Both Summit County prosecutors and the Richins defense team want to question potential jurors from Summit and Salt Lake counties in person, not via video conferencing.
Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik, initially granted the request and said he would allow the jury pool to be drawn from both Salt Lake and Summit counties. He was later overruled by the district’s presiding judge.
According to court records, on Jan. 6 the Utah Supreme Court agreed to hear an emergency appeal of the matter sought by attorneys last month.
No filing deadlines have been set for legal briefs, nor has a date been set for oral argument. The petition from attorneys asked the court to rule on the issue in February; the murder trial is set to begin April 28.
A ruling from justices to allow a jury pool from two counties could set a new precedent for cases in all of the state’s courts.
Mrazik has said he’s unaware of any previous Utah trial drawing jurors from multiple counties. It’s unclear if that’s allowed under state jury selection law, which speaks about “the county” only in the singular.
Neither the prosecution nor the defense has asked to move the entire murder trial to another city or county.
Richins is accused of killing her husband, Eric, with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022. She’s charged with nine felonies, including aggravated murder, attempted murder and financial crimes.
Summit County prosecutors claim her motive was financial, to resolve debts incurred in her real estate business, and allege she was having an affair.
Richins has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and if convicted of murder, could spend the rest of her life in prison.
In recent court filings, her defense team has asked Mrazik to block some evidence from being heard by a jury. They want the judge to toss out statements Richins made to authorities before her arrest, as well as evidence seized from her home, her person, her cellphones and her Apple account.
They also want the so-called Walk the Dog letter suppressed. Richins wrote it while in custody in 2023, and Summit County seized it, alleging she was asking her family to lie for her on the stand.
The next pretrial hearing is Jan. 23, when Mrazik is expected to decide which evidence will be admissible.
