4 weeks ago
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PROVO, Utah (AP) — Graphic videos showing the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk while he spoke to a crowd on a Utah college campus quickly went viral, drawing millions of views.
Screenshots from such videos were offered Tuesday as evidence in the murder case against Tyler Robinson, the man charged in Kirk’s killing. But the full videos were not shown in court, after defense attorneys objected out of concern that the footage would undermine Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
Legal experts say the defense team’s worries are real: Media coverage in high-profile cases like Robinson’s can have a direct “biasing effect” on potential jurors, said Cornell Law School Professor Valerie Hans.
“There were videos about the killing, and pictures and analysis (and) the entire saga of how this particular defendant came to turn himself in,” said Hans, a leading expert on the jury system. “When jurors come to a trial with this kind of background information from the media, it shapes how they see the evidence that is presented in the courtroom.”
Defense attorneys also want to oust TV and still cameras from the courtroom, arguing that “highly biased” news outlets risk tainting the case.
Prosecutors, attorneys for ne...
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