Judge, factions scrap over Kohberger survey

The prosecutor, defense attorney and judge in the Bryan Kohberger case participated in a heated argument Thursday regarding due process and a survey of potential jurors in Latah County.

A hearing was held in Latah County District Court to discuss the matter. Prosecutor Bill Thompson took issue with several questions in a phone survey created by Bryan Edelman, who is a survey expert hired by Kohberger’s defense attorney, Anne Taylor.

Edelman, not Taylor, crafted the survey questions.

Four hundred Latah County residents were surveyed so Taylor and her team could gather information for a coming motion to change the venue of the murder trial.

The questions Thompson is concerned about ask the participants if they have read, seen or heard about certain details about the Kohberger case. Some of the details are not even true, Thompson said.

They include questions about whether the participant knows about the knife sheath allegedly found at the crime scene, the multiple visits to the crime scene Kohberger allegedly took, that Moscow residents lived in fear following the crime and that Kohberger had allegedly stalked his victims.

Thompson argued these questions violate a nondissemination order signed last year that prohibits people involved in the case from making out-of-court statements relating to the nature of evidence that will be presented at the trial.

“That is reckless conduct and it’s outrageous,” Thompson said about the survey questions.

Thompson’s office found out about the survey questions in March from a Latah County resident who recorded the phone survey. Thompson reiterated that Kohberger’s defense is allowed to conduct a survey, but the questions in this particular survey were inappropriate and jeopardized Kohberger’s right to a fair trial.

“We are trying to salvage a mess,” Thompson said.

Taylor said Edelman was not aware of the nondissemination order when he created the survey. But she said the questions require only a yes or no answer and they are based on information directly lifted from the media. She said surveys are common in capital cases like this.

Taylor said Edelman plans on conducting a similar survey in Ada County and either Bannock or Bonneville counties. These counties could be the site of Kohberger’s trial, and Taylor said she anticipates Edelman will recommend changing venues.

Judge expressed disappointment in the survey by saying the prosecution and defense have “worked so hard” to protect a fair trial, which was the point of the nondissemination order. He is concerned the survey will “inject” prejudicial information into the jury pool.

Taylor and Judge got into a heated argument over due process stemming from Judge’s order filed March 22 that prohibited the defense and prosecution from contacting potential jurors about the case. This was in response to the survey.

Taylor said the order was signed immediately after Thompson’s office made Judge aware of the survey questions. Taylor argued this was unfair because she was not given time to respond to Thompson’s concerns.

Taylor also argued that this disrupted her team’s efforts to prepare a motion to change the trial venue.

Judge said he felt there were legitimate concerns about the survey and wanted to pause any contact with potential jurors until a hearing could be held on the matter. Judge said he had “no doubt” that he obeyed Kohberger’s due process rights.

“I had to stall it out so we can all talk about it and figure what is the right path because this is a big deal and I take it very seriously,” Judge said.

Judge scheduled a meeting for next Wednesday to further discuss what to do about the survey and if a new survey should be created.

Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November 2022 stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.