Bevan selected as next chief justice of Idaho Supreme Court

BOISE — Idaho Supreme Court Justice G. Richard Bevan has been selected as the next chief justice; he’ll take over from current Chief Justice Roger Burdick when Burdick completes his four-year term Dec. 31.

The five justices on the state’s highest court elect the chief by majority vote at the end of each term; Burdick is completing his second term as chief justice, having previously served in the post from August 2011 to July 2014.

“Justice Bevan has continually set high personal standards in his professional and private lives and has had tremendous success as a result,” Burdick said in a statement. “He will continue that distinguished example as chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court.”

Bevan is a Twin Falls native who has served on the state’s highest court since 2017, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Butch Otter. He holds both undergraduate and law degrees from Brigham Young University. He practiced law in Twin Falls for 16 years and served as county prosecutor from 1993 to 1997 before being appointed a district judge in 2003 by then-Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, a position he held for 14 years.

“The Idaho judiciary, as the third branch of government, is filled with outstanding women and men who serve Idaho’s citizens with distinction,” Bevan said in a statement. “I am humbled and honored to be elected to serve as their chief justice for the next four years. The trying times in which we are now living require vitality and constructive thinking from each of us, and I pledge on behalf of all judges in our state that we will persist in rising to the occasion by maintaining the tradition of excellence that Idaho’s judiciary is known for, and that our citizens expect and deserve.”

Burdick, the court’s most senior member, will remain on the court as vice chief justice. He has served on the court since 2003.

The court’s three other members are Justice Robyn Brody, a Magic Valley attorney who was first elected to the court in 2016; Justice John Stegner, a Grangeville native and Lewiston attorney who was appointed a district judge by then-Gov. Phil Batt in 1997 and was appointed by Otter to the high court in 2018; and Justice Gregory Moeller, a Rexburg attorney whom Otter appointed as a district judge in 2009 and then to the high court by in 2018.

In addition to presiding over the court, the Idaho Supreme Court’s chief justice serves as the executive head of the state’s judicial system.

Idaho Supreme Court justices serve six-year terms, and are elected statewide; however, when vacancies occur during a term, the governor appoints justices from among nominees recommended by the Idaho Judicial Council.

The last time a justice appeared on the ballot was in May, when Moeller and Stegner both ran unopposed and were reelected.

Russell is the Boise bureau chief and state capitol reporter for the Idaho Press and Adams Publishing Group. She can be found on Twitter at @BetsyZRussell.