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Judge could sanction leakers in Bryan Kohberger case with criminal charges: Lawyer
Tara Jalali Malek, an Idaho-based lawyer and former assistant United States attorney, told Fox News Digital that Judge Steven Hippler could issue contempt of court charges to people involved in the leak of information in the Bryan Kohberger trial.
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Idaho Judge Steven Hippler indicated he likely won’t delay August’s trial in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case, following a request from his defense attorney.
Wednesday’s hearing focused on two motions from Kohberger’s defense team, one seeking to delay August’s trial and another which sought to include evidence that they claim points to the existence of “alternate perpetrators.” Kohberger is accused of killing Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Hippler declined to issue a ruling on Kohberger’s request to delay the trial, but said “it’s likely you’re going to trial on the date indicated.”
“I fully encourage everyone to continue as if the trial is going to take place when it is scheduled for,” Hippler said.
IDAHO MURDER SUSPECT’S LAWYERS DEMAND TRIAL POSTPONEMENT OVER ‘PREJUDICIAL’ TV SPECIAL
Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images)
Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s lawyer, argued that a TV episode that aired on May 9 has the potential to taint the jury pool.
“Jury selection is going to be particularly challenged and will need a great deal of time based on what’s happened in the media and continues to happen,” Taylor said.
Joshua Hurwit, special deputy prosecutor, accused Kohberger’s defense team of using a “scorched earth” strategy in this case.
“The record supports denying the motion based on what the defense has been doing, continues to do, and will continue to do through the mitigation phase until, the penalty phase, including presenting mitigation evidence that the jury will, ultimately, decide about if there is a conviction,” Hurwit said.
Information shared during the “Dateline” episode included surveillance video from a neighboring house, which showed a car similar to Kohberger’s in the King Road area several times before the four University of Idaho students were killed.
The episode also claimed that FBI cellphone tower data showed that Kohberger’s phone pinged nearly a dozen times near a tower that provides coverage to the area within 100 feet of 1122 King Road, where the four University of Idaho students were killed. The phone pinged near the tower starting in July 2022 and continued through mid-August 2022.
In a May 15 order, Hippler said the gag order was “likely” violated by someone involved in the case, saying it’s possible law enforcement was the source of the leak. He ordered anyone who has worked for the defense team or investigation to retain all communications and data relating to the case.
Hippler said the following pieces of evidence were revealed during the episode:
- Surveillance footage of “Suspect Vehicle One”
- AT&T records for Kohberger
- Content of Kohberger’s cellphone
- Photographs and information associated with Kohberger’s Amazon account
“Such violations not only undermine the rule of law, potentially by persons charged with upholding it, but also significantly impede the ability to seat an impartial jury and will likely substantially increase the cost to be borne by the taxpayers of Latah County to prosecute this case by extending the time it will take to seat a jury and potentially requiring lengthy period of juror sequestration,” Hippler wrote.
Tara Jalali Malek, an Idaho-based lawyer and former assistant United States attorney, told Fox News Digital that Hippler could hold the prosecution or defense team accountable if it’s found the leak came from them.
BRYAN KOHBERGER CASE LEAK COULD LEAD TO EXCLUDED EVIDENCE, IDAHO ATTORNEY WARNS
Bryan Kohberger is escorted into a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
“Violation of a court’s order is sanctionable,” Malek said. “It could be contempt of court, and contempt can be civil contempt or it could be criminal contempt. That is going to be completely separate from what happens ultimately in the trial, but things that you see with contempt, there could be a fine. There could be a public reprimand, for instance. So there’s a variety of things that the court could possibly do or not do if it’s found that someone violated that gag order.”
“Anyone who violated the order, no matter what side, would be held in contempt,” she added.
However, Malek said she doesn’t think the leak will result in the trial being delayed, as Kohberger’s defense team has requested.
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
“I would be hard-pressed to think that the entire trial would stop as a result of this,” she said. “I think what is most likely, in my opinion, to happen is that the trial will move forward. This will be on a separate track as far as the investigation goes and figuring out who leaked the information, which side was it from. And then ultimately, who else, if anybody was involved or had knowledge of it, or like I said, it was just a rogue actor here that, you know, needs to be personally sanctioned in some way.”
Prior to Wednesday’s hearing, Kohberger’s defense team replied to the prosecution’s objection to delaying the trial. In the filing, Taylor argued that a TV episode about the case has the potential to taint the jury pool.
Read the court filing:
“It was a choreographed narrative broadcast to millions of viewers and advertised to millions more. It aired nationally and was promoted heavily across commercial breaks, streaming platforms, and social media, maximizing its visibility and impact. It was designed to provoke strong emotional reactions, which is exactly the influence that taints jury pools and risks depriving Mr. Kohberger of a fair trial,” Taylor said.
Taylor also argued that there needs to be an investigation into the leak before the trial can start.
SURPRISE WITNESS IN IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS SAYS SHE ‘SAW BRYAN THERE’ ON DEADLY NIGHT
Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, walks past a video display as he enters a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger’s attorneys want cameras banned from the courtroom, contending that news coverage of the criminal proceedings has violated a judge’s orders and threatens his right to a fair trial. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool)
“The prejudice from the Dateline episode requires a continuance both because of the resulting prejudice that is separate and apart from ordinary media coverage, and because trial cannot go forward without a thorough investigation into which person(s) leaked case information and numerous sealed photographs and videos to the media,” she wrote.
As the trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 11, another surprise witness has emerged.
A woman claiming to be a DoorDash driver says she dropped off food for Xana Kernodle just minutes before Kohberger allegedly killed the college student. The purported driver came to light after a YouTube account, Officer Axon, obtained body camera video that featured the woman.
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“I have to testify in a big murder case here… because I’m the DoorDash driver, so yeah,” she says in the video.
The officer then asked what case she was going to testify in.
“The murder case with the college girls,” she said. “I’m the DoorDash driver. I saw Bryan there. I parked right next to him.”
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
Adam Sabes is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @asabes10.