Story perspectives

Judge Sets 2027 Hearing on Kohberger Plea Withdrawal

8/27/2026

Summary

Hippler Schedules Hearing

Judge Steven Hippler scheduled a June 2027 hearing on Bryan Kohberger’s request to withdraw his guilty plea.
Latah County Prosecutor Keith Scholl asked the judge to dismiss the petition without a hearing.
Hippler ordered both parties to disclose all witnesses, including experts, by February 1, 2027.
Kohberger alleges his lawyers used promises and death-row threats to force his July 2, 2025 guilty plea.
His 2025 plea deal waived his right to appeal the life-without-parole sentence.

Summary

Kohberger Sentenced

Kohberger, a Washington State University criminology student, was arrested in 2022 for stabbing four University of Idaho students.
The 2025 plea deal removed the death penalty and imposed life-without-parole sentences.
Kohberger received four consecutive life sentences plus a ten-year burglary term.
The victims were three roommates and the boyfriend of one roommate.

History

Historical Context

On January 12 2005 the Supreme Court issued United States v. Booker, a ruling authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy that struck down the mandatory nature of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and required judges to consider a broader set of statutory factors. The decision built on the 2004 Blakely v. Washington ruling, which applied the Sixth Amendment jury-trial requirement to state sentencing schemes.

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Hippler Schedules Hearing

Judge Steven Hippler scheduled a June 2027 hearing on Bryan Kohberger’s request to withdraw his guilty plea.
Latah County Prosecutor Keith Scholl asked the judge to dismiss the petition without a hearing.
Hippler ordered both parties to disclose all witnesses, including experts, by February 1, 2027.
Kohberger alleges his lawyers used promises and death-row threats to force his July 2, 2025 guilty plea.
His 2025 plea deal waived his right to appeal the life-without-parole sentence.

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