Summit County prosecutors and Kouri Richins’ defense attorneys are asking the Utah Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that prevents them from drawing prospective jurors from Salt Lake County and conducting jury selection in person.The 198-page joint petition was filed on Dec. 17 by the Summit County Attorney’s Office and lawyers representing the Kamas mother of three charged with fatally poisoning her husband, Eric Richins. The parties also filed for expedited review given the trial timeline.Defense attorneys Wendy Lewis and Kathy Nester informed Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik earlier this month that they planned to ask the state’s highest court to overrule Third District Court Presiding Judge Laura Scott’s decision. They argued the extreme media attention and publicity in the case warrants special circumstances, such as not holding jury selection online. Mrazik agreed.However, Scott in November said the two sides failed to show there are “extraordinary circumstances” that would result in a “manifest of injustice” if jury selection is conducted in person. Her decision superseded Mrazik’s ruling.The County Attorney’s Office and defense team are asking the Utah Supreme Court to grant their request, which would effectively allow Mrazik to allow for in-person jury selection. “This ruling is an abuse of discretion, which significantly impairs the ability of the trial judge and the parties to seat a fair and unbiased jury that will conscientiously perform its duty,” the court filing said.The lawyers also want the jury pool to be expanded to Salt Lake County in hopes of diversifying the pool. Mrazik said earlier this month he was unfamiliar with any other cases in Utah that have pulled jurors from two counties.The appellant group representing Kouri Richins and attorneys for the state are asking for a decision to be made by February. Mrazik scheduled a four-week jury trial to begin in late April. Before that, the Third District Court will send out questionnaires to potential jurors. That’s also supposed to happen by the end of February so jury selection can begin on April 22. That process is expected to take four days. Then, the trial would take place during the weeks of April 28 and May 5, 12 and 19. The jury could also decide it wants to deliberate through Memorial Day week. “Because of the challenging [sic] of clearing a court calendar for four weeks, and because Kouri has been incarcerated for 18 months, the parties do not want to move the trial,” a joint motion for expedited review stated. “However, the parties are concerned about their ability to empanel an impartial jury in a timely manner now that they are now allowed to hold in-person voir dire or to expand the venire to Salt Lake County.”Mrazik said during a Dec. 12 pretrial conference that he supported the appeal, but he warned the parties they “may be swimming upstream on that one.” He also agreed to extend the Kouri Richins trial by another week to accommodate what’s expected to be a robust case featuring extensive testimony and evidence. The next in-person hearing was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 23 to determine what evidence may be excluded from the trial.Kouri faces nine felony charges stemming from the death of her husband, including aggravated murder and attempted criminal homicide. Eric died of a fentanyl overdose in March 2022. Prosecutors allege Kouri poisoned him with a Moscow Mule cocktail laced with fentanyl, and that she attempted to do it a month earlier with a drug-laced sandwich on Valentine’s Day. The County Attorney’s Office said Kouri felt trapped in her marriage and had a financial motive to kill her husband.Kouri Richins and her family have maintained her innocence.The post Utah Supreme Court asked to weigh in on jury selection for Kouri Richins trial appeared first on Park Record.