Robinson makes second appeal to Utah Supreme Court over hearsay evidence

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Tyler Robinson appeals Utah Supreme Court over hearsay evidence in murder case.
• Defense challenges video interview ruling of Robinson's former roommate, Lance Twiggs.
• Robinson also contests decision allowing cameras in courtroom for preliminary hearing.

PROVO — As attorneys in the Tyler Robinson capital murder case wait to hear if the Utah Supreme Court will hear the defense's appeal of the decision to allow cameras in the courtroom, Robinson has now made a second appeal to the state's high court regarding the judge's decision on hearsay evidence.

Specifically, Robinson's defense team is requesting that the Utah Supreme Court take a second look at 4th District Judge Tony Graf's decision allowing a video interview conducted by prosecutors with Robinson's former roommate, Lance Twiggs, at the preliminary hearing and holding that Twiggs does not have to appear in person.

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. 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.

Robinson's preliminary hearing is scheduled to start on Monday. Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents are expected to attend.

Last week, Graf ruled that hearsay evidence is acceptable for the purposes of a preliminary hearing — including a video-recorded interview with Twiggs — and denied a request from defense attorneys to compel Twiggs to attend the hearing in person.

The judge said that the limited purpose of a preliminary hearing is to determine whether the state can meet its low burden of proof that Robinson allegedly committed the crimes he's accused of. And that is because a determination of guilt or innocence is not made at that time, hearsay evidence is acceptable. Graf also ruled that unless the defense expects to get testimony during cross-examination that is "reasonably likely to defeat probable cause" established by the state, a recorded interview with a witness is sufficient.

Robinson, however, contends that the court "made fundamental errors in the ruling by failing to address all of the constitutional claims" that he made, and "to compound the problem created by the ruling described above, the district court also improperly rejected Mr. Robinson's effort to secure the attendance of (Twiggs) who is, perhaps, the most critical witness in this entire case, a witness who, importantly, is not a victim," the request for appeal argues.

"The combination of these rulings will imminently deprive Mr. Robinson of his constitutional rights to the effective assistance of counsel, compulsory process, due process and equal protection, and protections under the 8th Amendment at the preliminary hearing that is nearly upon us," the defense continued. "It is clear that Mr. Twiggs is a material witness. His recorded video interview the prosecution intends to proffer at the preliminary hearing touches on almost every count in the pending (charges) including the sentencing enhancements, and, most importantly, attributes to Mr. Robinson statements which the district court acknowledges constitute a confession as to the charged homicide and an alleged motive."

Robinson was living with Twiggs in southern Utah when prosecutors say he shot and killed Kirk. The state says in charging documents that Robinson left a note and exchanged text messages with Twiggs, whom he referred to as "Luna," following Kirk's assassination.

"Luna, if you are reading this per my text, then I am so sorry. I left the house this morning on a mission and sent an auto text. I am likely dead or facing a lengthy prison sentence. I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it," the letter states, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Robinson's attorneys argue that they could not cross-examine Twiggs if he is not present in the courtroom.

Robinson has also asked the Utah Supreme Court to review Graf's decision to allow electronic media in the courtroom. The judge is expected to issue a separate written decision this week on whether cameras and microphones will be allowed at the preliminary hearing. The defense has requested expedited reviews from the state's high court on both the electronic media and hearsay issues.

The Utah County Attorney's Office is expected to call six law-enforcement witnesses and present about 40 exhibits during the preliminary hearing, including the Twiggs' video. Robinson says he has three out-of-state forensic witnesses he plans to call to the witness stand.

Contributing:Associated Press

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Charlie Kirk killingPolice & CourtsUtahUtah County

Pat Reavy

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.