Misdemeanor charges from Driggs, Victor, Tetonia and the valley's rural stretches all go before a Teton County magistrate at the courthouse on Courthouse Drive. The Teton County Sheriff's Office polices the whole valley, and Idaho State Police troopers patrol Highways 31, 32 and 33, so most cases start with one of those two agencies. Prosecution comes from the county prosecutor, whose staff work out of the Law Enforcement Center on North Main Street, where a deputy prosecutor typically carries the misdemeanor load.

Arrest, transport and first appearance

Deputies drive any Teton Valley arrestee who is not released roughly an hour west to the Rexburg jail. When nobody obtained a warrant beforehand, the Teton County court has 48 hours to approve probable cause, and the arrestee then goes promptly before a Teton County magistrate for release conditions. With bail denied in Idaho only on capital charges where the proof is strong, nearly all Teton County misdemeanor defendants are released on bond or on their own recognizance. Anyone with an outstanding Teton County warrant can arrange to turn themselves in through the sheriff's office.

Appointment of a public defender

Teton County's public defense became a state responsibility on October 1, 2024, when Idaho's new defender agency took over trial-level cases. Teton County does not host one of that agency's offices, so contract attorneys are appointed here. Driggs defendants get the form from the court clerk; a magistrate then reviews it and appoints counsel when the Teton County applicant qualifies. The agency answers general inquiries at (208) 605-4575.

Resolving the charge

Once a defendant enters a not-guilty plea in Driggs, Idaho law requires the Teton County misdemeanor to reach trial inside six months. A jury of six valley residents decides it, and they must be unanimous. Most cases, however, are settled through negotiations with the prosecutor's office. Withheld judgments are also available from Teton County magistrates, so that a Teton County probationer who finishes every term can return to Driggs and have the guilty plea erased and the charge closed out.

Misdemeanor penalties in Teton Valley

• Normal limit in Driggs: six months of jail at most and a Teton County fine no bigger than $1,000, apart from offenses for which the Idaho Code allows up to a year.
• First DUI in Teton County: potential incarceration of up to six months, a Driggs fine reaching $1,000, a month with no driving whatsoever, and an additional two- to five-month suspension in which a Driggs magistrate may approve restricted driving.
• Later requirements for Teton County DUI cases: an alcohol evaluation and, typically, an interlock on the Teton County driver's vehicle for twelve months following reinstatement.

Most Teton County misdemeanors are resolved within several weeks to a few months.

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Felony prosecutions in Teton County are typically handled by the elected Prosecuting Attorney personally. They begin with a complaint before a Driggs magistrate, and those supported by probable cause proceed to a district judge assigned to Teton County felony matters.

Bind-over procedure

A Teton County felony complaint carries with it the right to a preliminary hearing: within 14 days while housed in Rexburg, or 21 days if out on bond, unless a Driggs judge extends the time. The prosecutor may bypass the hearing by obtaining an indictment from a Teton County grand jury. Following a Driggs bind-over, the Teton County prosecutor substitutes an "information," the district judge then arraigns the defendant, and the Teton County felony must then be tried within half a year.

Felony defense for those who qualify

A Teton County felony defendant who lacks the means for private counsel submits an application to the Driggs court, and the judge, the only person with power to appoint, assigns a contract attorney from the state's Teton County roster. A conflict that keeps the contract attorney off the case sends it to Idaho's conflict-defense unit, the Alternate Counsel Division.

Sentencing in Teton County felony cases

A prison sentence imposed in Driggs follows Idaho's unified model: a fixed term the Teton County defendant serves in full, then an indeterminate term, with Idaho's parole commission deciding when a Teton County inmate goes free. Judges often suspend prison in favor of probation, or retain jurisdiction for a period as long as twelve months while the Teton County defendant goes through a state prison "rider" program, then decide on probation at a review hearing. For defendants whose offenses are driven by addiction, Teton County has operated a felony drug court. Under Idaho's persistent-violator law, a Driggs defendant with a third felony on the record may be sentenced to a term between five years and life. Felony juries in Driggs seat 12 Teton County residents and require a unanimous result; most Teton County felony cases are completed within six to 18 months.

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Violent felony charges arising in Teton Valley are taken by the Teton County Prosecuting Attorney through District Court in Driggs on the same procedural path as other felonies. The sentences at stake, however, are among the most severe in Idaho, and these cases call for extended investigation, forensic testing and heavy motion practice before trial.

Pretrial custody in Rexburg

Idaho courts can refuse bail outright only in capital cases supported by strong proof, which chiefly means some first-degree murder charges. For other violent felonies, Driggs judges set bail, frequently at amounts that keep the defendant in custody. Teton County detainees held pending trial are housed at the Madison County Jail, 145 E. Main Street, Rexburg, under the county's housing contract, and are transported back to Driggs for each court date.

Representation

When a Teton County defendant accused of violence meets the income guidelines, the court appoints counsel via the state defender program, (208) 605-4575; conflict cases are reassigned to its Alternate Counsel Division.

Sentences that may apply

• First-degree murder in a Teton County case: life with a fixed portion of ten years or more; death is possible only when prosecutors have given formal notice and Driggs jurors find that a statutory aggravating factor exists.
• Second-degree murder: a sentence of at least ten years that may reach life.
• Rape: one year at the bottom of the range, life at the top.
• Robbery: a minimum of five years and a maximum of life.
• Armed felonies: a Driggs judge, relying on Idaho Code 19-2520, can lengthen the sentence for qualifying crimes by 15 years or less when the Teton County offender carried a gun, knife or similar deadly weapon during the crime.

Victims and how long it takes

Valley residents harmed by a Teton County crime can invoke the state constitution's victims' clause, Article I, Section 22, which provides advance notification of hearings, the right to sit in the Driggs courtroom, a chance to be heard before sentencing and restitution. Violent felony prosecutions in Driggs generally take between a year and three years, and any capital case would take longer.

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The Teton County Courthouse sits at 150 Courthouse Drive, Room 306, Driggs, ID 83422; the clerk answers at 208-776-8210. Find a Driggs hearing date on the Idaho iCourt case search.

To ask about a Teton County warrant, call 208-776-8200 or the Driggs clerk at 208-776-8210.

Since January 1, 2026, all Teton County inmates are housed at the Madison County Jail, 145 East Main Street, Rexburg (208-372-5002); bond questions go to the Teton County Sheriff's Office at 208-776-8223.

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• Driggs custody check: Teton County Inmate Search, or ring 208-776-8223.
• VINELink covers Teton and other Idaho jails, with Teton custody status and release notices.
• After a Teton prison sentence: the Idaho Department of Correction Resident/Client Search, plus our Idaho state prisons guide.
• A Teton federal prisoner: Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.
• Teton County immigration detainee: ICE Online Detainee Locator System.

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Federal crimes charged in Teton County skip the Driggs courthouse. They are heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, Eastern Division, 801 E. Sherman St., Pocatello (208-478-4123). The federal magistrate for the Teton case decides release or detention under 18 U.S.C. 3142, and a detention hearing for the Teton defendant may follow within five days. The U.S. Marshals Service holds the Teton defendant before trial, sometimes in a contract county jail; call 208-776-8223 to check the Driggs jail first. Once a Teton County federal sentence starts, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

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1. Booking staff in Driggs check citizenship status under Idaho Code 18-9008 and report a possible Teton noncitizen to Homeland Security within 48 hours.
2. A Form I-247A detainer from ICE asks Teton County to hold the person.
3. When the Teton County case is over, Idaho Code 18-9005(4) requires the Teton jail to honor a reasonable detainer.
4. Beyond the Teton County release point, ICE has at most 48 hours, and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays count.
5. The ICE Idaho Falls office (2075 N Boulevard, Idaho Falls, ID 83402, 208-535-5100) collects the Teton County detainee, often for the Elmore County Detention Center in Mountain Home.
6. Track the Teton detainee on the ICE Online Detainee Locator System with an A-number, or with the Teton detainee's name and birth country.

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1. To appeal a Teton magistrate judgment, the defense has 42 days to file its notice with the Teton County district court (Idaho Criminal Rule 54).
2. Felony appeals from Teton County need a notice within 42 days of judgment (Idaho Appellate Rule 14), and the Supreme Court may hand the Teton appeal to the Court of Appeals.
3. When the Driggs judge appoints it, the State Appellate Public Defender takes on Teton felony appeals for people who cannot pay.
4. A motion to reduce a Teton sentence is due within 120 days after judgment (Idaho Criminal Rule 35).
5. A post-conviction petition in Teton County is due one year after the Teton appeal ends or the appeal deadline passes (Idaho Code 19-4902).
6. A sentenced state prisoner, if in the Teton jail or prison, must meet each Teton County deadline; the Driggs clerk at 208-776-8210 can confirm filing dates.

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