Tyler Robinson's defense accused of ambushing prosecution at hearing
Former prosecutor Joshua Ritter and criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno discuss the hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, and the arguments presented in court on 'The Story.’
Erika Kirk is seeking a speedy trial in response to perceived delay tactics from the legal team representing her husband's accused assassin, Tyler Robinson.
In a court filing made public over the weekend, her attorney, Jeffrey Neiman, notified the court that she is invoking her rights to a speedy trial as a victim under Utah law.
"The Utah Code affords victims of a crime ‘the right to a speedy disposition of the charges free from unwarranted delay caused by or at the behest of the defendant,’" Neiman wrote in a court filing.
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Erika Kirk speaks onstage during The New York Times DealBook Summit 2025 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Dec. 3, 2025, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images for The New York Times)
"This Court is tasked with the critically important function of ensuring the Defendant has a fair trial, but this Court must also do so while balancing Mrs. Kirk’s right to a speedy trial and therefore this Notice invokes Mrs. Kirk’s rights under applicable Utah Code."
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Read the filing:
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Robinson is accused of shooting Charlie Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in September.
Kirk, who founded the organization, was sitting under a tent in the campus courtyard, speaking with audience members, when a sniper's bullet struck him in the neck, sending thousands of people running for cover.
While prosecutors said Friday they'd completed about 90% of the discovery process, Robinson hasn't entered a plea yet or faced a preliminary hearing — a crucial early step in Utah's legal process where prosecutors have to convince the judge they have probable cause to bring charges.
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Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah on Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via Pool)
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Even so, the filing may be premature, according to Donna Rotunno, a Chicago-based defense attorney and Fox News contributor.
"I don’t really think this applies, but it is a very good strategic move to put the judge on notice that everyone is watching," she told Fox News Digital Monday.
Utah is one of a few states that has such a provision, although the Constitution gives defendants their own right to a speedy trial — something that can be waived in major cases requiring large amounts of legal research and maneuvering in court.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk is pictured with his wife Erika Kirk on stage at an event earlier this year in Phoenix. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
"Nobody believed in the importance of the United States Constitution more than Charlie Kirk," Neiman wrote. "And although the United States Constitution guarantees criminal defendants many rights, it does not guarantee them the right to cause undue delay in the criminal justice process."
Robinson is due back in court on Feb. 3 for the second day of a hearing on his defense team's motion to kick the local prosecutor off the case. Many legal analysts, including Rotunno, have called it "frivolous."
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Prosecutors have denied an alleged conflict of interest over the fact that a deputy in the county attorney's office had an adult child who was in the crowd when Kirk was murdered.
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