Utah Supreme Court Clears Way for Tyler Robinson Preliminary Hearing

Overview

• The Utah Supreme Court denied Tyler Robinson's petition Thursday and deemed his motion to stay moot, allowing the preliminary hearing scheduled to begin Monday to proceed as planned.
• Fourth District Judge Tony Graf has permitted controlled camera coverage while imposing decorum and placement rules, and the court said cameras will not alter the rules of evidence.
• Graf ruled that prerecorded statements and other hearsay may be used at the preliminary hearing and rejected the defense request to compel in-person testimony from key witness Lance Twiggs.
• The court left Robinson's death-penalty exposure in place after rejecting a motion to remove it, expanded jury-selection protections, and entered a civil-contempt finding against a prosecutor over media comments that remains unresolved.
• A preliminary hearing only tests probable cause with a lower evidence standard than trial, so admitting recorded interviews and texts could let prosecutors present their case publicly this week and shape whether the case moves toward a capital trial.