Tyler Robinson doesn't anticipate trial until 2029

PROVO — Tyler Robinson's defense team says in order to properly prepare for their client's capital case, they don't anticipate going to trial for three more years, and that a trial will run up to seven months once it begins.

In their latest memorandum, defense attorneys provided their view of how they believe the case will proceed over the next several months, including "a necessarily speculative approximation of when, based upon the current status of this case the court might consider targeting the start of a capital trial, the third quarter of 2029, and counsel's best assessment of the length of time required for each phase of a capital trial and the total length of that trial, which Mr. Robinson's counsel estimate to be six to seven months."

In September, Robinson, 23, was bound over to stand trial on seven charges including aggravated murder for allegedly shooting conservative political activist Charlie Kirk on the campus at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, during a Turning Point USA rally. He faces a possible death sentence if convicted.

Following his arraignment, in which Robinson entered "not guilty" pleas to all counts, a pre-trial conference was scheduled for this coming Friday. 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.

Robinson, however, anticipates a much later starting date based on the motions he intends to file between now and early 2027, the amount of evidence attorneys still need to review, and the anticipated complexities of picking a jury.

"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.

"It will create unrealistic expectations for the public and the victim's representative, it may cause counsel for both parties to give short shrift to constitutionally required activities, it may rush this court to deliberate upon and enter rulings on important and complex pretrial motions, and it may jeopardize Mr. Robinson's right to a capital proceeding that has the utmost reliability," the defense states.

"It is also very likely that Mr. Robinson will have to exercise his independent pretrial subpoena power to obtain a wide range of discoverable documents now known to be in the possession of Utah Valley University and its agents," the memorandum continues.

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.

On top of that, Robinson says he is still considering whether to file a motion for a change of venue.

"The court has acknowledged that it may be necessary to consider whether Mr. Robinson can obtain a fair trial within this district. Of course, that is not to suggest that the Court has prejudged that question in any way. However, to be clear, Mr. Robinson does intend to undertake a venue study and, depending upon the results of that study, may move this court for an order changing the venue for Mr. Robinson's capital trial," the defense memorandum states.

All sides will meet on Friday in Graf's courtroom to discuss case scheduling.

Also this week, Graf denied Robinson's request to not allow a Deseret News photographer to take pictures during Friday's hearing, once again claiming it would potentially violate their client's right to a fair trial.

In their motion to exclude photojournalists, Robinson's defense team contends that even though Friday's hearing "is largely administrative in nature" and "it is not anticipated that there will be witnesses or live testimony," they believe taking pictures of their client's facial expressions may prejudice a future jury pool.

"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.

News photographers are already required to take pictures from the courtroom gallery, behind where Robinson and his defense team sit, because of an existing decorum order.

Friday's hearing will not be livestreamed due to no TV news outlets submitting a request to broadcast. Graf, however, will allow Erika Kirk to attend the hearing remotely.

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