Judge declines to boot cameras from courtroom for Charlie Kirk murder suspect’s trial, delays upcoming hearing

By Andi Babineau, CNN

(CNN) — Cameras will continue to be allowed in the high-profile trial of Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, a judge ruled Friday.

Utah Judge Tony Graf also granted a request to delay Robinson’s preliminary hearing, originally scheduled to begin later this month, after Robinson’s lawyers argued they needed more time to examine DNA analysis of some of the evidence.

Kirk was fatally shot in front of a large crowd during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University last September. After a 30-plus-hour manhunt, Robinson turned himself in to authorities, accompanied by his father and a family friend.

His defense attorneys argued media coverage has been largely prejudicial to Robinson and requested that cameras be excluded from the courtroom. Prosecutors, meanwhile, said keeping them is the best way to combat misinformation about a case centered on the public assassination of the prominent conservative activist.

Robinson appeared virtually from jail with his camera off Friday – a common request from his attorneys for remote hearings.

He has not yet entered pleas for the charges he faces, including aggravated murder, felony use of a firearm, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.

The preliminary hearing is now set to begin July 6, the judge said Friday.

Arguments for and against cameras in court

In his oral ruling, Graf determined “defendant has not shown that a categorical ban on electronic media coverage for all proceedings in this case is allowed by Utah law.”

“No evidence was presented by either party showing a media outlet using live media coverage to educate the public about the progress of the legal proceedings or the justice system as a whole,” Graf said. “This court is not so cynical as to conclude that just because the parties did not present evidence of responsible journalism, none exists.”

The defense team filed for the camera ban back in January and argued during an April hearing that Robinson’s “fair trial rights will be jeopardized” if cameras remain in court because the jury pool could be tainted.

Prosecutors took an opposing stance, with Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander saying: “Mischief lurks in the dark or in secret.”

“Conspiracy theories abound, and the antidote is the actual, real proceedings,” he said during his closing argument.

A coalition of news outlets, including CNN, and Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk were also in favor of keeping the proceedings open to cameras.

Three witnesses were called during the April hearing – two for the defense and one for the prosecution.

The defense witnesses, trial consultant Bryan Edelman and cognitive psychologist Christine Ruva, testified extensively about the reasons they believed media coverage had negatively impacted Robinson’s case so far.

“Speculation and sensationalism,” is how Edelman described the reports he saw, while Ruva said she reviewed “overwhelming anti-defendant” material.

Prosecution witness Cole Christensen, a Utah County Sheriff’s Office Investigator, introduced a report he compiled showing news coverage skewed in many directions, including coverage prejudicial toward Robinson, prosecutors and both Charlie and Erika Kirk.

The defense’s effort to ban cameras stems in part from violations of a decorum order that have occurred over the course of the case so far, including a pool videographer at a December hearing picking up audio of conversations between Robinson and his lawyers and a different videographer in January capturing close-up images of Robinson.

Defense asks to postpone preliminary hearing

Graf postponed Robinson’s preliminary hearing, previously scheduled to begin on May 18, after all four of Robinson’s attorneys told the court in April they felt unprepared to “render effective assistance of counsel” based on the discovery they had received up to that point.

“A defendant’s constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel is no less important at the preliminary hearing than it is at any other stage,” Graf determined.

The judge acknowledged the dates were scheduled last December “as a goal post for the parties,” and to reserve time on the court’s calendar.

“This is defendant’s first request for a continuance, and given the volume of discovery, the request is neither unexpected or unreasonable,” he said Friday.

Among the documents the defense previously said they hadn’t been able to examine is the DNA analysis of some of the evidence, including the rifle Robinson allegedly used to shoot Kirk. They have since received a portion of the DNA reports they requested, according to defense attorney Kathryn Nester.

Prosecutors had argued the full reports are unnecessary for the limited scope of a preliminary hearing, which is to establish enough probable cause to justify the charges Robinson is facing.

In the interest of keeping the case on schedule, prosecutors also later filed a document saying if the court intended to grant the defense’s request and postpone the preliminary hearing because of the incomplete DNA evidence, they would not introduce it at this stage.

The other evidence they plan to introduce – categorized during the hearing as surveillance footage, confessions Robinson allegedly made after the shooting and circumstantial evidence they say connects Robinson to the area – “is more than sufficient to establish probable cause,” the document says.

Prosecutor Ryan McBride also indicated postponing the hearing would delay proceedings by at least six months and violate Erika Kirk’s right to a speedy trial, as the widow of the victim.

Robinson will next appear in court on May 19, when his attorneys will argue to have portions of his preliminary hearing sealed.

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