Boise, Idaho-Members of the immediate family of Bryan Kohberger can attend their next quanta murder judgment in the stabbing of four students from the Idaho University, even if they could be called to testify, a judge ruled a public order on Thursday.
Witnesses in criminal cases are sometimes excluded from attending judgments to prevent them from shaping their testimony in response to what other witnesses have said or what evidence has been presented. But Judge Steven Hipler wrote that the right of the sixth amendment of Kohberger in a public trial also entitles his parents and brothers present if they want to attend.
“The courts recognize that having the family members of the defendant present at the trial progresses the values attended by the right to public trial, that is, to guarantee the fair procedures; remind the prosecutor and the judge their serious responsibilities; discouraging of perjury; and encourage witnesses to move forward,” Hipler wrote.
Kohberger, 30, former graduate student of Criminal Justice at the nearby Washington State University, is accused of the sharp deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves in a rental home near the campus in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.
Prosecutors have said they intended to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted in his trial, which will begin in August.
Hippler said the court must balance Kohberger’s right to a public trial with the state’s interest in obtaining direct testimony from witnesses. But, he added, there is little risk that Kohberger’s family members give shape to what they could say from the witness position in response to what they observe in the trial: the scope of their proposed testimony is limited and previously given recorded interviews that will help protect themselves against them altering what they say.
Hippler previously ruled that the members of the victims’ family can attend the trial.
