Powers On Policing

Bryan Kohberger’s lifesaving plea has been accepted and he now resides in the care and custody of the Idaho corrections system. Presumably, for the rest of his life. He was not asked, nor did he volunteer a statement with an explanation or motive for the attacks, nor did he disclose the whereabouts of the weapon(s) and/or other evidence, nor did he offer any apologies or comfort to the surviving family members. He only said he was guilty and the prosecutor and judge took him at his word. The pr

In Part 2 of the discussion, Bill addresses how Bryan Kohberger used the Idaho death penalty statute to his advantage and eluded a jury decision that could have resulted in his death by a firing squad. Idaho, like most states with a death penalty statute relies on a bi-furcated trial system where the juries are tasked with two distinctly different responsibilities; 1) Determine if the defendant is guilty of the criminal charges or not, and if guilty, 2) What is the appropriate punishment in tha

There is no crime as alarming as the report of vicious, unexplained homicide. Multiply that by four, and learn that the victims are all college students and their community is a small town where acts of violence are rare. Add that the victims were butchered with a knife and the killer is unknown, and remains at large. Bring on the helicopters, cameras and bright lights that always come with intense national media attention. The subsequent intrusion, scrutiny, speculation and judgmental finger-p

The 4th Amendment protects people from “unreasonable searches” by government officials. All other searches require a search warrant. How does a judge determine what is reasonable and what is not, and when is a warrant required to search? In the 1967 decision of Katz vs the United States, SCOTUS developed a seemingly simple test: Does the person(s) have a “reasonable expectant right of privacy”? A simple test that is part objective and part subjective with many factors to be considered. In this

In this episode, Bill and Jordan begin a thorough examination into the complex subject and nature of investigative searches and seizures. The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents government officials from conducting “unreasonable searches and seizures”. Under general circumstances, the laws of each state require there be a warrant, approved and signed by a judge or clerk of court, before any search and/or seizure of a person or their property can be performed. In most prosecutions,

The “weight of evidence” in a criminal trial does not refer to quantity. It is about the relevancy, credibility and persuasiveness to convince one side’s argument over the other. It is about the strength and reliability of what is presented, and the overall impact, not the total number of pieces of evidence presented. In this episode Bill and Jordan delve into what is, what isn’t, and what may be accepted as evidence by a judge at trial. They talk about hearsay evidence, and why it is generally