Bryan Kohberger Challenges Judge's Role in His Case as Legal Fight Continues

Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of the murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022, wants Judge Steven Hippler, who presided over his case and sentenced him to life in prison, removed from his post-conviction case.

Kohberger’s attorney, Greg Rauch, said in a new court filing that Hippler’s comments and actions at Kohberger’s sentencing create the appearance of bias against Kohberger.

Rauch submitted a 12-page response last week to prosecutors who are urging the court to keep Hippler on the case. In his submission, Rauch criticized comments Hippler made during Kohberger’s sentencing hearing concerning Kohberger’s silence, when the judge questioned whether it was possible to believe anything Kohberger might say.

That comment “questioned [Kohberger’s] entire capacity for truthfulness and predicted deception in an explanation not yet even given,” Rauch wrote. Rauch also argued that Hippler’s “stated distrust” would make it difficult to know whether the judge found “particular testimony is false” or had already “made an advanced judgment” about Kohberger’s ability to tell the truth.

Rauch noted reports that Hippler wiped away tears while sentencing Kohberger to four consecutive life terms in July 2025. He explained that although the judge’s compassion is understandable, the “cumulative appearance of partiality” is not.

At the sentencing, Hippler described Kohberger as a “faceless coward” and the “worst of the worst,” and he said Kohberger “slithered” into the house to kill the students, according to a report. Rauch argued these comments could lead a reasonable person to question whether the judge can remain impartial in the post-conviction proceeding.

Rauch criticized Hippler for denying Kohberger’s first defense team more time to prepare for trial in June 2025, and Kohberger pleaded guilty six days later. Rauch also noted that Hippler described concerns raised by defense attorney Anne Taylor as “empty and tactical.”

Rauch said this is another area the new defense team will examine, including “whether trial counsel has sufficient time and assistance to ensure that Kohberger rationally understood the circumstances.”

In his original 22-page motion in August, Rauch wrote, “This motion does not rest upon one adverse ruling, one harsh statement, or the mere fact that the judge who presided over Bryan Kohberger’s criminal case has been assigned to his post-conviction proceeding.” Rauch, a court-appointed attorney from Moscow, Idaho, was later joined on the new legal team by Jason Goldman, a New York lawyer who also represents Kohberger’s family.

Prosecutors in Latah County asked the court to deny the effort, describing it as a “fishing expedition.” They claimed that the comments Hippler made after Kohberger acknowledged committing the murders don’t indicate bias. In response, Rauch argued that prosecutors were “supplying concessions Petitioner never made” and “calling the disputed statements routine,” according to a report.

In July 2025, Kohberger, 31, pleaded guilty to killing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. Kohberger now claims innocence and is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea through a process known as post-conviction relief. The hearing scheduled for Thursday, October 15, on the motion to remove Hippler from the case was canceled, and it’s unknown when the judge will rule on the request.