BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Two Idaho organizations have filed emergency amicus briefs in nine eviction hearings scheduled for Tuesday, seeking to halt the evictions under provisions in the coronavirus relief bill.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho and Idaho Legal Aid Services filed the briefs Monday and are expected to make similar filings in another 15 upcoming cases, the Idaho Press reported.
An amicus brief is a document submitted to the court to help educate the judge about the issues at play.
“It’s just been crazy - we didn’t know even how they were going to do this,” said Howard Belodoff, an attorney with Idaho Legal Aid Services. “They’re not allowing anybody in the courthouse for hearings, so they called all the defendants if they had their number.”
Judge Christopher Bieter continued with eight of the nine cases after the briefs were filed, Belodoff said. The ninth case was resolved between the parties.
These were the first hearings after the state Supreme Court placed a moratorium on the proceedings last month, which expired May 1.
The organizations have argued moving forward with evictions amid the pandemic could pose constitutional dilemmas, and authorities failed to explain how a person could appear in court for a hearing at a time when access to the courthouse is restricted.
“The Court should alert defendants in these cases to free legal assistance available to ensure these proceedings are fair and constitutional,” the brief said.
Large numbers of proceedings in question should be stayed by the federal government’s limited moratorium on evictions, which was included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the brief said.
Attorneys argue tenants will need time and resources to vet owners’ assertions about whether a given property is covered by the act or not, and if enough evidence is gathered and examined, “the Court may then be presented with novel and difficult legal issues in construing the Act’s meaning and application.”
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