Tyler Robinson’s appeal request denied by Utah Supreme Court

PROVO — The Utah Supreme Court has denied Tyler Robinson’s request to hear his appeal regarding cameras in the courtroom, seemingly paving the way for Robinson’s preliminary hearing to start on Monday as scheduled.

“This matter is before the court upon a petition for permission to appeal from an interlocutory order,” Utah’s high court stated in its decision Thursday afternoon. “The petition for permission to appeal from an interlocutory order is denied. The motion to stay is deemed moot.”

Robinson had asked the Supreme Court to take a second look at 4th District Judge Tony Graf’s decision allowing electronic media in the courtroom, and to order that the preliminary hearing be put on hold until a decision was made.

Robinson, 23, is accused of shooting and killing political activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. He faces a potential death sentence if convicted. His preliminary hearing starts on Monday and is scheduled to last a week. At a preliminary hearing, a judge decides if there is enough probable cause for a defendant to proceed to trial on the charges levied against that person.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents are expected to attend the hearing.

Robinson’s defense attorneys contend that electronic media coverage of his legal proceedings, and particularly his preliminary hearing, “will create a reasonable likelihood that (their client’s) right to a fair trial will be violated.”

In May, Graf ruled that cameras would be allowed in the courtroom, and again on Tuesday denied Robinson’s efforts to ban electronic media from the preliminary hearing.

“This court has already taken remedial measures to reduce the risk of a ‘reality TV show’ or ‘carnival atmosphere’ in the courtroom by enacting a strong decorum order and regulating the seating of observers and placement of video cameras in the courtroom. There is no doubt that participants in the proceedings will be under pressure during the preliminary hearing, but the presence or absence of cameras in the courtroom will not change the rules of evidence and what is admissible or inadmissible in the record. The court intends to focus the attorneys on the determination of probable cause,” Graf stated in his decision.

Robinson had also made a second appeal to the Utah Supreme Court regarding Graf’s decision to allow hearsay evidence at the preliminary hearing — including a video-recorded interview with Robinson’s roommate at the time Kirk was shot, Lance Twiggs. Defense attorneys had requested that Graf compel Twiggs to attend the hearing in person so he could be cross-examined. But the judge ruled that, for the purposes of the preliminary hearing only, a recorded interview would be sufficient.