Nampa Criminal Defense Attorneys
Randall Barnum and Shawn Wilkerson have spent a combined 40 years defending people facing felony and misdemeanor charges in Idaho's state and federal courts. Senior attorneys, direct access, no hand-offs.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is unique.
Rape
Reduced to Misdemeanor
Aggravated Battery
Acquittal
Felony Domestic Violence
Acquittal
Possession of Stolen Firearm
Acquittal
A criminal charge in Nampa is a Canyon County case, and Canyon County cases are not heard in Nampa. Whether the arrest was made by the Nampa Police Department, the Canyon County Sheriff's Office, or Idaho State Police on I-84, the case is heard at the Canyon County Courthouse at 1115 Albany Street in Caldwell, in Idaho's Third Judicial District. People taken into custody are booked at the Canyon County Jail, also in Caldwell. Felonies are prosecuted by the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney; misdemeanors may be prosecuted by the county or by the city attorney, depending on the charge and who made the arrest.
Idaho Defense Firm appears in that courthouse. Randall Barnum and Shawn Wilkerson have spent a combined 40 years defending people facing felony and misdemeanor charges in Idaho's state and federal courts, and the firm's office is in downtown Boise. Mr. Barnum is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho and the Ninth Circuit, and serves on Idaho's Criminal Justice Act panel. Mr. Wilkerson carried a felony caseload as an Ada County Public Defender from 2019 to 2025 and has argued before the Idaho Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Canyon County runs differently from Ada County. Different judges and a different prosecutor's office. Knowing those differences is part of the job. When you hire us, the attorney you meet at the first consultation is the attorney standing next to you in Caldwell at every hearing.
Where your case is heard
Where you are booked
Who you are up against
Whether the stop happened on a Nampa street or on I-84, the case goes to Caldwell. Here is what to expect, and where an attorney changes the outcome.
After an arrest in Nampa you are transported to the Canyon County Jail at 219 N 12th Avenue in Caldwell, searched, photographed, fingerprinted, and entered on the jail roster. Say nothing about the facts of the case to anyone, including cellmates, and ask for a lawyer. You have the right to remain silent, and nothing you say in the jail helps you.
Many charges carry a preset bond amount. If yours does, it can be posted before the first appearance; the Canyon County Sheriff's Office at (208) 454-7540 can confirm the current procedure. If not, a magistrate sets bond at your first appearance, and the court may attach conditions such as no-contact orders, alcohol monitoring, or travel limits. Family members can confirm custody status at (208) 454-7541 and court dates with the Clerk's Office at (208) 454-7571.
Under Idaho Code 19-515, a person arrested must be brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. In Canyon County that hearing happens at the Caldwell courthouse. The judge tells you the charge, advises you of your rights, and addresses bond. Having your attorney at this hearing can change whether you go home that day.
Misdemeanors stay in the magistrate division: you enter a plea at arraignment, then the case moves to pretrial conferences and, if needed, trial. Felonies get a preliminary hearing, within 14 days of the first appearance if you are in custody, where the prosecutor must show probable cause. We cross-examine the state's witnesses here, and it is often the first chance to get a charge reduced or dismissed. If the case is bound over, it moves to Canyon County district court for arraignment.
If the charge is DUI and you failed a breath or blood test, the Idaho Transportation Department suspends your license separately from the criminal case. Under Idaho Code 18-8002A, your written hearing request must reach the department within seven calendar days of the date you were served the notice of suspension. A first failure carries a 90-day suspension with the first 30 days absolute. Miss the deadline and the suspension takes effect with no hearing. A Nampa DUI lawyer's first job is getting that request filed.
We get the police reports, body camera footage, lab records, and witness statements, and we look for the problems in them: an unlawful stop, a bad search, a chemical test that was not run properly, a statement taken in violation of your rights. Motions to suppress and dismiss are filed where the facts support them. Some cases resolve on favorable terms. Others go to trial in Caldwell. Either way, the decision is yours, made with a clear picture of the evidence and the risks.
Bond is set at the first appearance. Felony preliminary hearings come within 14 days if you are in custody. DUI license hearings must be requested within seven calendar days. Evidence like body camera footage and surveillance video does not wait. Call now and talk directly with a senior attorney.
Idaho Defense Firm defends felony and misdemeanor charges of every kind for people arrested in Nampa, in Canyon County court and in federal court. We do not run a volume practice. Each case gets a senior attorney’s full attention from the first call to the final outcome.
Nampa DUI arrests, from a first offense to excessive DUI at 0.20 or above and felony DUI, plus the ITD license suspension that runs alongside the criminal case. We request the hearing inside the seven-day window.
DUI defensePossession, possession with intent, trafficking, and paraphernalia, including cases that start as a traffic stop on I-84. Search and seizure issues decide many of them.
Drug Crimes defenseDomestic battery, battery with traumatic injury, and the no-contact orders that follow an arrest. These cases move fast and reach into housing, custody, and firearm rights.
Domestic Violence defenseSimple battery through aggravated battery and aggravated assault, where the evidence is often phone video and conflicting witness accounts.
Assault & Battery defenseAllegations that can end a career before a charge is filed. We take these cases at the investigation stage whenever possible, before any statement is given.
Sex Crimes defenseUnlawful possession, possession by a prohibited person, and weapons enhancements under state and federal law.
Gun Charges defenseThe most serious cases heard in Canyon County district court: robbery, burglary, grand theft, and aggravated offenses, from preliminary hearing through trial.
Felony Defense defenseCharges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, where Mr. Barnum is admitted and serves on the Criminal Justice Act panel. Different rules, different guidelines, different timeline.
Federal Crimes defenseCanyon County juvenile court cases where the goal is to protect a young person’s record and future, and where early action makes the biggest difference.
Juvenile Defense defenseAmong the most serious charges in Idaho law. Accident reconstruction, toxicology, and the state’s theory of the crash all get challenged.
Vehicular Homicide defenseCharges that can escalate from a traffic incident into a criminal record and a suspended license. We work to keep the damage contained.
Reckless Driving defenseAdministrative and court-ordered suspensions that threaten your job and your independence, including the ITD hearing after a DUI arrest.
License Suspension defenseFree, confidential consultation with a senior attorney who appears in Canyon County court.
Serious Defense. Real Experience.
Over 40 years combined defending felony and misdemeanor cases in Idaho courts, state and federal. The courtroom knowledge that only comes from years of practice.
Nampa cases are heard at the Canyon County Courthouse in Caldwell, and that is where we defend them.
Licensed in Idaho state courts, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Randall Barnum serves on Idaho’s Criminal Justice Act panel.
Your case is handled by a senior attorney. No hand-offs, no revolving door of associates. You get direct access to the attorney defending you, and your questions get answered.
Facing charges in Nampa? Get answers now.
Nampa is in Canyon County, so criminal charges filed in Nampa are heard at the Canyon County Courthouse at 1115 Albany Street in Caldwell, in Idaho's Third Judicial District. Misdemeanors are handled in the magistrate division. Felonies start before a magistrate for the first appearance and preliminary hearing, then move to district court if the case is bound over. Federal charges are heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.
People arrested in Nampa are booked at the Canyon County Jail in Caldwell. The Canyon County Sheriff's Office publishes an online jail roster showing who is in custody and the listed charges, and a current arrests page. For an inmate's current status, the Sheriff's Office directs callers to (208) 454-7541. For court dates, call the Clerk's Office at (208) 454-7571. A new booking may not appear immediately.
What matters is whether the attorney practices in Canyon County, because that is where a Nampa DUI is prosecuted. Idaho Defense Firm appears at the Caldwell courthouse, and our office is in downtown Boise. In a DUI case the first job is the same anywhere in Idaho: get the written hearing request to the Idaho Transportation Department within seven calendar days of the notice of suspension, then go to work on the stop, the field sobriety tests, and the breath or blood test.
Before you talk to anyone about the case, including police, and before your first court appearance. An attorney at the first appearance can argue for release on your own recognizance or a lower bond, and in felony cases the preliminary hearing comes quickly. If you are under investigation and have not been charged, that is the best time of all to call. We can often shape what happens next.
It depends on the charge, the court, and how far the case is likely to go. Idaho Defense Firm is not a volume practice, and fees reflect senior attorneys handling the work personally. The consultation is free, and you will leave it with a straight answer on fees and on your case before you decide anything. Call (208) 336-3600.
Not necessarily. Many first-offense misdemeanors resolve with probation, fines, classes, or a withheld judgment rather than jail, and some are dismissed or reduced when the evidence has problems. What you are charged with, your record, and the facts of the case all matter, and so does the quality of your defense. We can give you a straight answer once we have reviewed the charge and the police report.
Yes. Charges are dismissed when the state cannot prove its case, when key evidence is suppressed because of an unlawful stop or search, or when a prosecutor agrees the charge is not supported. Felonies can be reduced to misdemeanors in negotiation, and Idaho Code 19-2604 allows a court, in some cases, to reduce a felony conviction to a misdemeanor after probation is completed. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but the firm's case results include felony charges dismissed, acquittals at trial, and felonies reduced to misdemeanors.
A Career Dedicated to Criminal Defense
Attorney
More than two decades of criminal defense in Idaho’s state and federal courts. A.B., UC Berkeley; J.D., Willamette University College of Law. Admitted to the Courts of Idaho, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Member of the Idaho Criminal Justice Act Panel.
Attorney
15+ years of criminal defense, including six years as an Ada County Public Defender handling felony caseloads. B.S., Idaho State University; J.D., University of Idaho College of Law. Has argued before the Idaho Supreme Court and the Idaho Court of Appeals.
Real People. Real Cases. Real Results.
"Great attorney, great person. I would recommend Barnum hands down."
Christian P.
Google Review
"Randy was able to get my case dismissed."
Derek L.
Google Review
"Randal did an amazing job for me. I would recommend him to anyone."
Ava R.
Google Review
Criminal defense in every Treasure Valley courtroom, from our office in downtown Boise.
Every criminal case is different. Contact Idaho Defense Firm to discuss your situation directly with a senior attorney. With over 40 years of combined criminal defense experience in Idaho's state and federal courts, we can help you understand your options and build a defense strategy tailored to your case.
