It’s about parking spaces. hand out permits to students and your done. let the media take Uber.
I can’t say this is the case in this trial, but it’s my understanding that in trials that seem to have a foregone conclusion judges may grant most defense requests and motions, and prosecutors won’t object, because every one granted is one less grounds for appeal. So if the defense asks for delays, let them have as many as they want. Then they can’t appeal saying they didn’t have enough time to review all of the evidence, or whatever.
Interesting. I never thought of it in that light.
He did not specify where the trial would be moved. It’s set for June 2025 and is expected to last three months.
It’s odd: there are 643 posts in the thread–but no one here seems to be following the case anymore.
I don’t see the need for a three month trial. When the prosecutors present all kinds of marginal stuff I think jurors start forgetting the main points. And note another year delay for the trial over the last time we were discussing this 9 months ago.
Not much to follow. Nothing going on… and he’s guilty. What’s there to talk about?
Very true. See State v OJ Simpson as Exhibit A. Murder trials in Seattle tend to be two weeks, or maybe 4 to 6 weeks if complicated.
I don’t know what the thrust of their case is, but it sometimes takes time to call witnesses to establish the foundation for all the pieces of evidence they want to introduce. Three months isn’t over the top long, especially if the court doesn’t have full days, five-day weeks (Seattle, as an example, doesn’t have jury trials on Fridays. Other courts lose time each day for hearings on unrelated cases. )
This is a death penalty case though, isn’t it?
If yes, the judge will have to do the trial in 2 phases (as you know!) with the first phase as to guilt or innocence, and the second phase on death penalty/no death penalty.
Because no one can know how long it will take the jury to deliberate as to either phase, prudent judges will calculate longer over shorter. Always better to figure long and hope for a less drawn-out process. Deliberations in death cases can take much longer than some think.
(Personally I doubt it in this case, but you never know!)
Good point. We don’t have those in Washington anymore, but you’re right on all counts.
I only did a couple of death penalty cases in my career, but I remember them vividly. Pulling together the penalty phase can be challenging, since no one knows how long the jury will deliberate on the guilt phase.
Getting expert witnesses in (usually forensic psychiatrists who speak about the effects of violence in the household on young minds, etc.) to testify at the penalty phase is difficult when those experts are in high demand all over the country. There are built-in delays for death cases that regular trials don’t have to address.
I have read the affidavit the court used for the arrest warrant. Kohberger’s cell phone left his residence early in the morning as he headed towards Idaho, but was turned off (or out of range) before he reached for Moscow, ID. Then turned back on about 30 minutes after the murder enroute to his home in Washington. People know about cell phones, but ignore such things as turning off the phone while casing the joint. He was in Moscow, Idaho, a month before the murders with his cell phone when he was stopped by the police for a traffic violation. He might have a better shot at exoneration if the had left the phone at his bedside table in the “on” position. This is all corroborating evidence.
More delays:
But at Kohberger’s first hearing last month in Boise, Hippler said that a June start could influence jury selection, as potential jurors contend with summer plans and the start of school for those with young children.
Ann Taylor, Kohberger’s public defender, also told Hippler that she would need more time to process additional discovery and get a new defense witness up to speed after a previous one died.
No matter what time of year the trial starts, there are going to some jurors negatively affected by the starting date.
And with such massive delays more witnesses are going to be dying.
I routinely put my phone in airplane mode because of a game. If it’s in airplane mode then I don’t get ads; however, sometimes I do forget to turn that off when I’m done playing - Ooops! So you may not be able to reach me for a couple of hours; not a huge deal, but then again, I’m not out murdering anyone overnight, either.
I’m guessing he put it back on to get directions back home, which is a spectacularly dumb move on his part. Had he just left it off/airplane mode until he was back in his residence there’s a plausible explanation for why it was off - accidental & when he woke up to see what time it was he realized his phone was off/in airplane mode so he turned it back on/reenabled it.
There could be a remote but plausible explanation for his DNA on the knife sheath - it was his knife but it was stolen / taken by his roommate (did he have one?) but the cellphone being turned off during the exact time & then being turned on, away from his residence a little later; yeah, he did it!
I agree. But to look at it the other way, what is the rush? The guy is incarcerated, no?
The odds on acquittal only go up with time. IOW try him promptly and (probably) get a guilty verdict & life imprisonment. Or hold him in jail 3 years while the defense tries every delaying tactic possible then he’ll (probably) be acquitted and out after 3 years served with no conviction on his record.
Seems pretty obvious to me which is the wiser move for the State. Don’t rush, but accept no delays.
I’ll agree the odds of acquittal go up with delays. But I think “probably” be acquitted overstates the problem significantly. If we’re only talking a couple of years, then things like disappearing witnesses or failing memories is a minor concern. (10 years or more would be a different story). Sure, "anything can happen,’ but I think it is unlikely that these delays will change the calculus enough to go from "probably convicted " to “probably acquitted.”
It wouldn’t be surprising if Kohberger had attempted a home invasion before.
Interesting.
Here, it should be noted that they do mean “investigated” in the past case, not as in “currently being investigated.” From the article:
But according to the report, the woman described the Pullman suspect as 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5. However, Kohberger is six feet tall.
The report also reveals the Pennsylvania resident was not yet enrolled at Washington State University, nor was he visiting the campus as a prospective graduate student.
Pullman police tell ABC News that Kohberger is no longer a person of interest in the break-in, adding “We have no reason or evidence to believe he was involved in this burglary at this time.” That case is now closed but remains unsolved.
So, (1) Kohberger wasn’t even in the state yet and (2) the unknown home invader was obviously much shorter.
There’s no proof of his whereabouts and it’s pretty tough to estimate height when lying in bed. Unless there’s a bunch of knife wielding attacks in the same area it’s more likely than not that he is a person of interest.