STROUDSBURG, Pa. — New court documents released this week in Idaho could mean trouble for the prosecutors in the Bryan Kohberger murder case.
Kohberger is from Monroe County. He's accused of stabbing to death four University of Idaho students in November.
The documents center on an officer who investigated the murders last year. It's a potential problem for prosecutors, released in new documents submitted by the district attorney's office in Latah County, Idaho.
At the center, a notice of "potential Brady/Giglio material" related to one of the police officers involved in the case in the form of an internal affairs investigation.
"The prosecution has something that they're saying we normally would just hand this over to the defense, and it could be publicly available, but for whatever reason, there is something sensitive within it, and so we're asking for a court order that protects it," explained Brett Riegel, a criminal defense attorney with ARM Lawyers in Stroudsburg.
Prosecutors are disclosing the material under the obligation of two Supreme Court cases: Brady v. Maryland and Giglio v. United States.
Reigel says Brady material is any evidence that could prove the defendant is not guilty.
Giglio material refers to evidence, past or present, that could impeach the credibility of a witness—in this case, the police officer who worked on the Kohberger case.
"It could be anything that would tend to impair the credibility of that particular individual, officer, or witness, depending upon what it is. I mean, sometimes you have an internal affairs investigation that doesn't even really directly relate to the officer," Riegel said.
Documents of protection were filed, prohibiting anyone from discussing the contents of the internal affairs investigation material.
Riegel says it's hard to tell if this is good or bad news for either side trying the case.
"The last thing a prosecution wants is to have to do a case twice. So, they want to make sure that they have met the due process obligations and provide the things that there required to provide because that is the only way they get to do the case once," Riegel said.
It's unclear if we'll ever learn what the information is about.
Kohberger remains locked up, accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26.