Erika Kirk Invokes Rare Law In Tyler Robinson Trial

Erika Kirk is pressing for a speedy trial in the case against the man accused of assassinating her husband, arguing that defense lawyers are dragging out proceedings as the high-profile Utah case inches forward.

In a court filing made public over the weekend, Kirk’s attorney, Jeffrey Neiman, formally notified the court that she is invoking her rights as a crime victim under Utah law to a prompt resolution of the charges against Tyler Robinson.

“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 the filing.

He added that the court must balance Robinson’s right to a fair trial with Kirk’s right not to see the case stalled indefinitely.

“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.”.

Robinson is charged with gunning down conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk during a campus event at Utah Valley University in September. Prosecutors say Kirk was seated beneath a tent in a crowded courtyard, greeting attendees, when a sniper’s bullet struck him in the neck, sending thousands scrambling for safety.

Despite the severity of the allegations, Robinson has yet to enter a plea or face a preliminary hearing, a key early stage in Utah’s criminal process in which prosecutors must show probable cause to proceed. Prosecutors said Friday they have completed roughly 90% of discovery.

The filing may be more strategic than legally necessary at this stage, 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,” Rotunno told Fox News Digital.

Utah is among a small number of states that grant crime victims a statutory right to a speedy disposition, even as defendants retain their own constitutional right to a speedy trial. In complex capital cases, defendants often waive that right to allow for extensive legal preparation.

Neiman invoked his late client’s constitutional legacy in the filing.

“Nobody believed in the importance of the United States Constitution more than Charlie Kirk,” he 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 scheduled to return to court Feb. 3 for a second day of arguments on his defense team’s motion to disqualify the local prosecutor’s office. Numerous legal analysts, including Rotunno, have dismissed the motion as “frivolous.”

Prosecutors have denied any conflict of interest stemming from the fact that a deputy in the county attorney’s office had an adult child in the crowd at the time of the shooting, noting the relative did not witness the killing itself.

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