MOSCOW, Idaho — The prosecution in the case of , wants the trial to take place in Moscow.
On Tuesday, the state submitted a 20-page objection to the defense’s motion to move the trial, refuting Kohberger’s argument that Latah County couldn’t field an impartial jury.
“Far from demonstrating that a Latah County jury pool has been uniquely subjected to an “utterly corrupted” environment… the data show that… coverage of this case throughout (Idaho) has led to high case recognition among survey respondents across all four surveyed counties,” the state’s motion reads.
The argument over where the trial, which is currently slated for summer of 2025, should take place has been one of the most contentious issues during the pre-trial proceedings in this case.
In building their case, the defense for Kohberger hired a trial consultancy firm to conduct a survey of potential jurors in Latah, Bannock, Canyon and Ada counties. The findings of that study are the basis of defense’s case, and certain to be the foundation of witness testimony at the Aug. 29 change of venue hearing.
Tuesday’s filing from the prosecutors sought to poke holes in that study and the broader arguments in favor of moving the trial.
Prosecutors argued the survey results don’t necessarily show what the defense has claimed they do. For one, prosecutor’s point out it doesn’t offer information on non-responses, which could disguise a sample bias.
Further, even with that concern, the survey found Latah County residents are more familiar with the case but tested lowest in prejudgment, casting doubt on whether those potential jurors would actually be disqualified.
The state also argued that Latah County District Court has done a good job preventing the trial from becoming a “media circus,” in contrast to some of the cases cited by the defense.
“Here, the court has scrupulously avoided such an environment,” prosecutors argued. “The Court entered a non-dissemination order early in the case. This court has repeatedly taken precautions to avoid the circus-like environment described in (a case cited by the defense).”
In an interesting note, prosecutors offered a suggestion for a different location should Latah County Judge John Judge decide to move the trial.
“If the Court were to change venue, it seems to the State that changing venue to a geographically closer county such as Nez Perce or Kootenai County (just
across the state line from the Spokane International Airport) would be less inconvenient than moving the trial 300 miles south to Boise,” prosecutors argued.
Kohberger’s change of venue hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29.
Judge hasn’t tilted his hand on whether he’s leaning towards moving the trial, and it’s not clear if he will make a final decision at the hearing.
