Kohberger waives right to a speedy trial in a surprise move

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — In a surprise move, the legal team for Bryan Kohberger made a motion with the Latah County Court Wednesday, August 23, to waive his right to a speedy trial; which means that the trial for the man who has been charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, will not start on October 2, 2023 as previously scheduled.

This new development comes just five days after a 6 hour hearing last Friday, when Judge John C. Judge set a strict guideline for the prosecution and the defense to follow.

Kohberger and his attorneys had until September 15th to make the decision to waive his right to a speedy trial or not. Under Idaho state law, defendants have to receive their trial date within six months of their arraignment if they don’t waive that right.

Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s lead attorney, had requested the hearing last week and noted that it would be better to have the hearing in person at the courthouse in Moscow, rather than via zoom.

The next scheduled court appearance for Kohberger is Sept. 1st, when the judge will hear the defense’s motion to dismiss the grand jury indictment based on arguments that the jurors did not receive proper instructions..

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