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title: "Colleen D. Zahn | KnowJudges"
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# Colleen D. Zahn

Supreme Court of Idaho · Justice

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of Idaho
- State: Idaho
- Role: Justice
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-22

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Colleen Denise Zahn is an American lawyer and jurist serving as the 59th Associate Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court since July 1, 2021
- Justice, Idaho Supreme Court, appointed June 1, 2021 by Gov
- Brad Little; sworn July 1, 2021 (59th justice)
- Governor Brad Little appointed Zahn on June 1, 2021, to replace Chief Justice Roger Burdick, who retired on June 30, 2021
- Idaho Attorney General's Office from 2011: deputy assigned to Department of Correction, Civil Litigation Division, then chief of the Criminal Law Division from 2019
- Idaho Attorney General’s Office — Joined in 2011 as Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Correction, later in the Civil Litigation Division, and in 2019 became Chief of the Criminal Law Division
- Clerk, Fourth District Judge Ronald J. Wilper, one year
- Clerk, Idaho Court of Appeals Judge Darrel R. Perry, one year
- Nearly 10 years private practice, Naylor, Hales & McCreedy, then Hall, Farley, Oberrecht & Blanton
- Only current Idaho Supreme Court justice who did not first serve as a district judge
- She clerked for one year with Fourth District Judge Ronald J. Wilper and one year with Idaho Court of Appeals Judge Darrel R. Perry

### Education

- University of Idaho College of Law, magna cum laude — J.D. (2000)
- communications, University of Idaho, cum laude — B.A. (1995)

### Additional information

- She ran unopposed in the 2022 nonpartisan retention election and won re-election on May 17, 2022.
- Received the Idaho State Bar’s Service Award in 2004 for her work with bar committees and the Citizens Law Academy
- Born October 7, 1973.
- overseeing the largest division in the office She also served on the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission, Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, and Idaho Grant Council

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### electronic exhibit format

Scope: statewide

Idaho's statewide electronic-filing rule generally requires text-searchable PDF or PDF/A submissions and a 50 MB per-document limit; scanned-image attachments and exhibits may use standard PDF and are not rejected for the usual text-searchability format requirement.

Evidence excerpt: A document ... submitted electronically to the court must be in the form of a text-searchable Portable Document Format (PDF) or a text-searchable Portable Document Format/A (PDF/A) file ... and not exceed 50 megabytes. A document that is an attachment or exhibit ... may be in standard PDF format and need not be text searchable.

[Idaho Rules for Electronic Filing and Service, Rule 6](https://isc.idaho.gov/rules-procedure/irefs)
Source checked: 2026-07-27


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://isc.idaho.gov/about-the-courts/sc-justices)
- [Official roster](https://isc.idaho.gov/about-the-courts/sc-justices)
- [Idaho Judicial Branch official judicial roster](https://isc.idaho.gov/about-the-courts/sc-justices)
- [Idaho Rules for Electronic Filing and Service, Rule 6](https://isc.idaho.gov/rules-procedure/irefs)
- [biography](https://isc.idaho.gov/about-the-courts/sc-justices/colleen-d-zahn)
- [current_membership](https://isc.idaho.gov/about-the-courts/sc-justices)

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