Brian Kohberger's fight to unseat a judge he called "the worst of the worst" has called his integrity into question.

New attorney Brian Kohberger accuses prosecutor Latah of dodging key arguments in his motion to disqualify Judge Steven Hippler from the case.

Prosecutors withdraw plea to Brian Kuhberger in killing Idaho schoolgirls

Idaho prosecutors are asking a judge to throw out murder suspect Brian Kohberger's attempt to recant his confession, calling defense arguments a fishing trip. Former federal prosecutor Jonathan Fahey joins to examine the latest legal maneuvers, the strength of the state's case and what lies ahead for victims' families in the high-profile trial.

Brian Kohberger's new attorney is withdrawing from the post-conviction process in his fight to fire a judge who called his client a "faceless coward."

Court-appointed attorney Greg Rausch accuses Latta County prosecutors of "rolling back" the rules instead of addressing the concerns raised in his request to disqualify Judge Steven Hippler from the case.

Hippler said Kohberger, 31, "slid up" to the victims' homes before committing the crime that made him the "worst of the worst" after the killer pleaded guilty last year.

According to Rauch, the issue "is that [Hipler's] statements about counsel's preparation and [Kuhberger's] capacity for honesty, in combination with countless other statements, affect the disputes he may now decide."

Kuhberger's prosecutors say no as Idaho killer tries to overrule judge who called him a 'faceless coward'.

And the judge, while addressing the fact that there would be no attribution or explanation from Hillburger, also questioned whether Hillburger even had the ability to say anything honest.

"Even if I could make him talk, which I legally can't, how can anyone be sure what he's saying is the truth?" Hippler asked during the sentencing. "Are we really to believe that after all this, he can tell the truth, or give up something of himself to help the people whose lives he has ruined? Instead, I suspect that so-called reason is lost in seducing self-righteousness and exaggerating false statements, making people look for more information, more insight, and therefore more power."

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Rauch wrote that "of course" judges can deny defense pleas, "convict heinous crimes" and continue to preside over post-conviction cases.

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"The question is not whether one might criticize the court, but whether an informed and reasonable observer could question its impartiality in light of this relevant precedent," he wrote.

And it's not just that Hippler broke Kuhberger at the time of sentencing. He also defied a June scheduling order days before Kohburger surprised the nation by pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty.

"This proposal does not rely on a dissenting ruling, a strong statement, or the mere fact that the judge who presided over Brian Kohberger's criminal case was assigned to him. The post-conviction process relies on the extraordinary convergence of all of them," Rauch wrote in his Aug. 27 initial 22-page letter.

Hippler had denied a request for more time for Kohberger's previous defense attorney, Anne Taylor, and in a June 26 order described her discovery complaint as "absolutely absurd" while saying she was simply trying to delay his trial.

Idaho prosecutors accused Brian Kohberger of "fishing" for better reasons to withdraw his guilty plea.

Six days later, at a change of plea hearing, Hippler asked Taylor, "Have you been able to do all the discovery that you need to?"

Brian Kuehberger waived his right to appeal but plans to pursue post-conviction relief.

Prosecutors, in a motion filed earlier this month in opposition, wrote that Kohberger had failed to show Hippler was "biased."

Retired Latta County District Attorney Bill Thompson, who announced his retirement earlier this week, and Deputy District Attorney Keith Scholl wrote that Hippler's comments about Kuehberger after pleading guilty to killing four students were not unusual or out of line.

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"In our case, the sentencing statements are insufficient to show bias, and a showing of perceived bias cannot be tied to this court's capacity to fairly adjudicate any claims asserted in this case, but best placed this court in a position to adjudicate them as intended by the legislature and the rules of the Idaho Supreme Court," they write.

The psychologist argues that the offer of leniency was triggered after Brian Kohberger's conviction by an incomplete plea agreement

Rach also argued that Hippler could voluntarily recuse herself from the case to avoid any appearance of bias.

In the new 12-page filing, Rauch also argued that prosecutors attributed privileges to his client that were never made, mischaracterized his original plea and failed to address some of the arguments he made in it.

"The government's response by reiterating the normal rule, making concessions that petitioner never made, or trivializing the disputed statements does not resolve this petition," Rauch wrote.

Kuehberger is trying to recant his confession in the November 2022 murder of a University of Idaho student who killed Madison Maughen, 21, Kylie Gonclos, 21, Zanna Kernodel, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

The former criminology Ph.D. student first filed a handwritten petition for post-conviction relief in July.

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Rauch was later appointed to represent her and has until Jan. 13, 2027, to file an amended petition that is expected to go much deeper than Kehberger's.

"A request for an impartial judge is certainly not a request for a sympathetic arbitrator," he wrote. "It changes the judge's appointment, not the evidence or the governing law."

A meeting on the matter was scheduled to take place on Thursday, before Hippler abruptly canceled it, saying it would be scheduled later.

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