Summary of tweets from yesterday's 2nd hearing, I regret late posting.
https://twitter.com/dugganreports
We are back for the second hearing -- media wants to intervene for the purpose of the gag order, judge grants it.
Media coalition says Kohberger's team is trying to introduce evidence in regards to the gag order and the media hasn't had time to go thru it
Judge said the term 'gag order' is “distasteful"
“This was going heavy well before Mr. Kohberger’s arrest. There was a lot of speculation, criticism, bad information... That would trigger for any lawyer to try to protect the integrity of the investigation and the future court process," Judge Judge said.
Wendy Olson representing media: "I would be stunned if this case goes to trial on October 2nd." She's right. If they file for the death penalty, each side has to do a lot more work to find mitigators and experts for a death case.
Olson: "We know Mr Kohberger and his counsel have a tremendous interest in fighting for his freedom and likely fighting for his life."
Olson says publicity in general doesn't always mean it's prejudicial -- she said the things the prosecution are accusing Kohberger of "are not flattering." But just because it's not flattering doesn't mean its going to prejudice the case, she said.
Judge is granting request for testimony / evidence presentation by the defense and media coalition in re: gag order
Judge was talking about sequestering a jury, and couldn't pronounce it. Olson had to correct him. Anyways, he said a change of venue and sequestration would be very expensive. "This is why I don't like the term gag order." he said. "No one is gagging about it.”
Judge Judge said that LOCAL reporters are doing a good job explaining the process and being balanced and fair regardless of the gag order. “It would be nice to see more of that rather than the sensationalizing we are seeing in national media.”
Wendy Olson says the Idaho and Washington reporters that are part of the coalition have an outstanding rep: “They want their reporters to obtain accurate information," she said. They want the information to be truthful
Defense is calling a witness. Her name is Jean Saucier (i believe thats how you spell it). She is part of a media monitoring / measurement company
Defense asked Saucier to monitor media content about the Kohberger case. We are looking at a data report right now regarding media coverage
Saucier said even though the amount of stories coming out about Kohberger is high, the circulation of the stories are low. But, potential impressions peaked in Nov. 2022 and Jan 2023
So the graph we are looking at:
@boiseboone had the most stories according to Saucier, but
@CoffindafferFBI had the most potential reach. Here is the graph
This is my story from the hearing this morning
Ten min break.
Ok, we are back. One more witness. “How long is that gonna take?” The judge asks. Maybe 15 min
Amani El-Alayli is a social psychologist at a WA college. She is here to speak about how pre-trial publicity affects jurors and their decision outcomes.
"Pre-trial publicity does affect guilty verdicts," El-Alayli said. "Anything that is anti-defendant can carry weight," she said. People who have authority and expert status are listened to and trusted more. Most of the time anti-defendant sentiments come from police officers+
Who are listened to more than other people and are considered to have authority and expert status, she said. Most of the time jurors are selected based on exposure but she said they can always forget information theyve been exposed to
"If they don't know what knowledge is in the back of their minds... It would be really hard for them to have an accurate response... and evaluate things in an unbiased manner.”
So, any publicity that doesn't favor a defendant could also favor a defendant. How do you mitigate bias that is already there? There isn't really a solution, El-Alayli said. She also said juror deliberation can make bias worse
You can read El-Alayli's full report here, it begins on page 39
Olson is cross-examining. "Can bias occur in any criminal case?" Yes, El-Alayli said.
Limiting statements by authority figures would mitigate bias, El-Alayli said. Aka, not letting authority figures like police and attorneys make statement to the media. No more witnesses. But we are still here — Defense has a chance to make their argument
Jay Logsdon arguing on behalf of the defense. “When you have something of this gravity, a courtroom is the place to air out our differences and come to resolutions. The media is not a good place to do this. The media of 2023 is not a good place to go."
Logsdon of
#BryanKohberger defense:
"This case has gotten to the point where I could tell everyone my client uses a blue toothbrush and it would be prejudicial to him." "They already found a way to say that its a bad thing" he stood silent, Logsdon said
Fact check: Standing silent has no meaning about guilt or non-guilt! that is why people have a right to remain silent! It's your right, yall! Like the defense said today, standing silent could help with challenging the indictment if needed
Logsdon: "The reality is if (the media) spoke to us they will pick and choose from our statements, they will twist what we said… They will continue to put on the same narrative that gives them clicks.”
Logsdon said he has to get to a ballet recital so he wants to be done. lol State gets up. they concur with Logsdon and think the gag order is still effective
OK. Onto arguments about cameras in the courtroom Judge is giving his opinion again... He said pics and videos of Kohberger are manipulated in some way by the media (never seen that from us, def seen it from TikTok)
“What cameras in the courtroom do, is it provides an opportunity to educate the public on how the courts work...If you're trying the case in the courtroom the public can learn a lot about how the case proceeds… Make decisions for themselves.” -Wendy Olson
Prosecution says they share similar concerns of Judge Steven Boyce in the Vallow Daybell trial. Sensitive witnesses, witnesses not testifying would see prior coverage, etc. (It's interesting how Idaho cases intersect like this)
D: "Almost exactly what the judge was concerned about in the Vallow case... Close up shots of my client... Everyone has some oddball thing to say about it." Logsdon: we have no trust filming of the trial can be done right and object to cameras in the future.
Defense talks about Derek Chauvin case.
"That's not what we are getting -- We are getting Lori Vallow Daybell style camera use, and that is what we're opposed to."
Defense talks about Derek Chauvin case.
"That's not what we are getting -- We are getting Lori Vallow Daybell style camera use, and that is what we're opposed to.”
We are adjourned for the day i'll have a story up later I also asked the prosecution if / when they plan to file the death penalty. I got, "no comment."
