Idaho Supreme Court denies Kohberger’s motion to appeal

BOISE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Idaho Supreme Court has denied a pretrial appeal by Bryan Kohberger and his attorneys sought to delay the murder trial and to potentially throw out the grand jury indictment.

Kohberger, 29, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of four University of Idaho students back in November of 2022.

His attorney, Anne Taylor, had argued to the court that the grand jury improperly indicted Kohberger, stating that the grand jury was given improper instructions. She also contests that the grand jury must reach the higher legal standard of ‘beyond a reasonable doubt,’ which is the same standard jurors are given at trial to convict a defendant – rather than the longstanding threshold of ‘probable cause to indict.’

According to the Idaho Stateman, in the one-page Supreme Court ruling issued, the justices did not offer a legal opinion for denying the motion to appeal. The document was signed by the clerk of the Idaho Supreme Court.

Idaho State Court Spokesperson Nate Poppino told the Idaho Statesman that the appellate case is now closed.

It took the justices a little over a month to dismiss the motion to appeal after Kohberger’s attorneys filed the motion under seal in early February.

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