Judge dismisses attempt to disqualify prosecution in Kouri Richins murder case

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- More than a year after Kouri Richins' arrest for allegedly poisoning her husband, the murder case is finally moving toward a preliminary hearing after a judge dismissed a motion seeking to disqualify the prosecution on Thursday.

The motion sought to disqualify the prosecution due to an allegation that prosecutors violated Richins' Sixth Amendment rights by intruding on attorney-client privileges. The concerns rose after jail staff and a prosecutor allegedly accessed phone calls between Richins and her attorney.

However, documents say that after the jail staff member and attorney realized the calls were with an attorney they immediately turned off the recordings and did not hear any privileged information.

For this reason, Judge Richard Mrazik ruled there was no "credible evidence" of an intentional intrusion into the attorney-client privilege and dismissed the motion. The defense provided no opposition during the hearing to the judge's conclusion.