Kohberger Attorney Anne Taylor previously represented victim family members - Attorney Analysis

Various voices in the media have asserted that Anne Taylor, Brian Kohberger's court-appointed public defender, has a conflict of interest because she, and/or staff attorneys at the Kootenai County Public Defender's office, previously represented the mother of Xana Kernodle and the father and step-mother of Madison Mogen. On December 30, 2022, the Latah County District Court ordered Ms. Taylor to represent Brian Kohberger. On January 5, 2023, Ms. Taylor withdrew from representing Cara Kernodle in Kootenai County against pending drug possession charges in place of a conflict public defender. I have seen a variety of opinions suggesting that this was improper or unethical, as well as concerns that her role in the case could create issues for appeal. So, in this series, we're going to look at the Idaho law on the subject to walk through these questions.

I'm a practicing appellate criminal defense lawyer, so looking for issues like this to raise in defendants' appeals is exactly what I do professionally. We're going to look at several of the Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct, as well as case law applying them, that spell out exactly what attorneys' obligations are to prospective clients, current clients, and former clients; what conflicts of interest are; and when one attorney's conflict requires the entire office to be disqualified. Additionally, we're going to look at the Sixth Amendment standard of assistance of counsel to evaluate whether Brian Kohberger could win a new trial based on Ms. Taylor's prior representations.

Based on this review, these are the conclusions I've reached that we're going to walk through.

Was there anything wrong with Taylor taking BK's case at the outset? NO.

Does she need to withdraw now? No.

Will BK be able to get a conviction overturned on appeal based on the 6th Amendment? ALMOST CERTAINLY NO.

00:00 Intro
00:34 Background: Anne Taylor's prior representation of Cara Kernodle and the Mogens
01:42 There's lots of opinions about this - which ones are worth your attention?
02:33 My job is to look for appeal arguments for defendants - that's what we'll be doing
03:22 The bottom line: There is no legal problem here
04:15 Warning: We've got a lot to cover, so this'll require more than one video
04:55 First thing we'll be looking at: Rules of Professional Conduct
05:20 RPC 1.18: Duties to prospective clients, like Bryan Kohberger
05:32 RPC 1.7: Conflicts of interest with current clients
06:12 RPC 1.9: Duties to former clients like Cara Kernodle and the Mogens
06:39 To get anywhere in a criminal appeal, we'll need to cover the Sixth Amendment
07:48 We're being thorough because the villainization of Anne Taylor is uncalled for

Hat tip:

Link to article by Idaho attorney Lori Hellis: https://mailchi.mp/7d0f21c483c2/special-edition-bryan-kohberger-lawyer-conflict-of-interest?e=4f66d882f7

Lori Hellis on Twitter: @lorihellis