The defense for Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the deaths of four University of Idaho students, has been given permission to resume phone surveys of potential jurors by a judge. Kohberger faces four murder charges in connection with the November 2022 stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. The judge entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger's behalf, and prosecutors have stated they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

Kohberger's team had hired a consultant to conduct surveys of potential jurors living near the university regarding the case. The phone surveys included questions about Kohberger's arrest, the type of car he owns, DNA evidence, and a knife sheath found near one of the bodies. Prosecutors raised concerns about the surveys violating a gag order issued in the case, as some questions could potentially prejudice potential jurors.

However, the judge ruled that the surveys could continue as long as they did not violate the gag order. Most of the questions were deemed to be information already publicly available through court documents. The bodies of the four students were found at a rental home near campus, and Kohberger was arrested more than six weeks later at his parents' home in eastern Pennsylvania. His public defender has stated that Kohberger's alibi is that he was out driving alone that night, with one of his destinations being Wawawai Park southwest of Pullman.

The defense also plans to offer the testimony of an expert in cellphone and cell tower data to support the claim that Kohberger did not travel east along the main road connecting Pullman and Moscow that night. No trial date has been set yet for the case.