SALT LAKE CITY — The individual accused of the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus is set to return to court on Friday. At this session, a state judge will consider whether to make certain documents and proceedings accessible to the public.
This decision will pave the way for an April hearing where Tyler Robinson’s legal team plans to argue for the exclusion of TV cameras, microphones, and photographers from the courtroom.
Judge Tony Graf is currently balancing public transparency with the defense’s concerns that intense media scrutiny could potentially jeopardize Robinson’s right to a fair trial. Advocates for keeping the proceedings open include prosecutors, Kirk’s widow, and attorneys representing media outlets.
The prosecution is pursuing the death penalty against Robinson, 22, who faces charges of aggravated murder for the September 10 shooting of the conservative activist at Utah Valley University in Orem. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
On Friday, attorneys are anticipated to discuss whether the defense’s confidential written motion to exclude media should be disclosed to the public.
The judge will also decide if the upcoming April 17 hearing should be fully open or partially closed. Robinson’s legal team contends that parts of the hearing should remain private to prevent the re-circulation of misleading information, which they claim has been spread by the media and government sources.
Media access has been a focal point of several recent hearings, with the judge placing temporary restrictions on local TV stations for showing Robinson’s shackles in violation of a court order and filming close-up shots that might allow viewers to interpret what he was discussing with his attorneys.
The judge also has prevented full video recordings of Kirk’s shooting from being shown in court after defense attorneys argued the graphic footage would interfere with a fair trial. An estimated 3,000 people attended the outdoor rally to hear Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA who helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors have said DNA evidence connects Robinson to the killing.
At the latest hearing, in February, the judge declined to disqualify the local county attorney’s office from prosecuting the case after the defense argued there was a conflict of interest because a prosecutor’s daughter was present when Kirk was shot.
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