Chad Daybell’s trial: how court restrictions have changed since Lori Vallow-Daybell trial
ADA COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — Chad Daybell is facing the death penalty in Ada County beginning April 1. He is the man linked to several murders, including the death of his first wife Tammy Daybell.
Next week, prospective jurors will fill out questionnaires for selection.
"The number of jurors that will receive summons to come forth for questionnaires will be in the thousands," Judge Steven Hippler said.
Jury selection is expected to last about a week. Because this is a death penalty case, jurors will undergo different lines of questioning in their initial screenings. They will be required to indicate willingness or unwillingness to convict Daybell to the death penalty if found guilty.
The trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks.
What's changed?
The court has learned a lot about how to regulate media since the trial of Lori Vallow, a co-conspirator in the murders of Tammy Daybell, J.J. Vallow, and Tylee Ryan. While journalists are still prohibited from recording audio and video in court, the trial proceedings will be live-streamed on Local News 8 and through other sources.
"The stream for each session of court will be available on Judge Boyce's YouTube page while that session is active, as per other recent hearings in this case," according to a trial advisory. "The stream will show the judge, counsel tables, and any witnesses called to testify."
If the jury finds Chad Daybell guilty, the court will immediately go into the penalty phase. At that point, the jury will be sequestered or held to prevent exposure to media coverage that could illicit biased judgment. The penalty phase could last as long as two weeks.
General information on the trial is now posted and available in the Ada County website.
