Portions of Chad Daybell’s Jury Selection Will Be Closed to the Public

An Idaho judge issued a series of orders last week as the start date of Chad Daybell’s trial for the murders of two of his wife’s children and his first wife rapidly approaches.

Daybell’s trial is set to begin on April 1 in Ada County, Idaho, where Lori Vallow Daybell was convicted last year on the same charges, as CrimeOnline has reported. Vallow Daybell was sentenced to three life sentences without parole but is now in Arizona awaiting trial on conspiracy charges in the murder of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and the attempted murder of her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux.

031524-Order-1 by kc wildmoon on Scribd

Several of Judge Steven Boyce’s orders, issued on Thursday, related to sealing exhibits and other items. Most critically, however, was an order that will close and seal some of the jury selection process.

“The Court finds that portions of juror voir dire — particularly individualized questioning of jurors — will be so probing that it could frustrate the purpose of questioning by publicly disclosing such sensitive personal information of prospective jurors,” Boyce wrote in ruling that individual questioning of jurors, outside the presence of other potential jurors, would be closed to the public.

Other portions of juror questioning will be open to the public, based on available seating, although no audio or video recording of potential jurors will be allowed.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.