New Legal Team Challenges Guilty Plea
Bryan Kohberger's new attorney, Jason Goldman, has stated that upcoming filings and a potential evidentiary hearing will address what he calls "serious questions" about the Idaho student murders case. Goldman, a New York-based lawyer who recently joined Kohberger's defense team, told Fox News Digital that the immediate legal fight concerns the constitutionality of the plea his client is attempting to withdraw.
"We think the [amended] PCR and evidentiary hearing will naturally address some of the outstanding and unanswered questions," Goldman said. "That said, the main priority right now is to scrutinize the constitutional issues surrounding Bryan's plea."
Goldman also told People that the public should "simply caution against assuming that everything the public believes it knows about this case tells the complete story." He added, "There remain serious questions about how this case reached its present posture and a hearing will provide an appropriate forum to address those issues."
Kohberger's Claims of Coercion
Kohberger, 31, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and a felony burglary charge for the 2022 stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. He was sentenced to four life terms without parole, plus 10 years for burglary and $270,000 in fines and civil penalties.
In a handwritten petition for post-conviction relief filed in July, Kohberger told the court he had received ineffective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was "not knowingly or voluntarily entered because it was induced by unkept promises" and "not voluntarily entered because of threats asserted by petitioner's legal counsel." He has also claimed that his former lawyers pressured him into accepting the plea deal to avoid the death penalty, and that he was advised to "lie" in the process.
Motion to Remove Judge
Kohberger's legal team has filed a motion seeking to dismiss Judge Steven Hippler from the case. The motion questions Hippler's impartiality, noting that he declined to give Kohberger's former defense team more time for discovery review weeks before trial. It also references language used by Hippler in which he described Kohberger as someone in whom the court could identify nothing remaining that was "good or intrinsically human."
Goldman told People of the filing, "This is not about attacking the Court nor asking for special treatment. It is about ensuring that the serious constitutional questions now before the Court are heard in a forum whose impartiality and neutrality cannot be questioned." He argued that "it would be an inherent conflict for the same presiding judge to decide these very issues."
Next Steps
Judge Hippler has set a November 13 deadline for Kohberger's lawyers to file an amended petition, which is expected to be more detailed than the handwritten submission. The date falls four years to the day after the murders. Idaho defense attorney Greg Rauch was appointed to represent Kohberger last month, and Goldman has joined the team.
Deputy Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Keith Scholl has asked for a transcript of Kohberger's July 2025 change of plea hearing. A ruling on the motion to remove the judge has not yet been made.