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A group of media outlets large and small has asked an Idaho judge to lift the gag order surrounding the Bryan Kohberger case, now that he has pleaded guilty and there is no investigation to protect.
At a change of plea hearing last week, prosecutors asked to have the gag, officially called a “non-dissemination order,” remain in place until Kohberger’s official sentencing on July 23. Kohberger’s defense did not object, and Judge Steven Hippler granted the request.
Then-Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall put the gag order in place days after Kohberger’s arrest at his parents’ house on Dec. 30, 2022. The stated aim was to protect Kohberger’s right to a fair trial by limiting extrajudicial information available to the potential jury pool.
Much of the case proceeded behind closed doors until Hippler became the third judge to preside over the case following a change of venue that moved it from Latah County to Ada County.
Still, there are many questions that remain unanswered, and under the order, lawyers, investigators and other witnesses have been blocked from discussing details that haven’t already surfaced in the courtroom. And the terms of the plea deal did not require Kohberger to explain his actions.
Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson hasn’t held a news briefing since before Kohberger’s extradition to Idaho in January 2023. The defense never has.
But now that Kohberger has admitted to the murders, there is no risk to his right to a fair trial, according to the motion. There won’t be a trial at all.
“The Nondissemination Order, and its infringement on the First Amendment rights of the media, is no longer justifiable and should be vacated immediately,” the motion continues.
The media coalition includes FOX News, The Associated Press, other major outlets and a number of smaller Idaho publications – including The Argonaut, the student paper at the University of Idaho, where the victims were killed.
Kohberger last week admitted to four first-degree murders – killing University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. He told the court, with his parents looking on, that he entered their house, which has since been demolished, around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, with the intent to kill.
The guilty plea will spare him from the potential death penalty. He is expected to receive four consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus another 10 years. And he forfeited his right to appeal and to seek a sentence reduction.
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