention at Boyer Road

Bail in violent cases is usually set high, and a Bonner defendant facing a capital count backed by strong evidence can be denied release altogether. As a result, many people charged with violent felonies spend the life of the case at the Bonner County Jail, reachable at (208) 263-8417.

Counsel

The SPD's Bonner County office takes on violent-felony defendants who qualify, and Alternate Counsel covers conflicts. If the prosecutor gives notice of intent to seek death, counsel qualified for capital cases must be appointed.

Idaho sentencing ranges

• Murder in the first degree: life with a minimum of 10 fixed years, or death when the State has filed notice and a Bonner jury finds a statutory aggravating circumstance.
• Murder in the second degree: 10 years at minimum, with life as the maximum.
• Rape charged in Bonner County: one year up to life in prison.
• Robbery charged in Bonner County: five years at minimum and as much as life.
• Firearm or deadly weapon: Idaho Code 19-2520 permits up to 15 additional years for certain felonies.

People harmed by crime in Bonner County hold rights under Article I, Section 22 of the Idaho Constitution: they must be told about hearings, may attend them, may address the Sandpoint court before sentence is imposed, and are owed restitution.

Time to resolution

Expect a violent felony in Sandpoint to last one to three years while lab results, expert witnesses and contested motions work their way through. Capital prosecutions typically take longer still.

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The courthouse for Bonner County is at 215 South First Avenue, Sandpoint, ID 83864; reach the clerk at 208-265-1432. Find a Sandpoint hearing date on the Idaho iCourt case search.

To check for a Bonner County warrant, use the misdemeanor and felony warrant lists on the Public Reports page, or call 208-263-8417.

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• Sandpoint custody check: Bonner County Inmate Search, or call 208-263-8417.
• VINELink covers Bonner and other Idaho jails, with Bonner custody status and release notices.
• Sentenced to prison in Bonner County: the Idaho Department of Correction Resident/Client Search, and JE's Idaho state prisons guide.
• A Bonner federal prisoner: Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.
• Held by ICE after a Bonner arrest: ICE Online Detainee Locator System.

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A federal case from Bonner County leaves the Bonner courthouse. It goes to the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, Northern Division, 6450 N. Mineral Dr., Coeur d'Alene (208-665-6850). The federal magistrate for the Bonner case chooses release terms or detention under 18 U.S.C. 3142, and a detention hearing for the Bonner defendant may follow within five days. The U.S. Marshals Service holds the Bonner defendant before trial, sometimes in a contract county jail; call 208-263-8417 to ask whether Bonner County has the arrested person. Once a Bonner County federal sentence starts, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

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1. Booking staff in Sandpoint check citizenship status under Idaho Code 18-9008 and report a possible Bonner noncitizen to Homeland Security within 48 hours.
2. A Form I-247A detainer from ICE asks Bonner County to hold the person.
3. When the Bonner County case is over, Idaho Code 18-9005(4) requires the Bonner jail to honor a reasonable detainer.
4. Beyond the Bonner County release point, ICE has at most 48 hours, and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays count.
5. The ICE Spokane office (411 W Cataldo Ave, Spokane, WA 99201, 509-329-5846) collects the Bonner County detainee, often for the Elmore County Detention Center in Mountain Home.
6. Track the Bonner detainee on the ICE Online Detainee Locator System with an A-number, or with the Bonner detainee's name and birth country.

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1. To appeal a Bonner magistrate judgment, the defense has 42 days to file its notice with the Bonner County district court (Idaho Criminal Rule 54).
2. Felony appeals from Bonner County need a notice within 42 days of judgment (Idaho Appellate Rule 14), and the Supreme Court may hand the Bonner appeal to the Court of Appeals.
3. When the Sandpoint judge appoints it, the State Appellate Public Defender takes on Bonner felony appeals for people who cannot pay.
4. A motion to reduce a Bonner sentence is due within 120 days after judgment (Idaho Criminal Rule 35).
5. A post-conviction petition in Bonner County is due one year after the Bonner appeal ends or the appeal deadline passes (Idaho Code 19-4902).
6. A sentenced state prisoner, if in the Bonner jail or prison, must meet each Bonner County deadline; the Sandpoint clerk at 208-265-1432 can confirm filing dates.

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