Bryan Kohberger case: Judge denies prosecutors' request for personality testing
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A judge in Idaho has denied prosecutors' request to conduct personality testing on quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger.
Kohberger is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The former Washington State University student was also charged with one felony count of burglary.
In an order Wednesday, Judge Steven Hippler denied the state's request to perform a personality test on Kohberger, citing time constraints.
Hippler wrote that "any new potential diagnoses or evidence uncovered through personality testing may elicit the need for further testing," which would require more time to be spent.
Idaho Judge Slams Bryan Kohberger's 'Hollow' Attempt To Dodge Death Penalty In Latest Blow To Defense
Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment in Latah County District Court May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho
He also wrote that the use of a personality test has the potential to uncover "new mental health diagnoses" that haven't been disclosed, which could cross a legal line since Kohberger only gave up privacy rights for conditions he has revealed.
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Kohberger's defense team won't be permitted to bring up testimony about Kohberger having a "personality disorder."
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Hippler also extended a deadline for rebuttal disclosure, which gives prosecutors more time for their expert to complete a behavioral health examination. Prosecutors are seeking to rebut defense experts who claimed Kohberger has autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The judge gave prosecutors until May 27 to complete the report but noted Kohberger's defense team cannot be present during the mental health examination.
4 a.m.: Suspect arrives at house
Between 4 and 4:17: Time of murders
4:19: Roommate calls 3 victims, no one answers
4:22 to 4:24: Surviving roommates text each other from inside house
4:27: Roommate calls victims again; no one answers
4:32: Roommate texts Goncalves 'Pls answer'
10:23: Surviving roommate texts victims; no one answers
11:39: Roommate calls her father
12 p.m.: 911 call placed from roommate's phone
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In a separate order, Hippler ruled that Kohberger's immediate family members can remain in the courtroom for the duration of the trial, even though prosecutors plan on calling some of them as witnesses.
In April, Hippler denied two separate motions from Kohberger's defense team to exclude the death penalty from being used in this case.
Judge Rules Death Penalty To Remain As Possible Punishment Amid Bryan Kohberger Autism Diagnosis
Bryan Kohberger, accused of murder, arrives for a hearing on cameras in the courtroom in Latah County District Court Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho.
During an April 9 hearing, the defense team argued that the death penalty should be struck because discovery produced by prosecutors has been both voluminous and unorganized.
Hippler, in his response, wrote that Kohberger's complaints about the amount of discovery produced "ring hollow."
Bryan Kohberger in Latah County court in Moscow, Idaho, Aug. 18, 2023.
"[Kohberger] has been receiving discovery in the same manner for over two years," Hippler wrote. "[Kohberger] has not sought additional resources … to hire additional staff to review discovery or obtain litigation document control software to help organize and sort the evidence. His lead counsel insisted that she be allowed to take on a second high-profile capital case despite the voluminous discovery in this case."
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Fox News' Dan Springer contributed to this report.
Original article source: Bryan Kohberger case: Judge denies prosecutors' request for personality testing
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Bryan Kohberger's lead defense attorney Anne Taylor may be avoiding news cameras, but she has shown she is able to use widespread attention to the case to her advantage in her courtroom maneuvering. Even before Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall issued the first gag order in the case, Taylor declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital. Advertisement Since then, she has declined to respond to additional requests for comment. 'It is unusual for defense counsel to avoid trying to grab the spotlight and possibly influence public opinion via press conferences, but there's more than one way to skin a cat,' said Royal Oakes, a Los Angeles-based litigator and media analyst. In Kohberger's case, convincing evidence has already been made public — including the allegation that police found his DNA on a Ka-Bar knife sheath under 21-year-old Madison Mogen, one of the four victims, and surveillance video of a suspected vehicle coming and going at the crime scene. 'You've got the car circling the victim's house,' Oakes told Fox News Digital. 'You've got the DNA. You've got the cell phone records. The strategy instead is to go kind of a technical route and question the science of the DNA and also to argue autism by the criminal defendant. That's a key factor, and that's not the kind of thing you necessarily go public with.' Advertisement 7 Bryan Kohberger, (center) who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. AP Taylor used unflattering depictions of her client to have news cameras thrown out of the courtroom and to secure a change of venue, which moved Kohberger's upcoming trial out of Latah County, where the students were killed, to Boise. Defense filings have highlighted widespread news coverage, as well as social media discussions involving thousands of web sleuths and true crime followers. More recently, Taylor is arguing that two major media projects — a 'Dateline' episode and a forthcoming book from bestselling crime author James Patterson and crime reporter Vicky Ward — should justify another postponement of her client's trial in the deaths of four University of Idaho students. Advertisement In particular, she claims the May 9 'Dateline' episode contains damning material that could put Kohberger's right to a fair trial at risk. 7 Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, appears at a hearing in Latah County District Court, on Jan. 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. AP 'The program includes details and materials, including video footage, cellphone records, and photographs of documents, that are not publicly available through official channels,' she wrote in a motion to continue filed on May 20. 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'As the months and the years go by, people will forget how horrific the crime was, and maybe give her a better chance to get a good result at trial.' 7 Personal items of four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death in an off-campus house are removed on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. James Keivom 'They are trying to keep it out of the court of public opinion,' said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney and former prosecutor who is following the case. 'How do you do that? Stay away from media.' However, that is tough in a case where many updates receive international attention. Advertisement 7 Blood oozes out of the side of an off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were murdered. James Keivom 7 Investigator at the scene of the University of Idaho quadruple homicide. James Keivom Kohberger is accused of killing Mogen, two roommates and another friend in a 4 a.m. home-invasion stabbing spree. 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Bryan Kohberger's lead defense attorney Anne Taylor may be avoiding news cameras, but she has shown she is able to use widespread attention to the case to her advantage in her courtroom maneuvering. Even before Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall issued the first gag order in the case, Taylor declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital. Since then, she has declined to respond to additional requests for comment. "It is unusual for defense counsel to avoid trying to grab the spotlight and possibly influence public opinion via press conferences, but there's more than one way to skin a cat," said Royal Oakes, a Los Angeles-based litigator and media analyst. Bryan Kohberger Case Leak Could Lead To Excluded Evidence, Idaho Attorney Warns In Kohberger's case, convincing evidence has already been made public — including the allegation that police found his DNA on a Ka-Bar knife sheath under 21-year-old Madison Mogen, one of the four victims, and surveillance video of a suspected vehicle coming and going at the crime scene. "You've got the car circling the victim's house," Oakes told Fox News Digital. "You've got the DNA. You've got the cell phone records. The strategy instead is to go kind of a technical route and question the science of the DNA and also to argue autism by the criminal defendant. That's a key factor, and that's not the kind of thing you necessarily go public with." Read On The Fox News App Taylor used unflattering depictions of her client to have news cameras thrown out of the courtroom and to secure a change of venue, which moved Kohberger's upcoming trial out of Latah County, where the students were killed, to Boise. Idaho Judge Denies Bryan Kohberger Defense Motion To Suppress Key Evidence Defense filings have highlighted widespread news coverage, as well as social media discussions involving thousands of web sleuths and true crime followers. More recently, Taylor is arguing that two major media projects — a "Dateline" episode and a forthcoming book from bestselling crime author James Patterson and crime reporter Vicky Ward — should justify another postponement of her client's trial in the deaths of four University of Idaho students. In particular, she claims the May 9 "Dateline" episode contains damning material that could put Kohberger's right to a fair trial at risk. Judge Says Gag Order 'Likely' Violated In Bryan Kohberger's Idaho Murder Case "The program includes details and materials, including video footage, cellphone records, and photographs of documents, that are not publicly available through official channels," she wrote in a motion to continue filed on May 20. "The show repeatedly emphasizes the non-public nature of this information, stating it was obtained from unnamed sources who are close to the investigation, and that the materials were obtained exclusively by 'Dateline.'" Sign Up To Get The True Crime Newsletter Some of it will be inadmissible at trial, she added. Furthermore, she asserted that "the leaked materials appear carefully curated to promote a narrative of guilt." "The defense strategy of delay and moving the trial is working beautifully," Oakes said. "She was able to change the venue. She gets some postponements, and now she wants further postponement." If she gets it, there are two key factors that would benefit the defense, he added. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X "No. 1, give her time to come up with something to overcome this amazingly strong physical evidence against him, and also maybe diminish the public anger," he said. "As the months and the years go by, people will forget how horrific the crime was, and maybe give her a better chance to get a good result at trial." "They are trying to keep it out of the court of public opinion," said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney and former prosecutor who is following the case. "How do you do that? Stay away from media." GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub However, that is tough in a case where many updates receive international attention. Kohberger is accused of killing Mogen, two roommates and another friend in a 4 a.m. home-invasion stabbing spree. There is no publicly known motive, but a concerning detail is that he was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at the time of the murders. The other victims were Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts judge and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Lowell School of Criminology and Justice studies, said Taylor could consider trying to "humanize" her client — but anything else could be dangerous for the defense. "That case sends a chill down the spine of every professor in a school of criminology in the United States," he told Fox News article source: How Bryan Kohberger's notoriously mum defense attorney is using the media to her advantage
