Polling of potential jurors in Kohberger murder case can continue according to Judge

MOSCOW, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Bryan Kohberger’s defense team and the survey expert they hired can now officially resume phone surveys of potential jurors in Latah County according to the latest ruling by Judge John C. Judge.

As we reported earlier this month, Public Defense Attorney Anne Taylor hired Bryan Edelman, a social psychologist, to conduct the polling of potential jurors by calling residents of Latah County about media influence in the case.

A move that Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson took issue with and accused Kohberger’s legal team of violating the restrictive gag order regarding the survey by discussing case details and disclosing information that would be inadmissible at trial.

In a ruling issued last Friday, April 19, Judge noted that the surveys could continue if questions do not violate said gag order and include information already publicly available through published court documents.

This includes non-factual information that the public might have heard about in crime documentaries about the case since they have been debated and discussed in an open court, meaning that the non-factual information can now be included in future surveys according to Judge.

Kohberger, the 29-year-old former criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University is accused of killing four University of Idaho students at their off-campus home in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022.

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