It has been more than a year since Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on the campus of a Utah university. The only suspect in his killing turned himself in and was arrested two days later.
Last month, after months of delays and fake controversies by the defense team, the judge finally determined the case would go to trial and Robinson entered a plea of not guilty.
District Judge Tony Graf issued the decision after a day of arguments in a probable cause hearing. Prosecutors argued there was enough evidence against Tyler Robinson to proceed with the case, while defense attorneys maintained that the evidence was insufficient...
Robinson’s defense attorney then entered pleas of not guilty on all counts on his behalf. The next court date was set for Oct. 23.
That it took a full year to get to a plea in this case is ridiculous. Judge Tony Graf then asked both sides to estimate when they will be ready for trial and how long the trial will last. The next court date set for tomorrow is when he's supposed to decide about the trial's start date. But already both sides have submitted their briefs. And the bottom line is that a trial probably won't happen in 2027.
Earlier this month, 4th District Judge Tony Graf issued an order for prosecutors and defense attorneys to be prepared for the hearing by establishing a non-binding timeline for Robinson's case, including how long they anticipate they will need to prepare for trial, how many days they expect a trial will last and when they will be ready to start the trial.
Both sides filed their memorandums late Wednesday night.
The Utah County Attorney's Office anticipates a 17-week trial. And even though prosecutors believe they will be ready to go a year from now, they don't believe starting a lengthy trial right before Thanksgiving and Christmas would be wise.
"The state therefore proposes that the court schedule the trial to begin January 31, 2028," according to their memorandum.
So prosecutors are arguing for 2028 but the defense says it needs an additional year.
"From the point of view of defense counsel, appointment to a capital case brings with it a slew of responsibilities that apply in no other context," the defense memorandum states.
Robinson's attorneys say they must review all aggravating and mitigating evidence. And because it is anticipated that there is still evidence being processed that neither side has received yet, it's impossible to set a firm trial date now...
In addition, seating a jury in this case "will require extraordinary efforts," the defense contends. "The high-profile nature of Mr. Robinson's case presents extra challenges and it is particularly relevant in all stages of the jury selection process."
The defense team does not anticipate sending out jury questionnaires until the second quarter of 2029.
That's right, the defense says it needs 2 1/2 more years to prepare for this case after already spending a full year on it. And that's if the defense doesn't request a change of venue which could add more months to this timeline.
I suspect what's happening here is another lame attempt by the defense to take the death penalty off the table. If they make this case drag on long enough, maybe the prosecutors will agree to a plea deal just to get this over with.
The defense is once again demanding that a photographer not be allowed into the courtroom during the hearing tomorrow. Why? Because photos of Tyler Robinson might prejudice a jury.
"Still photography captures momentary expressions and gestures. Absent context, photographs potentially convey misleading impressions. In this case, media and public commentators frequently scrutinize Mr. Robinson's expressions for purported signs of his character. Dissemination of these photographs risks reinforcing existing prejudicial perceptions of Mr. Robinson and his defense, without meaningfully informing the public about the substance of the proceeding," the defense argued.
People might see him, is a weird argument. I suspect Judge Graf is going to bat this down like he has most of the other defense requests to keep cameras out of the courtroom. We'll find out tomorrow.
