The presiding judge in the case against Tyler Robinson, accused of assassinating conservative icon Charlie Kirk last September, ruled that county prosecutors can remain on the case after a challenge by defense attorneys.
Judge Tony Graf said the court was “unpersuaded” that there was an “appearance of bias.”
Robinson’s defense team had argued that the state has a conflict of interest since one of the prosecutors’ children was present at the Sept. 10 event at Utah Valley University where Kirk was killed.
“Because defendant has not established a factual basis for a finding of conflict of interest or an objective appearance of impropriety, rising to a constitutional concern, his motion is respectfully denied,” Graf said.
There have been two prior hearings on the matter.
On Feb. 3, defense attorney Richard Novak questioned Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray in order to pinpoint when the prosecution determined it would pursue the death penalty against Robinson, which was publicly announced shortly after his arrest.
The court then heard testimony from an unnamed senior prosecutor, identified only as “Prosecutor A,” who described the office’s internal handling of the case and the decision to disclose the child’s presence to the defense.
The prosecutor testified there was no recollection of a specific conversation with Gray about how to proceed because of the child’s presence, but acknowledged it was routine for Gray to consult senior prosecutors in death penalty cases.
A PROSECUTOR’S CHILD WITNESSED CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION — CAN HE TAKE PART IN THE CASE?
The prosecutor testified Gray expressed early on that he intended to seek the death penalty and wanted that decision announced at the same time charges were filed — earlier than is typical, when such notices often come after a preliminary hearing.
The state’s position remained that there was no conflict of interest with the prosecutor whose child witnessed the shooting, but even if there was, it wouldn’t affect the entire prosecutorial team. The state argued in previous filings that thousands of other people witnessed the shooting and that the child in question did not have a direct line of sight to the shooter.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Graf said that defense attorneys did not prove that the issue is limiting Robinson’s due process.
“In sum, the defendant has not shown that there is a significant risk that Mr. Gray’s loyalty to his daughter has or will materially limit representation of the state. Nor has defendant demonstrated that his due process rights are compromised by the continued prosecution of this case by the Utah County Attorney’s Office,” he said.
President Trump’s guest at the State of the Union will be Erika Kirk, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 13.
Fox News’ Stepheny Price, Adriana James-Rodl, Adam Sabes, Julia Bonavita and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
