While the state’s highest court determines who qualifies to be a juror for the high-profile murder trial, Justice Diana Hagen said it was encouraging to see the prosecution and defense working together on it.
“I just want to commend the parties on working together to find a solution that protected both of the parties’ interests and also protected the important constitutional rights of the defendant,” Hagen said during oral arguments Feb. 11.
That morning, attorneys representing the lawyers in the Richins case argued justices should overturn the 3rd District presiding judge’s order. They say they want in-person jury selection, and jurors from both Summit and Salt Lake counties, for the aggravated murder trial.
Kouri Richins is the Kamas mother of three charged with killing her husband Eric Richins and going on to write a children’s book about grieving him. She’s pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, attempted murder and financial crimes.
Local, national and international media attention has prosecutors and defense attorneys worried about finding enough impartial jurors in Summit County alone. If they get to cast a wider net, that could set a new precedent for criminal cases around the state.
Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik will preside over Richins’ trial. He said he’s unaware of any other case seating jurors from more than one county in Utah’s history.
Supreme Court Justice Paige Petersen said expanding the jury pool is a “great solution” and “reasonable request” in this case.
“The constitution seems to allow it,” she said. “My only question is whether the statutes prohibit you from doing it.”
State jury selection laws talk about the “county” in the singular, which the trial attorneys have argued is interchangeable with the plural.
But Petersen found a more specifically-worded law that states “prospective jurors shall be randomly selected from the county in which the trial will be held.” The defense’s appellate attorney, Freyja Johnson, said the law doesn’t ban exceptions.
Even trickier was the issue of in-person jury selection, the focus of Presiding Judge Laura Scott’s Nov. 26 order affirming the 3rd District’s preexisting standing order.
A standing order in place since Sept. 2023 states jury selection will happen via video conferencing.
Prosecution and defense attorneys have long argued that media attention on the Richins case creates “extraordinary circumstances,” which is what’s needed to overcome that standing order.
“I don't concede that. I actually don't think that this case is extraordinary,” said Bryson King, the attorney representing Presiding Judge Scott. “It's not ordinary, but it doesn't rise to the level of extraordinary.”
He also worried about allowing any 3rd District judge in Summit, Salt Lake and Tooele counties to ignore the virtual jury selection order. He’s concerned that could complicate and delay the process.
And regardless, Justice Hagen said she doesn’t know if exposing jurors to extreme media attention will help determine who is impartial or if it raises more privacy concerns.
“I think I saw that concern reflected in the presiding judge’s order as well, that it would be better to ensure that the jury's privacy was protected, their safety was insured, rather than trying to intentionally expose them to a circus-like atmosphere to see what their reaction was,” Hagen said.
But the legal question is more about whether Scott should’ve deferred to Mrazik’s factual findings when he initially allowed in-person jury selection. Summit County prosecutors and Richins’ defense attorneys say Mrazik, not Scott, has access to the facts about whether the circumstances are “extraordinary” because he has boots on the ground.
The trial attorneys asked the Utah Supreme Court for a ruling by Feb. 21, the next time they’re scheduled to be at the Silver Summit Justice Center to talk about jury questionnaires.
Judge Mrazik aims to send questionnaires to 1,500 potential jurors in Summit and possibly Salt Lake counties on Feb. 25.
After the first round of cuts, the rest will be interviewed in mid-April. Whether it’s in person or online is up to the Utah Supreme Court.
Utah law states eight jurors, plus alternates, are required.
Kouri Richins’ murder trial is scheduled to begin April 28.
