Kohberger Seeks Judge Disqualification and Venue Change After Guilty Plea

Bryan Kohberger, who was found guilty of the brutal stabbing of four University of Idaho students, is now asking the court to disqualify the judge overseeing his case and is requesting a change of venue as part of his effort to retract his guilty plea.

The motions to these effects were submitted on Thursday by Kohberger’s newly appointed attorney, Gregory Rauch, following his conviction for first-degree murder.

Since the conviction, Kohberger has asserted his innocence, claiming that his defense team led him to make a false confession.

The motions call for Fourth Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler to be disqualified from Kohberger’s post-conviction hearings and propose moving these proceedings out of Ada County. The request challenges the judge’s impartiality.

The motion emphasizes, “This motion does not rest upon one adverse ruling, one harsh statement, or merely the fact that the judge who presided over Bryan Kohberger’s criminal case has been assigned to his post-conviction proceeding. It rests upon the extraordinary convergence of all of them.”

While Kohberger’s original trial was moved to Ada County in 2024 to ensure an impartial jury and adequate resources, his legal team contends that these concerns do not apply to a bench trial decided solely by a judge.

Kohberger, now 31, previously pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and a felony burglary charge related to the 2022 stabbings of students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.

However, he is now seeking a trial again, despite the potential risk of facing the death penalty.

A key aspect of the motion to remove Judge Hippler centers on the “constitutional adequacy” of his representation during the trial. The defense argued that the tight capital trial schedule inhibited their ability to adequately review the large volume of evidence presented in the case.

They expressed concern that proceeding to trial under such conditions might violate Kohberger’s right to effective representation.

Judge Hippler had previously dismissed these concerns, suggesting that the defense was using the extensive discovery materials as a delay tactic rather than genuinely being unprepared.

Additionally, the motion cites remarks made by Hippler during sentencing, particularly his comments on Kohberger’s ability to speak the truth. “Do we really believe, after all of this, he is capable of speaking the truth?” he questioned, according to court documents.

Hippler also labeled Kohberger a “faceless coward” and referred to him as “the worst of the worst.”

The motion states, “Those statements are fundamentally different from believing Kohberger committed terrible crimes or deserved severe punishment. They are forward-looking judgments about his credibility, which may now be central to this proceeding.”

The request for a venue change stipulates relocating the proceedings from Ada County, where Kohberger was convicted and sentenced, to Latah County, where the homicides took place.

The motion asserts, “Transfer is warranted in a case like this where the convenience of witnesses and the ends of justice would be promoted by the change.”