It sounds like the defence are being reasonable. They could presumably insist a witness attends court and is subject to cross examination. It would absolutely be the duty of the defence to interview key witnesses, either by deposition or by cross examination. I do not think the defence can rely on the police to have asked exculpatory questions e.g. was the person you saw right or left handed (not meant to be a specific question to this case). Doing this by deposition so the witness does not have to travel seems reasonable behaviour.
New information released:
From my understanding he was not randomly selected; but using genealogy selected from relatives of people with a similar profile. Therefore the odds of any relative of these people having a matching profile will be much higher than the general poulation. If there is a mixed DNA (e.g. the victim's) then the stats may be even more dubious. I'm sure more information will become available.“The STR profile is at least 5.37 octillion times more likely to be seen if the defendant is the source than if an unrelated individual randomly selected from the general population is the source,” the filing stated.
What are you talking about?I have a concern about this statement;
From my understanding he was not randomly selected; but using genealogy selected from relatives of people with a similar profile. Therefore the odds of any relative of these people having a matching profile will be much higher than the general poulation. If there is a mixed DNA (e.g. the victim's) then the stats may be even more dubious. I'm sure more information will become available.
DNA from the cheek swab of the man charged with the slaying of four Idaho university students last year has been found to be a “statistical match” to that found on the knife sheath at the crime scene, according to a new court filing. ...
It's Kolberger's DNA that matched DNA on the knife sheath at the murder scene.“A traditional STR DNA comparison was done between the STR profile found on the Ka-Bar knife sheath and Defendant’s DNA. The comparison showed a statistical match,” the court filing said.
I have a concern about this statement;
From my understanding he was not randomly selected; but using genealogy selected from relatives of people with a similar profile. Therefore the odds of any relative of these people having a matching profile will be much higher than the general poulation. If there is a mixed DNA (e.g. the victim's) then the stats may be even more dubious. I'm sure more information will become available.
This issue has come up in at least one trial in 2022, in which an expert in DNA profiling was called to testify for the defense. Regarding this topic, I would say that I only know enough to be dangerous, but even that would be an exaggeration.I have a concern about this statement;
From my understanding he was not randomly selected; but using genealogy selected from relatives of people with a similar profile. Therefore the odds of any relative of these people having a matching profile will be much higher than the general poulation. If there is a mixed DNA (e.g. the victim's) then the stats may be even more dubious. I'm sure more information will become available.
What are you talking about?
Of course Kolberger wasn't randomly selected. The DNA recovered from the parent's trash and from the genealogy profile led police to get a search warrant where Kolberger's DNA was obtained.
...
As Kohberger (not KoLberger) was working on his PhD in criminal justice, he'd be well aware of how DNA is left and can be used to identify a suspect. He'd have taken precautions not to leave any, but not even someone with his knowledge is immune from making a critical mistake in the heat of the moment. His would be leaving the knife sheath behind.
Thanks, I wasn't paying close attention.As Kohberger (not KoLberger)
I thought it was odd about the knife sheath being left behind but given one of the non-murdered roommates saw him I imagine he left in a hurry, leaving the knife sheath behind by mistake.... was working on his PhD in criminal justice, he'd be well aware of how DNA is left and can be used to identify a suspect. He'd have taken precautions not to leave any, but not even someone with his knowledge is immune from making a critical mistake in the heat of the moment. His would be leaving the knife sheath behind.
near the crime scene "on at least twelve occasions before November 13, 2022. All of those occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours …"
This issue has come up in at least one trial in 2022, in which an expert in DNA profiling was called to testify for the defense. Regarding this topic, I would say that I only know enough to be dangerous, but even that would be an exaggeration.
We are all agreed that YSTR testing is much less discriminating than autosomal profiling; moreover, the calculation is performed differently. To the best of my understanding, the problem to which Planigale alluded is entirely different. Let me present a little background from memory. John Puckett was convicted of rape in San Francisco in the 1970s. Many years later he was put on trial for a murder (and rape?) of Diane Sylvester on the basis of a partial profile. The profile was either 5 and 1/2 or 7 loci, depending upon how one called the peaks. Link
"One of the prosecution’s DNA experts testified that the chances of a random match to the DNA recovered from Sylvester was 1.1 million to one. Another gave his own “likelihood ratio” as 1 in 152 billion. The jury convicted Puckett, but only after sending a note to the court asking how he had become a suspect – a question the judge refused to answer.
"At a pretrial hearing, Bicka Barlow, a DNA specialist for the San Francisco public defender’s office who has a master’s degree in genetics, had testified that the match probability statistics were wrong. The problem was that the 1 in 1.1 million statistic applied to a random match to a single individual. That doesn’t hold true when you began comparing DNA profiles with huge databases of DNA samples. Then, according to two panels of scientific experts convened by the FBI and the National Research Council, the chances of a random individual match should be multiplied by the number of samples in the database. That would change the odds of an innocent person receiving a DNA hit in Puckett’s case from 1 in 1.1 million to approximately one in three. Yes, one in three.
"But the judge in Puckett’s trial never let the jury hear about this statistical disparity. He ruled it was inadmissible. He also ruled that the jury could not hear about the person the police originally suspected in Sylvester’s murder before the DNA hit on Puckett. Police had arrested Robert Baker, a street artist who had escaped from a mental institution, for a rape that occurred four blocks from Sylvester’s apartment two weeks before her murder." (highlighting mine)
From talking to an expert recently, I understand that there are now three schools of thought regarding database searching.
In the filing, dated Tuesday, attorneys for Kohberger, 28, argue that the grand jury was "misled as to the standard of proof required for an indictment."
Idaho slayings: Bryan Kohberger's attorneys ask judge to dismiss indictment
Too bad attorneys don't get billed by the hour for wasting the courts time and resources..
Idaho slayings: Bryan Kohberger's attorneys ask judge to dismiss indictment
Too bad attorneys don't get billed by the hour for wasting the courts time and resources..
If the defence is correct that the grand jury was misdirected in the required standard to bring forward an indictment then they are doing their job in appealing this.
Judge rules to release redacted Grand Jury proceedings and records in case against Bryan Kohberger
Judge John Judge has ruled that the records and transcripts from the Grand Jury proceedings that led to the indictment of Bryan Kohberger be released, albeit redacted.
The deliberations will not be part of the records released, and the names of the impaneled grand jurors will be redacted.
The State had also asked that information included in Exhibit A of the proceedings be sealed, only to be shared with attorneys and experts, and the information contained in the exhibit is not to be made public.
The order also releases copies of other exhibits from the grand jury hearings and copies of juror questionnaires, with the understanding the information is to remain confidential.
Select portions of witness testimony that are redacted will be allowed to be shared with that specific witness, but will remain unavailable to the public.
The ruling in the defense team's third motion to compel, requesting information regarding DNA findings, is still pending.
Defense attorneys argue the Idaho state Constitution sets the standard of proof for a grand jury at beyond a reasonable doubt. But the grand jury in the case against Kohberger was given the lower standard required for an archaic process called a presentment, which requires a preliminary hearing. In turn, failing to properly instruct the grand jury is grounds for a dismissal of the indictment, the defense argues.
Idaho’s criminal procedure law defines a presentment as a formal statement by the grand jury indicating to the court a crime has been committed, and there are “reasonable grounds” that the person named in the presentment committed the crime.
Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, Monday, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho, U.S. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022.
Why judges use gag orders in high-profile cases like the Idaho student killings
In comparison, an indictment – under Idaho law – is a written accusation presented by the grand jury “charging a person with a public offense.”
Kohberger’s attorneys argue the indictment should either be dismissed or be treated as a presentment and have a preliminary hearing. They acknowledge in the motion that the “Defense recognizes that the whole of modern jurisprudence on this issue is against it.”
Congrats! You've Trumped this discussion..
To which the prosecutor simply refiles the charges. This is not a double jeopardy case.In turn, failing to properly instruct the grand jury is grounds for a dismissal of the indictment, the defense argues.
Kohberger's defense lawyers are claiming his alibi is that he had a habit of taking long drives but they can't say exactly where.![]()
Makes me wonder if Kohberger is still having his lawyers work on getting him off? Did he tell them he didn't do it? Did they not ask him directly but rather offer him several approaches they could take?They're clutching at straws, because that's all they have.
Makes me wonder if Kohberger is still having his lawyers work on getting him off? Did he tell them he didn't do it? Did they not ask him directly but rather offer him several approaches they could take?
Or is this just standard stuff before the attorneys move on to mitigating circumstances like he's crazy or his parents abused him?
Just what does a defense attorney tell their client who is guilty of 4 horrible murders ... allegedly?
The job of the defence is to challenge the prosecution, whether their client is in fact guilty is immaterial, if the prosecution is unable to prove the guilt in court then the jury will not return a guilty verdict. The defence should test and challenge each part of the prosecution's case.
To some extent tis may also in the US system part of negotiating a plea deal; if the defence can make the prosecution's case weaker then the prosecution may be prepared to offer a better deal.
I don't think a defense attorney generally asks their client if they're guilty or not. And no defendant who is not pleading guilty would tell his lawyer he is guilty.
Somewhere my point was missed. Yes, yes, I know all that.But the word "guilty" is a legal term. A defendant might say they'd "done it", but still not be "guilty" legally.
Is that last sentence an admission that the defense knows their basis for dismissal isn't well grounded?
Somewhere my point was missed. Yes, yes, I know all that.
In order to properly defend a defendant the lawyer really should know the facts, however, but that wasn't what I was getting at.
It's typical for a defense attorney to put forth a not guilty plea no matter what at the arraignment. Even if a defendant says they want to plead guilty the attorney would advise the person to wait.
In a lot of jurisdictions they use the strength of evidence as a bail factor. The state says the car was there, the defense says something like this. Without a transcript or motion it's hard to say whether the defense was making an affirmative claim or just pointing out the weakness of the state's factual assertion.What struck me as odd here was the claim the defendant likes to drive around at night. That was an attempt to impeach the evidence his car was near the murder scene repeatedly before the murder was committed. That's different from just saying 'not guilty' and asking for bail (even if it's not expected to be granted).
If Kohberger told the lawyer he didn't do it then I could see such a claim about driving around. It made me curious. That's all. If it made anyone else curious I'd be interested in their thoughts.
The job of the defence is to challenge the prosecution, whether their client is in fact guilty is immaterial, if the prosecution is unable to prove the guilt in court then the jury will not return a guilty verdict. The defence should test and challenge each part of the prosecution's case.
To some extent tis may also in the US system part of negotiating a plea deal; if the defence can make the prosecution's case weaker then the prosecution may be prepared to offer a better deal.
Pretty much.
The US adversarial system is gross in a ton of ways but most of the hate gets directed towards the defense attorney role when that role, as distasteful as it can sometimes seem, is necessary to prevent the system from collapsing into a full on police state.
I'd be all for comprehensive reform into a more inquisitorial system aimed at reaching the truth rather than what amounts to a game. Just kneecapping criminal defense alone isn't going to do anything but make the system worse.
It is unfortunate that high profile cases such as this one shape the public perception of the criminal justice system when these cases have little resemblance to the vast majority of criminal cases.
In order to properly defend a defendant the lawyer really should know the facts, however, but that wasn't what I was getting at.
It's typical for a defense attorney to put forth a not guilty plea no matter what at the arraignment. Even if a defendant says they want to plead guilty the attorney would advise the person to wait.
What struck me as odd here was the claim the defendant likes to drive around at night. That was an attempt to impeach the evidence his car was near the murder scene repeatedly before the murder was committed. That's different from just saying 'not guilty' and asking for bail (even if it's not expected to be granted).
Somewhere my point was missed. Yes, yes, I know all that.
In order to properly defend a defendant the lawyer really should know the facts, however, but that wasn't what I was getting at.
It's typical for a defense attorney to put forth a not guilty plea no matter what at the arraignment. Even if a defendant says they want to plead guilty the attorney would advise the person to wait.
What struck me as odd here was the claim the defendant likes to drive around at night. That was an attempt to impeach the evidence his car was near the murder scene repeatedly before the murder was committed. That's different from just saying 'not guilty' and asking for bail (even if it's not expected to be granted).
If Kohberger told the lawyer he didn't do it then I could see such a claim about driving around. It made me curious. That's all. If it made anyone else curious I'd be interested in their thoughts.
The weaknesses in the inquisitorial system are why Italy moved to the adversarial system.
I don't think a defense attorney generally asks their client if they're guilty or not. And no defendant who is not pleading guilty would tell his lawyer he is guilty.
His DNA was found at the crime scene. How does the defense cast doubt on that?
They'll try to cast doubt by saying it was contamination. But the hurdle to overcome is that he was never in the house before so how would his DNA be innocently transferred?