UT - Kouri Richins, 33, Author, wife, mom, charged in husband’s unexpected death last year, May 2023 #3

[Niner]

Jury selection begins for Kouri Richins, Utah woman accused of poisoning husband

After years of national attention, the Kouri Richins murder case is moving into its next phase.

wjla.com

2/10/2026

I don't believe this is true - from article

Ruth said the court will spend five days collecting and analyzing responses from the questionnaires in an effort to seat 12 jurors and alternates.

I remember when I read it in an article I thought - oh - so it should be 8 jurors & 4 alternates.
Correct?

 

[AnyNameIWish]

The mere fact that jury is being selected virtually is troubling to me. This could be bad for both the state and defense but going thru these people just as faces on a screen???

@arielilane huge thanks for not making me click on those Twitter links as I don't like to use that site at all!!! You're the best.

 

[arielilane]

@brian_schnee


Defense wants to strike juror 5 “for cause.”Judge acknowledges the reasons cited for cause were in the questionnaire.Prosecution says they should be passed thru. Judge cites a code; passes the juror and denied the defenses motion to strike “for cause”.

On to juror #6.
@KUTV2News


12:33 PM · Feb 10, 2026

 

[arielilane]

@brian_schnee


Juror has been “struck for cause”. On to #7 - Who has followed parts of the case via the @Parkrecord (lots of mentions so far this morning).

@KUTV2News


12:50 PM · Feb 10, 2026

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021280616722121055

 

[Niner]

@arielilane - have they said how many strikes each side gets? TIA!

 

[arielilane]

@brian_schnee


Juror #7 has been passed for cause; despite defense asking for the prospective juror to be struck.

On to #8 - Who said “somewhat agree” that the legal system is corrupt on their questionnaire.

Questioning continues about that questionnaire response and others. Prospective juror #8 admitted to seeing some media coverage on the case “a while ago”.

I’ll be stepping out shortly for @KUTV2News at Noon.


1:11 PM · Feb 10, 2026

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021285941646852455

 

[arielilane]

I don't believe this is true - from article

Ruth said the court will spend five days collecting and analyzing responses from the questionnaires in an effort to seat 12 jurors and alternates.

I remember when I read it in an article I thought - oh - so it should be 8 jurors & 4 alternates.
Correct?

You're correct, the search is for eight jurors and four alternates.

Nice catch, @Niner!

 

[arielilane]

@arielilane - have they said how many strikes each side gets? TIA!

I have not been paying too much attention. At this time, an exact number has not been mentioned.





Note: both sides (state and defense) in the KR trial are given limited number of strikes, however, an exact number has not been specified in the available information at this time.

Jury selection process includes dismissing jurors for cause and using these strikes to eliminate potential jurors.

 

[SteveS]

If it's unclear to anyone, eliminating [or striking] jurors for cause is not the same as one side exercising a strike.

As we are seeing, they interview (aka voir dire) the potential jurors, and as they go some are dismissed because they are deemed BY THE COURT to be unsuitable for some legal reason. These are the requests as they go to dismiss Juror X or Y "for cause" -- ie, one side or another is suggesting that they do not meet the legal standard for a juror for this case. Or the judge just unlaterally does it. It may be bias, it may be too much case research, it may be that the juror has potential conflicts, it can be any number of things that are discovered in the questioning. Whatever it is, one party is wanting the court to exercise its latitude and eliminate that potential juror. The judge makes the call, and there is NO LIMIT on how many jurors can be eliminated for cause.

Eventually they will get up to 30 or so that are deemed legally acceptable to be jurors in this case by the court.

After that, the 2 sides will be able to strike jurors, and assuming they do it like here, they will start with Juror 1, each side will be able to strike him/her if they wish, and each side can continue to strike jurors up to a certain number of allowable strikes each side has been given. When they have the first 12 who were not struck, they have their jury. In my math, that gives each side 9 or so strikes, but whether either side uses all 9 is up to them.

Hope that helps.

 

[cujenn81]

@livkellehernews


1700 jury surveys were returned - the prosecution and defense have called about 250 people to be questioned over the next five days.

The 23 page, 99 question survey asked specific granular questions about potential knowledge of the case, connections to anyone involved in the case, social media activity, news consumption and more.

The question that stood out most to me: what bumper stickers do you have on your car?


11:09 AM · Feb 10, 2026

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021255271520272848

23 pages?! Man, that seems a bit excessive.

OTOH, please let KR do whatever she feels necessary because I don’t want to see her trying to appeal a conviction later because she didn’t get to ask as many questions as she wanted.

 

[Seattle1]

Conducting voir dire remotely was long ago decided in Feb 2025-- along with conducting the trial in Summit County by jurors from the same.

Last week, the Judge again denied the Defense's Motion to change the venue.

Also, confirming 8 jurors and 4 alternates will be selected for this trial.

In their order Feb. 18, however, justices sided with 3rd District Presiding Judge Laura Scott who previously denied the in-person selection request.

And the five-page decision also says Utah law does not allow multi-county juries.

The Utah Supreme Court says it will issue a formal opinion at a later date. It issued its order as soon as possible because the murder trial is two months away.

High court rejects jury selection appeal in Kouri Richins murder trial

The Utah Supreme Court says jurors will only come from Summit County and will be selected via video conferencing.

www.kpcw.org

Summit County prepares for jury selection in Kouri Richins trial - Park Record

About 250 Summit County residents will soon learn whether they’ve been summoned for jury selection in the murder trial of Kouri Richins, where just 12 will be seated for almost five weeks of proceedings. Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik met with the prosecutors and defense attorneys on...

www.parkrecord.com

2/2/26

About 250 Summit County residents will soon learn whether they’ve been summoned for jury selection in the murder trial of Kouri Richins, where just 12 will be seated for almost five weeks of proceedings.

Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik met with the prosecutors and defense attorneys on Monday morning to determine which potential jurors would not be summoned. The court’s jury team plans to notify residents this week if they need to appear. Jury selection is set to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 10, and could last six days. Witness testimony and evidence will be presented starting on Feb. 23.

[..]

Monday’s hearing focused on striking potential jurors “for cause,” such as bias or a close familiarity with a key person connected to the case. From the original pool of 449, about 250 people will be summoned.

Around 40 people will be called each day for voir dire in the morning and afternoon. They’ll be asked questions from a court-approved list. Ultimately, eight jurors and four alternates will be chosen.

https://www.abc4.com/richins/judge-denies-change-of-venue-kouri-richins-again/

2/2/26

 

[arielilane]

Side note: Jury selection is fascinating.

Many, if not most prospective jurors have mentioned hearing about the case “a while ago” but couldn’t provide a lot of specifics other than the headlines.




I’m back in the courtroom after two live hits on KUTV.

We are on to prospective juror #18. No lunch break… still working to make it through the morning group.

Roughly 6 people have been passed on/struck for cause.

@brian_schnee

 

[arielilane]

“I don’t trust me the media, 100%.” - Prospective juror

I was waiting for that one

Back to the important stuff; we’re on prospective juror 21.

Kouri has since put on a light grey sweater and is seated between two members of her defense team.

Only 6-7 members of the media still in the courtroom.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021311525718278516

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021321168570155414

 

[arielilane]

Quick 15 minute break to prepare for afternoon session; this includes a brief lunch break for Kouri Richins.

25 prospective jurors interviewed. Expecting court to be back in session just after 2PM.

Jury instructions on the juror questionnaire including the court order. There were a few prospective jurors who violated that order by “looking up” the case.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021326743387373734

 

[arielilane]

@brian_schnee


Back in the courtroom; which has been underway for a few minutes after the break

We’re officially on the second list of prospective jurors.

We need 24 prospective jurors to move on from Voir Dire (questioning) and challenging portion. Not there yet!
@KUTV2News


4:39 PM · Feb 10, 2026

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021338222463418585

 

[Seattle1]

2/10/26

The selection process includes striking jurors for cause, meaning they are dismissed due to clear conflicts or limitations.

“Meaning if there’s a scheduling issue or it’s just a blatant, like you have a hearing loss or a blatant bias, you know someone involved in the case, you’ll be struck, and you’ll be released to go home,” Ruth said.

Beyond that, each side is also given a limited number of strikes set by the judge.

“There’s a lot going into the selection process, not just of, is this a non-biased juror? But they’re thinking small group dynamics,” Ruth said. “A good prosecutor is going to be looking to get a group of humans together that looks like they could be cohesive in their decision-making. Whereas defense is going to look for people that might be willing to stand on their own a little and challenge the norms.”

Ruth said the five-day timeline is typical for jury selection in a case of this size.

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021356138915385789

 

[arielilane]

Peremptory Challenges (if any) from defense/prosecution. Then widdling down 24 to 8 seated with 4 alternates.


6:06 PM · Feb 10, 2026

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021360257566715949

 

[Seattle1]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021272210137399653

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021255268655616437

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021255271520272848