The legal team for the man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk is asking a judge to disqualify the Utah County Attorney’s Office from prosecuting the case, saying a potential conflict of interest exists because a family member of one of the prosecutors was present at the shooting.
Tyler Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting that killed Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted.
In a motion filed by Robinson’s defense, attorneys contend that the adult child of a deputy county attorney was at the event when Kirk was shot and later communicated with the prosecutor about what occurred. They argue the connection could bias the prosecution’s decisions and jeopardize Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
Prosecutors, however, maintain there is no conflict of interest. In filings opposing the motion, the Utah County Attorney’s Office said the prosecutor’s child did not witness the shooting firsthand, has no substantive information about the crime and thus would not be called as a witness.
The office also argued that the decision to pursue the death penalty was based on evidence and legal considerations, not personal involvement.
“This is one of those motions I find ridiculous,” Donna Rotunno, a Chicago criminal defense attorney and Fox News contributor, told the outlet. “Normally I like to see a vigorous defense and attorneys doing everything they can to protect their client, but this is one that I find frivolous in nature.”
She added that a conflict would exist only if the the relative’s presence could somehow influence the case. “If the family member was the victim, then maybe this is an issue,” Rotunno said. “If Erika Kirk was related to a prosecutor, they would have more ground to stand on.”
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for May, and a judge has not yet ruled on the defense’s request to disqualify the prosecution team.
A prosecutor can be typically recused or disqualified from a case if there is a conflict of interest that could jeopardize the defendant’s right to a fair trial. In the context of a high-profile shooting at a public event in a small town, such a connection might not be surprising, Fox added.
“The legal system takes conflicts of interest seriously, but a prosecutor isn’t automatically disqualified just because someone in their family witnessed a traumatic event connected to the case,” Randolph Rice, a Baltimore-based attorney and legal analyst, told the outlet. “The key issue is whether that relationship creates a real risk that decisions are being driven by emotion instead of evidence.”
Usually, courts require “a clear, direct conflict that threatens the defendant’s right to a fair trial” before they would disqualify an entire prosecutor’s office from a case, he said.
“At the same time, prosecutors also have a duty to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, especially in a high-profile capital case where public trust is already on edge,” he said.
The capital case represents the highest stakes for a defense team. If Robinson’s lawyers succeed, the new prosecutors may have differing views on the death penalty.
“I have had cases in the past where we had to bring in a different prosecutor because we were prosecuting an individual who was tangentially related to an employee in the office,” Rice said. “Also had situations where we had to bring in different judges from different jurisdictions who were unfamiliar with a lawyer’s family member who was being prosecuted.”
Robinson’s case has drawn national attention. He surrendered to authorities after a manhunt following the shooting, and prosecutors have filed multiple charges including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
