Note: In the podcast, I interview Mark Esquibel about his experiences in Ada County Court on Friday May 23, 2025.
It took less than a week for me to get in trouble with the head judge in Ada County: Judge Steven Hippler.
I have been court watching and reporting from Idaho all week, and I, along with Mark Esquibel who joined me on many of these excursions, are already barred from bringing cell phones or other devices into the courthouse.
Judge Steven Hippler- who wrote the notice- is the Administrative Judge in Ada County; he assigns cases, and he assigned himself the Bryan Kohberger murder trial.
He also banned me and Mark from bringing cell phones and other recording devices over a purported violation against unauthorized video and audio recording.
Neither of us recorded anything, however, I did take photos inside the courthouse for an article on a notorious judge: Magistrate Diane Walker. Some of those are below.
Bailiffs and court staff were around when I took these photos. I didn’t hide it, and at no time, did anyone tell me that this was not allowed.
Today- Friday May 23, 2025- Mark Esquibel went to court by himself. It was a very big day. Magistrate Diane Walker was holding a child custody trial. Magistrate Walker is known for giving kids to abusers, so this was shaping up to be a day of fireworks.
There were fireworks, only not what we expected. As Mark was about to head into the courtroom, he took some photos outside of Magistrate Walker’s courtroom, 406.
That’s when he was stopped an “aggressive” bailiff who followed him to the administrative office, which is also on the fourth floor.
From there, Mark was interrogated like he’d committed a crime.
Ironically, Mark was being questioned over things I did.'
Someone at the Ada County Court caught wind of my articles and instituted a rule no one was aware of.
Due to the photos I took on Monday, Mark was detained for about an hour. He missed the trial.
Both he and I were ordered not to have cell phones or other recording devices in the courthouse.
Mark said multiple Sheriff’s Deputies took turns interrogating him about his plans.
He was finally released but told to hand his cell phone to the bailiff if he wanted to watch any hearing.
He was able to catch Magistrate Walker in action later in the day.
In the hearing he watched, two parents with a fourteen- and sixteen-year-old were arguing over a modification of custody.
Dad lives in Idaho while mom lives in West Virginia.
Mom had disappeared for years while dad was found guilty of child {physical} abuse.
Neither was a perfect parent.
According to what Mark witnessed, the daughter wanted to live with her mother, and the father agreed.
But the father did not want his son to live with his mother, and Mark said from testimony that the son also wanted to stay in Idaho.
Interestingly, the mother appeared virtually, and Mark witnessed her in a moving car- not driving- smoking a vape and drinking red bull.
Mark said the mother was also communicating with someone else in the car.
Mark noticed, but Magistrate Walker did not.
Magistrate Walker has yet to rule on the fate of the son.
Mark also sent me the following after the interview.
One last thing I forgot, Walker was going to meet with the son privately without her robe or parents or counsel to see where he wants to live
She was going to meet with the daughter privately over zoom, but the parents agreed to that modification of the order, so no need to meet with the daughter...
It’s worth noting that on Monday we were barred from all of Magistrate Walker’s hearings under the dubious reasoning that minors were involved.
Over the course of the week, we sat in on numerous hearings involving minors, including the one Mark witnessed.
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