BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a pretrial appeal from attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students. The appeal stood to delay his murder trial further if granted.
Kohberger’s public defenders had argued that a grand jury sat by prosecutors for the case improperly indicted their client on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. They contended that Idaho law left open the idea that grand jurors must reach the higher legal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt — the same as at trial to convict a defendant — rather than the longstanding threshold of probable cause to indict.
In the one-page Supreme Court ruling issued Tuesday afternoon, the justices offered no legal rationale for their denial of the motion to appeal from Kohberger’s attorneys. The document was signed by Melanie Gagnepain, clerk of the Idaho Supreme Court.
The appellate case is now closed, state courts spokesperson Nate Poppino told the Idaho Statesman.
