Lawyers who are convinced of their clients’ innocence will likely sit closer to their defendants in court, emphasizing that proximity to cameras and jurors to try to soften the impression of someone accused of a horrific crime, experts told Fox News Digital.
On the other hand, lawyers who are less confident in their client’s innocence or fearful of them can choose to sit in a physically distant location.
“When you’re defending a defendant accused of murder, it’s important that when you first appear in front of the camera, you demonstrate that you like and believe in your client as an attorney,” Linda Kenny Baden, a veteran trial lawyer whose clients have included Aaron Hernandez and Phil Spector, told Fox News Digital.
Idaho murder case: Brian Koberger’s defense ‘firmly believes’ in his innocence
Music producer Phil Spector gestures as he speaks with his lawyers Roger Rosen and Linda Kenney Burden after the judge declared a mistrial due to a disagreement between the jury during his murder trial in Los Angeles Superior Court on September 26, 2007. (Fred Prowser Pool/Getty Images)
“You cannot appear scared, you are not allowed to sit a mile away, you have to be close to the defendant, touch him if allowed and give the impression that you are not scared. If you are not scared, it means your client is innocent,” she added.
During the defense of Hernandez, the former NFL star and murder suspect who weighs 245 pounds and stands more than 6 feet tall, the defense said he made sure to hug him in front of the courtroom to show he wasn’t afraid of him.
Idaho murder suspect Brian Koberger wasn’t known to victim, lawyer claims
Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez and his attorney Linda Kenney Burden during his double murder trial in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on March 7, 2017. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Elisa Massos, another of Koberger’s lawyers, said in court in April that the defense “firmly believes Mr. Koberger is innocent,” but critics say the defense is not convinced.
Kenny Burden said one recent photo showed Koberger’s defense attorney sitting in a neighboring state.
“She seemed scared of him, and that’s not good,” she said of the Ann Taylor seating arrangement.
Attorney Koberger argues that public opinion is biased because residents contacted in the jury poll called the police.
Brian Koberger, left, listens as attorney Jay Logsdon delivers oral arguments in support of tossing out the grand jury indictment against Koberger, Oct. 26, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (Kai Eiselein Pool/Getty Images)
Koberger is accused of driving across the state line from Washington State University in Pullman to Moscow, Idaho, at 4 a.m. on a Sunday in November 2022 and massacring four University of Idaho students.
The stabbing left Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Gonsalves, 21, Zana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, dead.
“For a woman to sit close to a male client shows that she’s not afraid of him and that she supports and trusts him,” body language expert Susan Constantine told Fox News Digital. Sitting further away indicates a more distant relationship.
But getting too close can also be counterproductive, she says.
Idaho murder case: Koberger’s defense team contacts potential jurors in ‘research’ before judge bans contact
Casey Anthony (right) and her attorney Jose Baez are pictured at her murder trial at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Florida, on June 2, 2011. (Red Hoover/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“The reason Jose Baez and Casey Anthony got into trouble was because their relationship seemed too intimate,” she said. “The closer you are, the more intimate you seem. And I don’t mean physical… but their intimacy sent the wrong message.”
She said that sometimes lawyers have to force themselves on defendants because they “believe in their client’s innocence.” Some lawyers, like O. J. Simpson and Ted Bundy, have natural charisma that draws people in.
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Ted Bundy (center) conferred with his defense on the first day of his double murder trial for the 1979 killings of two Florida State University students. (Getty Images)
“O.J. was a charismatic man and I was immediately attracted to him,” she says, “and the photographers wanted to show an intimate relationship.”
Constantine said another thing to watch is whether the distance between Koberger and his defense team changes over the course of the trial.
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Former NFL star O.J. Simpson, flanked by defense attorneys Yale Galanter (left) and Craig Brand, points at the camera during the second day of jury selection in his road rage trial in Miami on Oct. 10, 2001. (Reuters/Wilfred Lee/Pool)
“Distance has been shown to result in less emotional support only when it differs from the normal baseline distance we’ve seen,” she explained.
Other signs also suggest her relationship with Taylor is improving, she said: In early appearances, including the first time he showed up with cuts on his face after shaving, he appeared motionless and barely moving, she said.
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Brian Koberger appeared at a status hearing on January 12, 2023, in Latah County District Court in Moscow, Idaho. (Kai Eiselein/Pool via Reuters)
As for Bundy, his gregarious demeanor already helped lure victims.
“He just knows how to connect with people,” she says. “What’s so captivating about him is his instant intimacy and connection with people and his charm.”
Recent photos of Koberger show him in an energetic state in court, even smiling during conversations.
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Brian Koberger talks with his attorney, Ann Taylor, before a hearing in Moscow, Idaho, on August 18, 2023. (August Frank Poole/Getty Images)
“When he was in court, he had a frozen demeanor, no emotion exuded from his body, eyes or face. His structure was very rigid,” she said. “Now, he’s probably more relaxed and he’s starting to build rapport with his lawyers, so he’s making more eye contact… and I’m seeing his eyes more open than they were before.”
Veteran Los Angeles-based lawyer Neama Rahamani said she believes Taylor will begin sitting closer to her client once jury selection begins.
Attorney Barry Levine (left) slaps double murder defendant Erik Menendez on the back as he and his brother were found guilty of first-degree murder under special circumstances on March 20, 1996. (Reuters)
“Jurors want to know that the defense attorney believes their client,” he said. “The defense attorney sits next to their client during arguments and when they address the court, and sometimes they touch their client.”
He said this is similar to a defendant’s family attending a trial.
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Robert E. Climo III is pictured with public defender Anton Trizna during a bond hearing at the Lake County Courthouse on June 26, 2024, in Waukegan, Illinois. (Nam Y. Hoopur/Getty Images)
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“Family support creates a positive impression in any criminal case,” he said. “This is all a pretense to make the jury think they believe the defendant.”
But she said if the allegations are true, Koberger’s social failings may have led to the murder.
“He had a really hard time forming intimate relationships and that got him in trouble,” she said. “If he hated popular people, he would hate himself for being rejected.”
Koberger is due to appear in court again on Thursday for a hearing on the execution date and motions against the execution.
