Kouri Richins defense team asks for prosecution to be dismissed
May 17, 2024, 6:00 PM | Updated: 6:12 pm
Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband then wrote a children's book about grieving, looks on during a bail hearing Monday, June 12, 2023, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — Kouri Richins’ defense team is asking that the prosecution be dismissed, alleging that prosecutors violated her Sixth Amendment rights.
In court documents, Richins’ defense team alleges that prosecutors listened to recorded jail phone calls between her and the defense.
The defense said it “never consented to the Prosecution listening to recorded calls.”
Therefore, Richins’ defense claims this violates her Sixth Amendment rights.
However, the prosecution pointed out that all jail phone calls are recorded. According to the prosecution’s lead counsel Brad Bloodworth, Richins’ defense has not registered for the HomeWav App, which would protect their calls.
This implied the defense’s consent, according to Bloodworth.
He said the prosecution has listened to “at least a portion” of the calls since May 2023.
Richins’ defense team specifically asked that Bloodworth be removed and that the prosecution be disqualified. The defense noted that the rest of the team likely had access to the same privileged documents as Bloodworth.
“Although typically only one attorney from an office should be conflicted out of a case when issues arise, this situation is unique … With only a handful of attorneys in the office, the risk of widespread contamination is significant,” the defense said in court documents.
There is no word at this time on whether this will happen.
Samantha Herrera contributed to this story.
