Thompson: Kohberger case should proceed
Aug. 18—Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson this week filed an objection to Bryan Kohberger's request to dismiss his grand jury indictment.
Thompson's response was filed Wednesday, weeks after Kohberger's attorney Jay Logsdon requested Latah County District Judge John Judge dismiss the suspect's indictment.
Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
The grand jury indictment led to his arraignment in May in Latah County District Court. Kohberger chose to stand silent rather than enter a plea during that arraignment. Judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Thompson and Logsdon are arguing over the burden of proof needed to indict a defendant.
Logsdon argued the grand jury for the Kohberger case must find the suspect guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to have an indictment. As a result, Logsdon said the indictment should be dismissed or the case should be remanded to magistrate court for a preliminary hearing.
According to Thompson, the Idaho Supreme Court declared the primary purpose of a grand jury proceeding is to determine probable cause, not whether the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Thompson also cited previous cases that set this precedent for grand jury hearings.
"Defendant's request ignores one of the most basic tenants of our legal system: the Idaho Supreme Court 'has been and remains the final arbiter of Idaho rules of law,'" Thompson wrote, citing a 1991 case, State v. Guzman.
He added that Kohberger "fails even to allege that the grand jury would not have indicted him on a beyond a reasonable doubt standard of proof."
A hearing will be held today in Latah County District Court to discuss Kohberger's request to stay proceedings as his lawyers continue to fight the grand jury indictment
Kohberger's other attorney, Anne Taylor, made this request after alleging the grand jury was not selected properly.
Her motion stated the grand jury selection process failed Idaho code requiring jury candidates to be randomly drawn from a county jury list and "that the jury commissioner shall draw a requisite number of qualified jurors for one or more panels or for a grand jury."
She also suggested there was an error regarding the qualification questionnaire form that jurors must fill out.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
