Prosecutors are set to begin presenting their case Monday against the man charged with assassinating Charlie Kirk, almost 10 months after the conservative activist was shot and killed.
The goal of the weeklong preliminary hearing in Provo, Utah, is simple: to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to move the case to trial against Tyler Robinson.
Judge Tony Graf will determine if there is probable cause to allow the case to proceed.
Robinson has yet to enter a plea, and his defense team has given few clues as to its strategy aside from attempting to bog down the case with procedural challenges.
The hearing may reveal whether his lawyers will concede Robinson was the shooter or if they’ll fight mountains of evidence tying him to the killing.
Just minutes into the mini-trial, Robinson’s legal team invoked the “exclusionary rule,” which is a key principle in U.S. criminal procedure.
It generally prevents the government (prosecutors) from using evidence in a criminal trial or hearing if that evidence was obtained in violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights—most often under the Fourth Amendment (unreasonable searches and seizures), but also the Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination, Miranda rights) or Sixth Amendment (right to counsel).
In the context of the Robinson case preliminary hearing, the defense is likely arguing that certain evidence — physical items, statements, forensic results, etc. — should be kept out due to alleged constitutional violations by law enforcement.
The judge will decide based on the facts presented at the hearing.
This is a standard defense tactic to challenge the admissibility of key prosecution evidence early on.
Prosecutors will present surveillance videos, autopsy findings, and witness statements.
Prosecutors will also play a video interview with Robinson’s former roommate and lover, Lance Twiggs, that may clarify the defendant’s motive.
Court papers show Twiggs has been given immunity.
In the courtroom Monday morning was Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika.
At Kirk’s packed memorial service last year, Erika Kirk told the crowd she had forgiven her husband’s killer “because it was what Christ did,” but still wanted him held accountable by the justice system.
Investigators say Robinson targeted one of the country’s most influential conservatives, Charlie Kirk, because of Kirk’s “political expression.”
Authorities released text messages between Robinson and his roommate where he confesses to killing Charlie Kirk, saying, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Robinson’s family recognized him in surveillance images released by investigators and made arrangements for him to turn himself in.
He has been in jail since then and is expected to be in the courtroom all this week.
According to Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor and former federal judge, the proceedings will also address issues related to the state’s pursuit of the death penalty.
“This seems like the proverbial slam dunk at this stage of the case, where the only issue is whether there is a sound basis for moving forward with a trial on the merits,” Cassell told the Associated Press.
Under Utah law, prosecutors may seek the death penalty only if they can establish that a crime involved one or more statutory aggravating circumstances.
If convicted and sentenced to death, Robinson could be executed by either lethal injection or a firing squad, the two methods authorized under Utah law.
According to the Associated Press, the state plans to present DNA evidence allegedly linking Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, along with testimony from investigators, autopsy results, witness accounts, and video footage of the fatal shooting.
At the preliminary hearing, prosecutors need not present their full case and may rely on hearsay evidence generally inadmissible at trial.
Once the hearing concludes, 2nd District Judge Tony Graf will decide whether prosecutors have established probable cause for the case to proceed to trial.
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