Tyler Robinson’s lawyers urged a Utah judge to close a July pretrial hearing to the public, alleging it could harm his ability to have a fair murder trial for allegedly killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk.One of Robinson’s lawyers, Staci Visser, argued to Judge Tony Graf that the preliminary hearing, scheduled for July 6-10, should be held behind closed doors, expressing concern that evidence presented could be reported widely by the media and possibly taint the jury pool for the murder trial. Earlier this month, Graf denied a bid by Robinson’s lawyers to ban cameras from the courtroom during the trial.“Our goal here is to prevent that from happening by avoiding publication of evidence before there has been admissibility determinations,” Visser argued before the court.
Visser proposed that the court close the July hearing and provide a transcript that includes only evidence deemed inadmissible for the trial.
“That’s the only way we see that we can protect our clients’ right to a fair trial and avoid evidence getting out that potentially is going to be challenged in the future and may not ultimately be used or admissible at trial,” Visser said.
Graf appeared skeptical of Visser’s proposal, questioning whether her proposal is overbroad rather than narrowly tailored to balance access and protect Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
