Idaho prosecutors are claiming that Bryan Kohberger’s new legal team is engaging in what they call a “fishing expedition” as they seek to delay proceedings in order to strengthen their case for withdrawing his guilty plea.
“Unfortunately for [Kohberger], that is not how discovery in post-conviction proceedings works,” Deputy Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Keith Scholl noted in response to Kohberger’s request for additional time to submit an amended petition.
The current deadline is set for November 13, which strikingly marks four years since the student murders in Moscow, Idaho.
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Kohberger’s attorneys argue that the deadline they’re facing would require them to give up any claims that aren’t included in the amended petition, which is supposed to be submitted well ahead of discovery deadlines scheduled for next year. They are requesting access to discovery materials before they file.
Read Kohberger’s request for more time:
“Post-conviction discovery is supposed to aid you and your lawyers in establishing a legitimate constitutional claim, which in this case involves ineffective assistance of counsel,” stated Randolph Rice, a Maryland attorney and legal analyst monitoring the case.
“It’s not meant to be a fishing expedition to help you fabricate a new claim,” he added. “You can’t just throw a fishing net into the ocean of discovery and hope to catch a constitutional violation.”
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Read the prosecution’s response:
Prosecutors have also filed a motion to reject Kohberger’s handwritten petition entirely, although it’s expected that this will likely not succeed, as his lawyers are anticipated to replace it with a revised petition.
Kohberger, who pleaded guilty on July 2, 2025, to four counts of first-degree murder and one burglary charge for the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, finds himself in a complex legal situation.
A year after his guilty plea, he submitted a self-generated motion for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective counsel and claiming he was misled into pleading guilty by his earlier defense attorneys.
Judge Steven Hippler gives the new legal team until November 13 to revise Kohberger’s handwritten filing.
Kohberger’s defense team has additionally sought to have Judge Hippler disqualified from the case, citing concerns about potential biases, along with a request to move the venue back to Latah County, where the offenses occurred.
Kohberger’s case continues to evolve, drawing ongoing attention and scrutiny from both legal experts and the public.
