With no jury present, judge and attorneys wrangle over instructions
May 10, 2023, 6:07 PM | Updated: 11:56 pm
BOISE, Idaho — The Ada County, Idaho, courtroom, which has been the site of the Lori Vallow Daybell murder trial for the past 26 days, held fewer people Wednesday. The jury was not present for the half-day of discussion between Judge Steven Boyce, prosecuting attorney Lindsey A. Blake and defense attorney Jim Archibald.
Judge Boyce, the defense attorney, and the state are discussing jury instructions, beginning with number 11. For the most part, there have been no major objections. #LoriVallowDaybell #LoriVallowDaybellTrial #LoriVallow
— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) May 10, 2023
Lori Vallow Daybell, age 49, is on trial for the murder of her children. The bodies of 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan were found buried when investigators searched Chad Daybell’s backyard in Rexburg, Idaho, on June 9, 202o.
Along with the murders of the children, Chad Daybell, age 54, is accused of the murder of his wife, Tammy Daybell. His trial has not been set.
Click here for complete coverage of the Lori Vallow Daybell trial
The defense and the prosecution both rested their cases this week — the defense doing so because, as they told Judge Boyce, they didn’t believe the prosecution proved their case.
Jury instructions in the Lori Vallow Daybell trial
There are 39 instructions that the jury will be given to consider, and on Wednesday, most of those instructions were reviewed by the judge and attorneys. The jury had the day off.
When the defense challenged a jury instruction, which it did several times, the challenge lay in the wording and whether the instruction led to simplifying an idea or concept for the jury. For example, the defense was concerned that the wording of an instruction may lead the jury to believe they had more options to convict Vallow Daybell than they actually do. Or that the wording may confuse a juror.
For the most part, the jury instructions were acceptable to all sides. One defense objection had to do with Instruction 19, which did not “accurately reflect how my client (Lori Vallow Daybell) was indicted by the grand jury,” Archibald said.
The issue had been brought up the day before and defined as a clerical error contained within the indictment but not the charging documents. The defense’s objection was overruled.
… but the charging documents did not. The judge does not see anything to confuse the jury, and overrules the defense objection. #LoriVallowDaybell #LoriVallowDaybellTrial #LoriVallowDaybellTrial
— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) May 10, 2023
The defense also objected to the wording of Instruction 28. It could be solved, Archibald told the judge, by changing the word “and” to “and/or” in the instruction.
The judge agreed to amend this instruction slightly.
Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday morning.
