Defense lawyers in Charlie Kirk’s killing want a 2029 trial. Kirk’s widow calls that ‘out of line’

Ahead of a Friday hearing about the timetable for the trial of Charlie Kirk’s accused killer, the conservative political activist’s widow lambasted defendant Tyler Robinson’s request for jury selection to start in the second half of 2029, calling it “grossly out of line.”

The trial should be set for 2027, Erika Kirk ’s lawyer wrote in a sharply worded filing asking a state judge in Utah to reject the defense’s proposed timeline.

“Every additional day of delay carries the weight of all that Charlie’s murder has taken from his family, especially his two young children who were just three and one year old when their father was murdered and would be seven and five years old by the time a verdict is handed down under the Defense’s proposed schedule,” Kirk’s motion reads.

The state wants an early 2028 start date for the trial it expects to last 17 weeks, its scheduling memo shows.

District Court Judge Tony Graf is due to consider input from all parties ahead of a Friday afternoon hearing to set a trial schedule.

Robinson, 23, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk during a 2025 university event for his nonprofit Turning Point USA , has pleaded not guilty to seven counts , including aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury.

Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted of the murder charge.

Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Here’s what comes next after Charlie Kirk’s accused killer pleaded not guilty

Robinson’s lawyers want the trial to begin in the third quarter of 2029, with quarterly motions hearings until then “specifically devoted to assessment of the continuing viability of beginning trial during the third quarter of 2029,” they state in a scheduling memo. They need the time, they argue: to meet the high bar of a dual-phase capital case; to prepare for “critical” jury selection; to coordinate with expert witnesses; likely, to spar more over DNA and further ballistics testing; and to sift 31,000 files of evidence.

Erika Kirk takes issue with that last point: “This perverse position, that the more evidence the state has accumulated the more need for delay, is not found in the law,” her request for a speedy trial notes.

Prosecutors, meantime, believe the trial could start much sooner. Citing similar tasks as the defense, they could be ready by October 4, 2027, their court memo states. Still, they propose a start date of January 31, 2028, because “the State does not believe that it is wise to schedule the trial to span the worst of the winter season and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays,” their filing says.

Both parties estimate the trial – from the start of jury selection to the close of any capital punishment phase – will stretch for months: six to seven months, Robinson’s defense has said; four months, per the state.

在周五就查理·柯克被控谋杀案的审判时间表举行听证会之前，这位保守派政治活动家的遗孀猛烈抨击了被告泰勒·罗宾逊提出的在 2029 年下半年开始进行陪审团遴选的要求，称其“严重不合情理”。

埃里卡·柯克的律师在一份措辞严厉的文件中写道，审判应该安排在 2027 年进行，并要求犹他州的一名法官驳回辩方提出的时间表。

“每多拖延一天，查理的谋杀案就给他的家人，特别是他的两个年幼的孩子，带来了沉重的打击。他们的父亲被谋杀时，他们分别只有三岁和一岁。按照辩方提出的时间表，到宣判时，他们就分别七岁和五岁了。”柯克的动议中写道。

该州希望审判能在 2028 年初开始，预计持续 17 周，其日程安排备忘录显示。

地区法院法官托尼·格拉夫将在周五下午的听证会上考虑各方意见，以确定审判时间表。

23 岁的 Robinson 被控在 2025 年为他的非营利组织 Turning Point USA 举办的一场大学活动中枪杀了 Charlie Kirk，他对包括加重谋杀和重罪开枪造成严重人身伤害在内的七项指控拒不不认罪。

如果他被判谋杀罪名成立，检方打算寻求判处他死刑。

吉姆·厄克特/路透社

在查理·柯克被控谋杀的嫌疑人拒不不认罪后，接下来会发生什么？

罗宾逊的律师希望审判于2029年第三季度开始，在此之前，每季度将举行一次动议听证会，“专门用于评估在2029年第三季度开始审判的可行性”，他们在日程安排备忘录中写道。他们辩称，他们需要时间：满足两阶段死刑案件的高标准要求；准备“至关重要”的陪审团遴选；与专家证人协调；可能还要就DNA和进一步的弹道测试进行更多辩论；以及梳理31000份证据文件。

艾丽卡·柯克对最后一点提出了异议：“这种认为国家掌握的证据越多，就越需要拖延的荒谬观点，在法律中是找不到依据的，”她在要求快速审判的请求中指出。

与此同时，检方认为审判可以更早开始。他们在提交给法院的备忘录中指出，由于准备工作与辩方类似，他们最早可以在2027年10月4日之前做好准备。不过，他们还是提议将开庭日期定在2028年1月31日，理由是“州政府认为，将审判安排在冬季最寒冷的季节以及感恩节和圣诞节假期期间并不明智”，他们的文件中写道。

双方估计，从陪审团遴选开始到死刑阶段结束，审判将持续数月：罗宾逊的辩护律师表示，审判将持续六到七个月；州政府则表示，审判将持续四个月。