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A Utah judge in the case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk has postponed a decision on whether to find prosecutors in violation of a pretrial publicity order, and, if so, whether to take the death penalty off the table as the remedy.
Instead of deciding on the violation issue during a ruling hearing Monday in the case against Tyler Robinson, district court Judge Tony Graf set a Friday morning hearing to address it.
Also at Monday’s hearing, Graf ruled prosecutors will be allowed to present hearsay evidence during Robinson’s preliminary hearing, scheduled to begin next month.
At a hearing earlier this month, Robinson’s attorneys argued comments made to several media outlets by Christopher Ballard, one of the prosecutors and a spokesperson for the Utah County Attorney’s Office, violated the judge’s order, issued in September and amended in December, prohibiting the parties from making public comments about the case except under certain circumstances.
Robinson’s attorneys asked Graf to remove the death penalty as a possible outcome if he determines prosecutors violated the order and holds them in contempt of court. Robinson faces charges including aggravated murder, felony use of a firearm, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering in the September shooting death of conservative firebrand Kirk.
Robinson has not yet entered pleas. The main remedy Robinson’s defense suggested if prosecutors were held in contempt was for the death penalty to be removed as a possible punishment, should Robinson be convicted.
Other possible penalties for contempt include attending a continuing education program or referral to the state bar association, the defense said. Following the June 12 hearing where defense attorneys argued for a contempt finding, prosecutors filed an objection to the request, calling it grossly disproportionate to the alleged misconduct.
