MOSCOW, Idaho — The judge overseeing the case of the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students sided with the prosecution in deciding to close a motion hearing on May 14, overriding adamant objections from the defense.
“Challenging thing is that both sides have agreed to seal discovery, that we need to pay attention to it going forward… if we start arguing about the case itself and the trial and the evidence that you’re going to present it gets more complicated and potentially prejudicial to the state or Mr. Kohberger,” Latah County District Court Judge John Judge said.
State prosecutors also said the right to a fair hearing and trial outweighs the right to a public hearing.
The state argued that the hearing should be closed to the public because things are going to discussed in the case regarding investigatory procedures as well as specific evidence that could include names of witnesses or local businesses.
Kohberger’s defense team said Kohberger’s right to a fair and public trial outweighs the concerns of the state in this case, especially because previous evidentiary and discovery hearings have been open to the public before.
The judge ultimately ruled in favor of the prosecution, saying that he just couldn’t grapple with these hearings being held open to the public because of the different nuances and that it’s just going to be a little bit easier to keep things in closed doors. That way it wouldn’t unintentionally create an unfair hearing if something accidentally slips out.
