Mega Edition: Let's Meet Judge Hippler (8/29/26)

Judge Steven J. Hippler is an Idaho district judge who has served on the Fourth Judicial District bench since 2013. A Boise native, Hippler earned his undergraduate degree from Boise State University before graduating from the University of Utah College of Law in 1991, where he finished near the top of his class and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Before becoming a judge, he spent more than two decades in private practice, eventually becoming a partner at Givens Pursley after previously working at Hall Farley Oberrecht & Blanton. His practice focused heavily on civil litigation, particularly medical malpractice, health care law, regulatory disputes and business litigation, representing doctors, hospitals and other medical providers. Then-Gov. Butch Otter appointed him to a newly created Fourth Judicial District judgeship in 2013, describing him at the time as an experienced and highly capable litigator. Hippler later handled both civil and felony criminal dockets, presided over Ada County’s Mental Health Court and rose into an administrative leadership role within the Fourth Judicial District.

Hippler became nationally known when the Bryan Kohberger case was transferred from Latah County to Ada County in 2024 and he took over from Judge John Judge. From the beginning, Hippler developed a reputation for running a tightly controlled courtroom, setting firm deadlines and making clear that he expected lawyers on both sides to be prepared and professional. He presided over the enormous volume of pretrial litigation involving the death penalty, expert witnesses, evidentiary disputes, discovery, media access and trial scheduling before Kohberger ultimately pleaded guilty in 2025. Hippler then accepted the plea and sentenced Kohberger to four consecutive life sentences without parole, plus additional punishment for burglary. He remains involved in Kohberger’s subsequent attempt to undo those pleas, including establishing the procedural framework for the post-conviction challenge and a possible evidentiary hearing in 2027. His role in the case has made him one of the most visible judges in Idaho, but his background is notable because he did not come to the bench as a career prosecutor or criminal-defense attorney; much of his pre-judicial experience came from complex civil litigation, and colleagues have described his approach on the bench as methodical, demanding and decidedly resistant to surprises.


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