DAY 23 | LIVE UPDATES: Testimony resumes in Lori Vallow Daybell murder case

LIVE UPDATES FROM THE LORI VALLOW DAYBELL TRIAL

8:58 a.m. Boyce says there has been no violation of the exclusionary rule and Hart will testify. Jurors are being brought in.

8:56 a.m. Archibald asks if Hart has communicated with the FBI agent who has been sitting in the courtroom for most of the trial. Hart says no. Archibald asks if prosecutors have relayed any information to Hart about what witnesses have said. Hart says no and on a number of occasions, he’s been asked to leave the room. Hart says he has not spoken with local police about witnesses. Archibald is done questioning.

8:54 a.m. Archibald questioning Hart on behalf of the defense. He asks if, as part of Hart’s job, he reviewed the statements of FBI employees made in the trial. Hart says no. Archibald asks if he coordinated with anyone about what FBI witnesses would say. “Over the past three years, I have met with our FBI analysts, accountants, and reviewed reports but I have not discussed their testimonies in any way.”

8:53 a.m. Smith asks Hart if he has reviewed or read any witness testimony. He says no. She asks if Hart has been part of pre-trial preparation with prosecutors. He says yes but has had no involvement after witnesses testified. Hart says he has not spoken with other witnesses about their testimony and has not read or watched any news stories about the trial. “I have obeyed that order rigorously.”

8:51 a.m. The judge is back. He explains the court has an order in place that prohibits witnesses from reviewing testimony from other witnesses during the trial. Rachel Smith will question Hart. He is a retired FBI agent and now serves at the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy.

8:50 a.m. Boyce needs to have a brief consultation with his staff and leaves the courtroom.

8:48 a.m. Defense objects to pages 2, 5, 7, 15, 43, 46, 72, 73, 75, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84 of the exhibit and says hearsay is contained on each of those pages. Hart is being brought into the courtroom.

8:46 a.m. Jurors will remain outside of the courtroom while defense argues that Hart violated the exclusionary rule. Hart is being brought into the courtroom to answer how much involvement he has had with witnesses during the trial. Lori’s attorneys do not think he should be able to testify. Hart is one of the prosecutors main witnesses.

8:44 a.m. Boyce says he has not made a determination on whether the information on the pages is hearsay. “To the extent there is any hearsay in there, it may not be permissible but the defense would be allowed to cross-examine on those issues.” Boyce will allow the exhibit to go forward.

8:41 a.m. Thomas asks if he can be heard on a motion to reconsider. He says 14 pages contain hearsay from other people who have not testified – Melani Pawlowski and others. He is asking the pages be removed. Smith says they are not hearsay but rather conversations from the defendant.

8:39 a.m. Boyce says after reviewing the exhibit, it can be admitted assuming Hart lays an adequate foundation before showing it to the jury.

8:37 a.m. Smith says the entirety of the lollytime and lori4stlye iCloud accounts have been placed on thumb drives “to ease any concerns the defense may have.” She says the defense received all of these documents in August 2021.

8:36 a.m. John Thomas arguing against the exhibit. Says the defense received the presentation last night around 8 p.m. He lists several pages that he says contain “numerous impermissible hearsay statements from witnesses who have testified already or witnesses who have not been called.” Thomas says this is “far outside what Mr. Hart can testify too.”

8:35 a.m. Smith: “These texts are the defendant’s own words and her conversations with her co-conspirators. The probative value of this significant evidence is unparalleled and Agent Hart has spent hundreds of hours reviewing the iCloud. To ease his testimony and make it easier for the jury, he prepared this summary. Using this summary will aide the jury in questions and making an ultimate decision on this case.”

8:33 a.m. This is the exhibit former FBI agent Doug Hart will use during his testimony. Rachel Smith says with the amended exhibit, headers have been removed along with any slides that could border on argument. The timeline has also been removed. “It is simply representative text in summary from the iCloud. It was cut and pasted directly from what’s already been admitted. The lori4style and lollytime documents have already come in. These items are already in evidence.”

8:31 a.m. Boyce is on the bench. Before jurors are brought in, Boyce says an updated amended exhibit has been prepared by the prosecution for their witness. He will hear argument on it.

8:27 a.m. Attorneys are back at their tables. Waiting on Judge Boyce to enter the courtroom.

8:23 a.m. Lori just walked in with a smile wearing a light blue blouse and navy dress pants. The bailiff is reviewing the courtroom conduct rules – keep your phones off, no eating, etc. If you’d like to read the courtroom conduct order, here it is.

8:19 a.m. The public rows of the courtroom are full this morning. Many people are here for the first time – like the woman next to me from Kentucky. Others have been coming every day since the trial started. The attorneys have all left the courtroom and are likely meeting with Judge Boyce before proceedings begin.

8:15 a.m. It’s day 23 of Lori Vallow Daybell’s murder trial. The prosecution had planned to have former FBI Special Agent Doug Hart on the stand today with a 160-page summary presentation of the case but defense attorneys objected to the exhibit. Boyce agreed with the defense but said if the presentation was reworked, he may allow it in. You can read more about what happened here. Hart could take the stand or another witness could be called. Court will end at noon today.