Three attorneys are vying for a single Ada County district court judgeship in Idaho’s 4th Judicial District — a rare contested race that has drawn attention not only for the competition itself, but because one of the candidates may fall short of a key eligibility requirement. The primary election took place May 19, with voters in Ada, Boise, Elmore, and Valley counties casting ballots to fill the seat being vacated by Judge Lynn Norton, who was first appointed to the position in 2011 and is not seeking reelection.
A Three-Way Race in Ada County
The candidates — David Morse, Jeffrey Street, and Greg Woodard — competed for a nonpartisan district court seat in the 4th Judicial District, which handles felony criminal cases and civil matters exceeding $10,000 in value. Judicial races in Idaho are frequently uncontested, making this three-way contest notably unusual. The remaining twelve district judges in the district, including Steven Hippler — who gained national recognition presiding over the Bryan Kohberger murder case — ran without opposition.
Woodard brings more than 26 years of legal experience, the bulk of it in private practice, and has spent the past three years working within the Idaho Attorney General’s Office. Street, a University of Idaho graduate from the class of 2012, currently handles personal injury, medical malpractice, and civil litigation cases. He received the highest overall ratings among the three candidates in a statewide attorney survey conducted by the Idaho State Bar, with more than 100 respondents indicating he exceeded expectations across multiple categories, including legal knowledge, temperament, and professional integrity.
Street has pointed to the district’s growing civil caseload — more than 93,000 new cases filed between July 2024 and June 2025 — as evidence that hands-on litigation experience is essential for the role. “That is my wheelhouse, and has been since I left law school,” he said in remarks before the editorial board of a regional publication.
Eligibility Questions Surround One Candidate
The race was further complicated by questions about whether Morse, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and University of Idaho law graduate, meets the state’s eligibility criteria for a district judgeship. Idaho law requires candidates to have held an active law license for at least ten years prior to the election. Morse was admitted to the Idaho State Bar on October 6, 2016 — approximately four months short of satisfying that decade-long requirement as of the May primary date.
Despite this, the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office approved Morse’s candidacy application. A spokesperson for the office acknowledged the oversight, noting that the office reviewed the matter and consulted with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, which confirmed the ten-year licensing requirement applies to judicial candidates. However, officials chose not to remove Morse from the ballot because voting was already underway when the issue was identified.
“The applicable statutes do not clearly resolve which election date controls for purposes of determining eligibility in these circumstances,” Secretary of State spokesperson Joe Parris said in a written statement. “Depending on the outcome of the May 19 election, further legal review may be required.”
Parris noted that if no candidate secures a majority in the primary, the race would advance to a general election runoff in November — at which point Morse would meet the ten-year threshold. Morse did not respond to requests for comment ahead of the election.
How Idaho’s Judicial Elections Work
Idaho’s court system is divided into seven judicial districts. The 4th Judicial District, centered on Ada County — the state’s most populous — includes 13 total district judgeships, with most handling criminal and civil cases in the Boise area. Two judges, Theodore Fleming and Jason Scott, cover proceedings in Boise, Elmore, and Valley counties.
Magistrate judges handle the high volume of lower-level cases, including misdemeanors, traffic violations, and initial appearances for those facing serious charges before cases are bound over to district court. New magistrate judges are appointed and must face an uncontested retention vote after an 18-month probationary period. For those following related court activity in Ada County, a recent Idaho Supreme Court case involving clergy abuse allegations against the Boise Diocese highlights the range of significant legal matters moving through the state’s judicial system, as does a pending animal cruelty case in Ada County that has drawn public interest.
What Comes Next
With ballots already cast, the Secretary of State’s Office indicated that further legal review of Morse’s eligibility could follow depending on the outcome. If no candidate captures a majority, the top two vote-getters would advance to a November runoff. Ada County residents who wish to track the official results or learn more about Idaho’s judicial election process can visit the Idaho Secretary of State’s website or monitor filings through the Idaho Courts system. The winner will serve a four-year term on the district bench.