Kohberger’s public defenders had argued that a grand jury seated by prosecutors improperly indicted him on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. They contended that Idaho law left open the idea that grand jurors must reach the higher legal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt — the same as at trial to convict a defendant — rather than the longstanding threshold of probable cause to indict.

In the one-page Supreme Court ruling issued Tuesday afternoon, the justices offered no legal rationale for their denial of the motion to appeal from Kohberger’s attorneys. The document was signed by Melanie Gagnepain, clerk of the Idaho Supreme Court.