Boise gets yet another high-profile trial with Kohberger case. Is that fair? | Opinion

The recent decision by a judge to move the trial of Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, to a venue outside of Latah County did not come as much of a surprise.

Nor did the Idaho Supreme Court’s next decision: to move the trial to the Ada County Courthouse in Boise.

Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in the students’ fatal stabbings at an off-campus home in Moscow. The victims were Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, both 20, and Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21.

Moving the trial out of Latah County, over concerns about logistics and jury bias, means Ada County will host its third high-profile trial in as many years that have been moved from other counties.

The murder trial of Lori Vallow Daybell and the death penalty trial of her husband, Chad Daybell, were moved from Fremont County, where the couple buried Lori Vallow Daybell’s two children after killing them. They were found guilty of various other crimes.

Both trials drew extensive national attention, and the Kohberger trial likely will receive even more.

It seems every time there’s a high-profile trial in Idaho, the automatic solution is to move it to Ada County.

It raises the question, “Is that fair?”

Is it fair to burden the residents of Idaho’s most populous county with such high-profile trials and with the responsibility of having to come up with a jury pool to consider these cases?

First, as set by state law, costs incurred by Ada County are reimbursed by the county from which the trial was moved.

In the Lori Vallow Daybell trial, Ada County billed Fremont County $67,750, and the bill for Chad Daybell was $119,180, according to Fremont County Clerk Abbie Mace.

As for the judge, the trial has been handed over to 4th Judicial District Judge Stephen Hippler. Judges are paid by the state, though, so no local costs would be incurred, according to Nate Poppino, court communications manager for the state.

We are sure there are other, intangible costs associated with hosting such trials, but what better county to handle those incidentals? Ada County has a large courthouse, in front of which national media were able to stage their live shots for the day in the previous two cases, and Ada County has the capability to livestream and provide overflow rooms as needed.

Plus, after hosting two such trials, Ada County has the practice and a proven track record in its ability to hold the Kohberger trial here.

“The Trial Court Administrator and the Fourth Judicial District Court, in collaboration with multiple county departments and offices, do an outstanding job coordinating the vast logistical, security and media issues related to high profile cases in Ada County,” the Ada County Board of Commissioners said in an emailed statement to the Idaho Statesman. “We are confident they will do the same on this high-profile case as well.”

As to the jury pool, Ada County has the potential there to draw from about 450,000 people, according to Sandra Barrios, trial court administrator for the 4th Judicial District Court.

By comparison, Latah County has about 24,000 eligible jurors, according to a motion filed by Kohberger’s defense lawyers.

Ada County, population about 550,000, is by far the largest county in Idaho, with more than twice the population of Canyon County and five times the size of Bonneville, Twin Falls and Bannock counties.

Given the publicity of the Kohberger case, the best chance of finding impartial jurors will be in Ada County. So fair or not for the county itself, it’s just that simple and logical when it comes to making a venue change decision.

We are sensitive to the concerns and pleas from the families of the victims, some of whom asked the judge to keep the trial in Latah County, as did the prosecuting attorney in the case.

But we must remember that the system of a fair and speedy trial in the United States is meant to also protect the rights of the accused, a hallmark of what makes our country great, compared with the treatment of citizens in countries such as China and Russia.

The victims’ families will get their day in court.

It just won’t be in Latah County.

Moving the trial to Ada County made the most sense and ultimately was the right thing to do.

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community members Greg Lanting, Terri Schorzman and Garry Wenske.