Court Filing
Electronically Filed 7/14/2025 5:46 PM Fourth Judicial District, Ada County Trent Tripple, Clerk of the Court By: Chynae Hull, Deputy Clerk Wendy J. Olson, Bar No. 7634 wendy.olson@stoel.com Cory M. Carone, Bar No. 11422 cory.carone@stoel.com Anders Pedersen, Bar No. 11626 anders.pedersen@stoel.com STOEL RIVES LLP 101 S. Capitol Boulevard, Suite 1900 Boise, ID 83702 Telephone: 208.389.9000 Facsimile: 208.389.9040 Attorneys for Intervenors IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF ADA STATE OF IDAHO, Plaintiff, Case No. CR01-24-31665 V. DECLARATION OF REBECCA BOONE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION ΤΟ BRYAN C. KOHBERGER, BE HEARD AND UNSEAL RECORDS Defendant. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS; FOX NEWS; STATES NEWSROOM DBA IDAHO CAPITAL SUN; TEGNA INC./KREM (SPOKANE), KTVB (BOISE) AND KING (SEATTLE); EASTIDAHONEWS.COM, LLC DBA EAST IDAHO NEWS; THE LEWISTON TRIBUNE / MOSCOW-PULLMAN DAILY; IDAHO PRESS CLUB; KXLY; SCRIPPS MEDIA, INC. DBA KIVI-TV, A DELAWARE CORPORATION; COURT TV MEDIA, LLC, A GEORGIA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW; THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY; ABC DECLARATION OF REBECCA BOONE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO BE HEARD AND UNSEAL RECORDS-1 129602472.3 0099999-00006 NETWORK NEWS; SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS; THE MCCLATCHY COMPANY, LLC DBA THE IDAHO STATESMAN; CBS NEWS; APG IDAHO DBA IDAHO PRESS, POST REGISTER, IDAHO STATE JOURNAL; NBC NEWS; DAILY MAIL; UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO STUDENT MEDIA / THE ARGONAUT; ELEVATE 208 MEDIA DBA BOISEDEV; NONSTOP LOCAL KHQ; COUER D'ALENE PRESS / BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE; NEWS NATION; LAW & CRIME; COURT TV; and CNN, Intervenors. I, Rebecca Boone, declare and state as follows: 1. I am the supervisory correspondent for Idaho for the Associated Press (“ AP ”). As such I have personal knowledge of the facts and statements contained in this declaration. 2. I have 26 years of journalism industry experience, much of that time spent covering the judicial branch and criminal justice issues. 3. I have reported on the Nov. 13, 2022 deaths of four University of Idaho students, the subsequent criminal investigation and the arrest and prosecution of Bryan Kohberger. 4. I graduated from the University of Idaho with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1999, and I covered the courts and law enforcement beat for The Lewiston Tribune before I joined the AP in 2002 as a reporter in the Boise bureau. 5. In 2013 I was promoted to my current position of supervisory correspondent, tasked with leading AP's news coverage in Idaho. I have extensive experience covering criminal and civil litigation in state and federal courts. I was an Idaho Press Club board member from 2014 until 2023, when I stepped down due to time constraints. I am a longtime advisory board member of the University of Idaho's School of Journalism and Mass Media. I became a Loyola Law DECLARATION OF REBECCA BOONE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO BE HEARD AND UNSEAL RECORDS-2 129602472.3 0099999-00006 School Journalism Law School Fellow in 2012. I also regularly serve as a panelist for training programs offered to teachers and journalists through a partnership between the University of Idaho College of Law, the Idaho Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court of Idaho. I co-wrote and presented a Continuing Legal Education. During those panels I typically train attendees on subjects including news literacy, how to access court documents, the ethics of covering the courts, how to incorporate the rule of law into press coverage, and why press access to the judicial branch is vital for an informed citizenry. 6. High-profile criminal cases present unique challenges and unique opportunities. The Court has taken extensive and careful efforts to maintain Mr. Kohberger's right to a fair trial. Now that Mr. Kohberger has reached a plea deal with the state, and has pleaded guilty, those fair trial concerns are resolved, and the Court should unseal court documents and increase transparency in this case. 7. We understand that the Court must balance the Sixth Amendment rights of the accused with the First Amendment interests of the media, which serves as a proxy for the public. We do not seek extraordinary access now. Rather, it is our hope that the Court will simply reweigh its balancing of Sixth Amendment and First Amendment rights now that Mr. Kohberger has pleaded guilty. I. Court records should be unsealed at the earliest opportunity. 8. Idaho Court Administrative Rule 32 opens with a policy statement: “ The public has a right to access the judicial department's declarations of law and public policy, and to access the records of all proceedings open to the public. ” That statement can serve as a guiding star when weighing whether court documents should remain sealed in the weeks ahead, particularly once a jury is seated and the trial is set to begin. While not every court document in this case is included DECLARATION OF REBECCA BOONE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO BE HEARD AND UNSEAL RECORDS-3 129602472.3 0099999-00006 on the Idaho Supreme Court's Cases of Interest website, https://coi.isc.idaho.gov/docs/ Cases / CR01-24-31665-25.html (last accessed 07/11/25), an examination of the documents listed allows us to get a sense of the overall level of secrecy imposed by the Court in this case. 9. On June 26, I counted each order listed in the online case file, and then counted each order to seal. I did not include stipulations to seal or motions to seal in my assessment, nor did I include orders to redact rather than seal. Since this case began in 2022, there have been 465 orders issued by the court. More than half them – approximately 246 in all are orders to seal. Six are orders to unseal. 10. When the proceedings were being held in Latah County, the bulk of the sealing occurred at the beginning of the case and was mostly limited to material that had been returned from search warrants to internet and phone providers, banks, and the like. 11. The majority of orders to seal have been issued since the case was moved to Ada County. It is perhaps worth noting that the number of sealed records in this case has skyrocketed in 2025. Of 168 total orders issued by this Court since Jan. 1, 2025, more than two-thirds of them 103 in total-have been orders sealing documents from public view. Without being able to view the records, I can only speculate as to why that may be. Perhaps it is because the case was getting closer to trial. Perhaps it is because of the amendments to Idaho Court Administrative Rule 32 that took effect this year, lifting the requirement for a hearing before records may be sealed. Perhaps it is simply an anomaly. Regardless, there are more sealed records in this case than I can recall in any case I've covered for the AP over the last 23 years. 12. A substantial portion of the evidence, arguments and rulings in this case have been delivered in the form of written documents rather than in open court. The documents are as much DECLARATION OF REBECCA BOONE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO BE HEARD AND UNSEAL RECORDS-4 129602472.3 0099999-00006 a part of the court process as anything that happens inside the physical courtroom, and as such should be open to the public. 13. Many of the sealed documents have been kept secret in order to ensure that a fair and impartial jury may be seated, so that the defendant can receive his constitutional right to a fair trial. Now that a jury will not be impaneled, the Court should unseal the documents and honor Idaho's constitutional promise of open courts. II. Court practices set informal precedent, and a culture of secrecy should not be the norm for Idaho. 14. In court systems as small as Idaho's, practices in one courtroom can easily set the culture for other courtrooms. That's why it is crucial that transparency and access are scrupulously maintained in every case, but especially in high-profile cases. 15. There is no longer any risk of tainting a jury pool in this case. Mr. Kohberger has reached a plea deal with the state and has pleaded guilty in exchange for consecutive life sentences. He has waived his right to a fair trial. I respectfully urge the Court to re-weigh the balance of the First Amendment right of the press and the public against the concerns that led to the increased secrecy in this case, and suggest that such a re-weighing will likely lead to unsealed court documents. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Idaho that the foregoing is true and correct. DATED: July 14, 2025 STOEL RIVES LLP / s / Rebecca Boone Rebecca Boone DECLARATION OF REBECCA BOONE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO BE HEARD AND UNSEAL RECORDS-5 129602472.3 0099999-00006 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that on July 14, 2025, I served a true and correct copy of the within and foregoing DECLARATION OF REBECCA BOONE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO BE HEARD AND UNSEAL RECORDS upon the following named parties by the method indicated below, and addressed to the following: William W. Thompson, Jr. Hand Delivered Prosecuting Attorney Via Facsimile Ashley Jennings U.S. Mail Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Via email Joshua D. Hurwit X Via iCourt efile & serve at: Special Deputy Prosecuting Attorney paservice@latahcountyid.gov Latah County Prosecutor's Office Anne C. Taylor Hand Delivered Anne Taylor Law, PLLC Via Facsimile U.S. Mail Via email X Via iCourt efile & serve at: info@annetaylorlaw.com Jeffrey D. Nye Hand Delivered Special Assistant Attorney General Via Facsimile Madison Allen U.S. Mail Special Assistant Attorney General X Via email Via iCourt efile & serve at: jeff.nye@ag.idaho.gov madison.allen@ag.idaho.gov Jay W. Logsdon Hand Delivered Idaho State Public Defender's Office Via Facsimile First District Public Defender U.S. Mail Via email X Via iCourt efile & serve at: jay.logsdon@spd.idaho.gov Elisa G. Massoth Hand Delivered Elisa G. Massoth, PLLC Via Facsimile U.S. Mail Via email X Via iCourt efile & serve at: emassoth@kmrs.net DECLARATION OF REBECCA BOONE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO BE HEARD AND UNSEAL RECORDS-6 129602472.3 0099999-00006 Bicka Barlow Hand Delivered Pro Hac Vice Via Facsimile U.S. Mail Via email X Via iCourt efile & serve at: bickabarlow@sbcglobal.net / s / Wendy J. Olson Wendy J. Olson DECLARATION OF REBECCA BOONE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO BE HEARD AND UNSEAL RECORDS-7 129602472.3 0099999-00006