STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Just hours after Bryan Kohberger waived extradition at the Monroe county courthouse in Stroudsburg, a judge in Idaho issued a gag order.
It restricts any investigators, law enforcement personnel, or attorneys from talking about the case.
"It looks like the defense and the prosecution agreed that they were willing to have some restrictions put into place so that while information would make it to the public, it would make it to the public after it became public in court rather than it being something that either side was free to comment on and potentially sway public opinion one way or the other," said Brett Reigel, a criminal defense attorney with ARM Lawyers based in Stroudsburg.
He says a gag order is typically issued when a judge fears pretrial publicity could prevent an impartial jury from being seated or could prevent the defendant from receiving a fair trial.
"Most likely, the defense hasn't received much in the way of material yet. So they don't know whether or not there is a legal challenge to some of the evidence that might otherwise be talked about," Reigel.
According to the gag order document, It reads in part, "This order shall remain in full force and effect throughout these proceedings until such time as a verdict has been returned."
So what happens next, now that Bryan Kohberger has been sent back to Idaho to face charges of first-degree murder?
"There's usually some sort of a probable cause or preliminary hearing to make sure that there's some evidence that would justify holding this person and making them respond to these charges. Then there may be some pretrial motions which could involve bail," Reigel said.
According to Reigel, it could take up to a year to see him stand trial.
"The attention causes everybody to want to do the best job. The lawyers on both sides, the police, the defendant himself, and the judge, and the only way you can do the best job is to have adequate time to do it right," Reigel added.
Even though a gag order is in place for the Kohberger case, authorities can still quote from or refer to "the public record" without making further comments.
Casey Arntz lives in Virginia Beach but grew up in the Poconos and attended Pleasant Valley High School. She tells us she became friends with Bryan Kohberger through her younger brother during their time in school. See the video on YouTube: