SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has denied a pair of requests from prosecutors and defense attorneys overseeing the murder trial of Kouri Richins.
In a ruling issued Thursday morning and obtained by FOX 13 News, the justices unanimously rejected the attorneys' requests to expand the jury pool and conduct in-person questioning of those prospective jurors.
"The Parties also claim that because a Utah law allows a criminal defendant to be tried by jurors from a county other than the one in which the trial is held, prospective jurors from multiple counties may be summoned for one trial," Associate Chief Justice John Pearce wrote in the opinion. "We disagree. Importantly, there is a difference between summoning jurors from a county other than the one in which the trial will be held and summoning jurors from two counties for one trial."
Lawyers for Richins and Summit County prosecutors teamed up to challenge Judge Richard Mrazik's ruling denying their request to expand the jury pool. The attorneys wanted to call in Salt Lake County residents to potentially serve on the jury, in addition to Summit County residents. Richins has been jailed for 18 months, they wrote in legal filings, and neither side wants to move the trial that is expected to last a month. But they are concerned about their ability to empanel an impartial jury given the massive amount of media attention surrounding the case.
The lawyers also challenged a decision by the 3rd District Court's presiding judge, who rejected their request to hold in-person voir dire, instead of virtually, as is the current practice. Judge Laura Scott rejected arguments that the high-profile nature of the Richins case necessitated an in-person jury selection process.
The Utah Supreme Court justices ruled that Judge Scott did nothing wrong with her decision.
Kouri Richins is facing a murder trial, accused by prosecutors of killing her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl slipped into a drink back in 2022. Prosecutors have also alleged she made changes to Eric Richins' life insurance policy before he died. The case has garnered substantial attention as she wrote a children's book about coping with grief.
In addition to the Utah Supreme Court appeal, lawyers for Richins have sought to move her trial out of Summit County arguing that the massive amount of media attention the case has received. Judge Mrazik recently denied that request and they have announced an appeal.
Read the Utah Supreme Court opinion here:
