The defense in the Bryan Kohberger case has been ordered to pause surveying potential jurors in Latah County due to problematic questions they asked 400 potential jurors.
This comes from a motion filed on March 29 by the prosecution after they obtained a recorded phone call of one of the surveys.
A hearing was scheduled to hear from both sides of the case.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said the questions on the survey were “completely inappropriate” for potential jurors, and that the information in the questions was “false and inadmissible,” and that the questions violated the non-dissemination order placed on the court in January 2023.
The list of questions that were of concern to the prosecution included information on Kohberger’s arrest, DNA evidence found at the crime scene that was matched to Kohberger, Kohberger owning the same car recorded on video driving in the neighborhood where the murders occurred, cell phone data showing Kohberger making several trips to the victims’ home in the month before the killings, university students and parents living in fear until Kohberger’s arrest, Kohberger’s alibi, Kohberger potentially stalking one of the victims and if Kohberger followed one of the victims on social media.
Kohberger’s defense lawyer, Anne Taylor, said that juror surveys “are not an anomaly” for high-profile cases such as this and that she was operating in her full legal right to collect information that would be used to justify a change in venue. She also claimed that a pause in her surveying was a violation of Kohberger’s due process.
Thompson claimed there was no violation of due process, and that they did not have a concern with the fact a survey was done.
“I do not question the right of the defense to commission surveys, responsible, proper surveys, as part of the debate over venue, but this survey cannot stand,” Thompson said.
Taylor also admitted that she did not write the questions on the survey, but rather an expert she hired did. Dr. Bryan Edelman, a trial consultant with a Ph.D. in social psychology and law, wrote the questions for the survey.
Taylor admitted that she did not give Dr. Edelman a copy of the non-dissemination order, but that she also did not give him police reports or any other sensitive information.
Judge John Judge was frustrated about the survey.
“This was a total shock to me. Because this is a big deal, and I take it very, very seriously. And I was surprised, OK, that this was happening behind our backs, my back.” Judge said.
He said that the survey happening without the commission of the court or the state was “troublesome” and that the questions planted seeds to encourage people to look up information about the case.
The 400 people surveyed across Latah County are unidentified but will be tracked down and turned away as potential jurors for the trial.
To make up for lost time, Judge Judge extend deadlines for filing change of venue arguments by two weeks. Further arguments on this issue will be discussed in a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, April 10. This may affect the original date of a scheduled hearing to debate a venue change scheduled for May 14.
A trial date has not been scheduled.
Ben DeWitt can be reached at [email protected] or on X @BenDeWitt321