Court Summaries: October 16 – 20, 2023. The defense requests medical records from the state.

And the pool camera will be operational for the October 26 hearing.

Discovery Documents

10/17/2023 Stipulation for Protective Order

The state and the defense jointly file a motion for a protective order for “third-party medical records contained in the discovery folders AV000808 — AV000809.”

10/17/2023 Protective Order

The court files a protective order in response to the stipulated motion.

10/18/2023 Defendants 9th Supplemental Request for Discovery

The defense requests more discovery from the state. The exhibit that outlines the requested information is under seal.

10/18/2023 Stipulated Motion to File Defendant's Exhibit

The state and the defense jointly request to file the exhibit under seal.

10/18/2023 Order to File Defendant's Exhibit

The state grants the request to file the exhibit under seal.

About the Medical Records

It is unclear if the protective order and the discovery request are related.

The fact that these medical records belong to a third party does not elucidate much; the two parties in this case are the state and the defense. Moreover, the third party could be the institution or doctor to which the state served the subpoena, who is the record holder, rather than the patient, who is the record subject.

It appears that the defendant is barred from reviewing these medical records, so the record subject is unlikely to be Kohberger. According to the order, the records are limited to “direct review by defense counsel, investigators, and retained experts and any further dissemination or use of the referenced medical records would be prohibited absent a specific court order or further stipulation of the parties.” It is unclear to me what the court means by direct review; my assumption is that the court is requiring the parties to review the discovery themselves as opposed to filtering it through an electronic discovery program.

‘AV’ in the folder title likely stands for audio/video, so these medical records may accompany a recorded interview or deposition.

The medical records are unlikely dated November 13 because the defense would have requested such records early in the discovery process.

My guess is that these medical records pertain to recent psychiatric treatment of a witness, but that is conjecture on my part.

Media Documents

The court has yet to issue the ruling on cameras in the courtroom, but the pool camera will be present at the second Thursday, October 26 hearing.

10/17/2023 Order Media Request (JRL)

10/17/2023 Order Media Request (News Nation)

10/20/2023 Order Media Request (Court TV)

Upcoming Orders

We are still waiting on the court to rule on the following motions:

• Defendant’s Third Motion to Compel Discovery (Regarding the IGG information)

• Motion to Remove Cameras from Courtroom

Upcoming Documents

• Motions to Strike the Death Penalty: During the August 23 status hearing, the defense teased their upcoming motion to strike the death penalty on the grounds that the defendant was forced to choose between his right to a speedy trial and his right to adequate counsel. This presumably will be the first of several motions from the defense to strike the death penalty.

• (Maybe) Filings Regarding the FBI interview of Gabriella Vargas: So far, we have not heard anything regarding the FBI’s interview of Vargas after her expert testimony two months ago on August 18. According to the state, Vargas reneged on some of her testimony through electronic communications. The state asked the FBI to investigate, and they subsequently provided the defense information under seal regarding the circumstances of that interview. If the defense wants to press this issue further, then we should continue to see court filings indicating as much; otherwise, the defense will find no issue and move on.

Scheduled Hearings

The defense filed two motions to dismiss the grand jury indictment, the oral arguments of which are both scheduled on October 26. The first hearing will be closed to the public given the sensitivity of the material discussed, but the second will be open.

Thursday, October 26:

1. 9:30am PST: (Closed to the public and media) The court will hear Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment on Grounds of Biased Grand Jury, Inadmissible Evidence, Lack of Sufficient Evidence, and Prosecutorial Misconduct in Withholding Exculpatory Evidence

   • Notes: While we know little about the first motion because the documents are sealed and the hearing will be closed, we will still learn the court’s ruling when it happens.

2. 1:00pm PST: (Open to the public and media) Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment on Grounds of Error in Grand Jury instructions or in the Alternative Remand for Preliminary Hearing

   • Notes: This hearing regards defense’s motion that the burden of proof for a grand jury should be beyond a reasonable doubt.