Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / Tyler Robinson Preliminary Hearing (Day 6 Part 3) (10/28/26)
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome back to the program. In
- 0:03Speaker 1: this episode, we're going to dive right back in to
- 0:06Speaker 1: day number six of the Tyler Robinson transcript. And we
- 0:10Speaker 1: left off with Judge Graff making a ruling. Defendant objects
- 0:16Speaker 1: to the court's previous order, which allowed both KUTV and
- 0:20Speaker 1: the Salt Lake Tribune to obtain newspapers still photography at
- 0:23Speaker 1: the hearing. Defendant points to the extreme physical limitations of
- 0:27Speaker 1: the fourth district court's courtroom and Noting that the gallery
- 0:31Speaker 1: is at capacity, the jury boxes filled with media and
- 0:34Speaker 1: counsel tables are congested. Defendant argues that the presence of
- 0:38Speaker 1: multiple still photographers, their associated lenses, tripods, and movements will
- 0:43Speaker 1: create a highly distractive and disruptive environment. Defendant's objection concerning
- 0:48Speaker 1: physical facilities is sustained in part. Rule 4-401.01 directs the
- 0:54Speaker 1: court to consider the adequacy of the courtroom facility's and
- 0:58Speaker 1: ordinarily limits coverage to one video camera and one still camera,
- 1:02Speaker 1: unless otherwise approved. The record before this court reflects that
- 1:05Speaker 1: the public gallery is at capacity. Media representatives occupy the
- 1:10Speaker 1: jury box and the area surrounding council table is confined.
- 1:14Speaker 1: Additional camera operators would increase movement and equipment in that
- 1:18Speaker 1: limited space without materially increasing public access to the proceedings. Accordingly,
- 1:24Speaker 1: KUTV may operate one stationary video camera and provide pool
- 1:28Speaker 1: video coverage, and the Salt Lake Tribune may operate one
- 1:32Speaker 1: stationary still camera and provide pool photography. KUTV's additional request
- 1:37Speaker 1: for separate still photographer is denied. The pooling requirement of
- 1:41Speaker 1: Rule 4-401.01 applies. As it relates to witnesses and participant
- 1:47Speaker 1: privacy decorum and protective measures, the court takes very seriously
- 1:52Speaker 1: defendants' representations concerning unwanted contacts involving individuals whose information become
- 1:57Speaker 1: public following the July prelim hearing. The present record does
- 2:01Speaker 1: not require the court to determine the precise nature, source,
- 2:05Speaker 1: or extent of those contacts because no witness will testify
- 2:09Speaker 1: at the September hearing. This hearing proceeding is limited to
- 2:13Speaker 1: legal argument by counsel and will involve no live testimony.
- 2:17Speaker 1: While the court cannot regulate the behavior of reporters or
- 2:20Speaker 1: the public outside the courthouse, the court has both the
- 2:23Speaker 1: authority and responsibility to protect privacy, safety, and dignity of
- 2:28Speaker 1: the participants inside the courtroom. This duty is addressed to
- 2:32Speaker 1: the strict enforcement of the court's amended standing decorum order,
- 2:36Speaker 1: effective August 28, 2026, and the limitations in Rule 4-401.01-6,
- 2:43Speaker 1: To reduce the identified risk of distraction or privacy invasion,
- 2:48Speaker 1: the court enforces the following mandatory conditions on all electronic
- 2:51Speaker 1: media coverage of the September 1st hearing. There shall be
- 2:55Speaker 1: no audio recording, filming, or photography of any confidential communication
- 3:00Speaker 1: between counsel and client, between clients, or between counsel at
- 3:05Speaker 1: counsel table or during bench conferences. There shall be no
- 3:09Speaker 1: electronic media coverage of any juror, prospective juror, or the
- 3:12Speaker 1: face of any minor. KUTV's video camera and operator must
- 3:17Speaker 1: be positioned in the rear southeast corner of the courtroom.
- 3:21Speaker 1: What must remain stationary and must utilize wide-angle shot of
- 3:24Speaker 1: the courtroom, the camera shall not zoom in on any writings,
- 3:28Speaker 1: computer screens, or sensitive documents at council tables. Still photographs
- 3:33Speaker 1: by the Salt Lake Tribune must be conducted from a
- 3:36Speaker 1: stationary position behind the bar and the camera must operate
- 3:39Speaker 1: silently without the use of flash or strobe lights. Still
- 3:43Speaker 1: photographers shall not move around the courtroom while court is
- 3:47Speaker 1: in session. Any restrictions on photographing identifiable family members shall
- 3:52Speaker 1: be governed by the rules, by the court's amended standing
- 3:55Speaker 1: decorum order, and the court's authority under Rule 4-401.01. Nothing
- 4:00Speaker 1: in this order extends those restrictions beyond the areas of
- 4:04Speaker 1: circumstance authorized by the applicable rule or order. There shall
- 4:09Speaker 1: be no video recording, audio recording, or stole photography inside
- 4:12Speaker 1: the courtroom before the judge enters or after the court
- 4:15Speaker 1: is in recess or adjourned. Failure to comply with any
- 4:19Speaker 1: of these conditions may result in the termination of electronic
- 4:24Speaker 1: media privileges, removal from the courtroom, contempt proceedings, or other
- 4:28Speaker 1: appropriate sanctions under Rule 4-401.01, Sub 5, and the Decorum Order.
- 4:36Speaker 1: A willful or material violation may result in immediate termination
- 4:40Speaker 1: of electronic media privileges, removal from the courtroom, contempt proceedings,
- 4:44Speaker 1: or other appropriate sanctions. Turning to the defendant's motion to
- 4:48Speaker 1: classify and presumption of public access to court records, defendant
- 4:52Speaker 1: moves this court pursuant to Utah Rule of Judicial Administration 4-202.4-3
- 4:58Speaker 1: to permanently classify the under-redacted versions of his oppositions to KUTV,
- 5:05Speaker 1: and the Salt Lake Tribune's EMC requests as protected. Defendant
- 5:10Speaker 1: argues that the unredacted filings publicly identify and link to
- 5:14Speaker 1: specific online prediction and betting markets that reference these proceedings,
- 5:19Speaker 1: and that the publishing of information in the public court
- 5:22Speaker 1: records would move markets, draw speculative interest to his capital case,
- 5:27Speaker 1: and jeopardize the integrity of the jury pool. The news
- 5:30Speaker 1: media opposes this motion, citing the presumptive public right of
- 5:34Speaker 1: access to criminal records. Following the closure hearing required by
- 5:39Speaker 1: Rule 4-202.04 and after considering the party submissions and arguments
- 5:45Speaker 1: presented at the hearing and the unredacted filings, the court
- 5:49Speaker 1: denies defendant's motion to classify. Rule 4-202.04 identifies the circumstances
- 5:57Speaker 1: in which court may classify or redact information. The defendant
- 6:01Speaker 1: has not demonstrated that specific URLs, market identifiers, or transaction
- 6:06Speaker 1: information at issue fall within one of those categories that
- 6:10Speaker 1: provides an independent basis for denying the requested classification. Even
- 6:16Speaker 1: assuming for the purpose of analysis that subsection 5 could
- 6:19Speaker 1: be satisfied, the court further concludes that balancing required by
- 6:24Speaker 1: subsection 6 favors public access. While the court filings can
- 6:28Speaker 1: be restricted when competing interests outweigh the public interest in access,
- 6:32Speaker 1: defendant bears the burden associated with relief requested. Applying Rule 4-202.04
- 6:39Speaker 1: to the specific information identified in the motion, the court
- 6:42Speaker 1: concludes that the asserted interests do not justify the requested
- 6:46Speaker 1: classification or redaction on the present record. First, Rule 4-202.02-1
- 6:54Speaker 1: presumes public access to court records and Archuleta recognizes that
- 6:58Speaker 1: a presumptive right to access to documents filed in connection
- 7:02Speaker 1: with a criminal preliminary hearing. The presumption is qualified. In Archuleta,
- 7:08Speaker 1: does the Utah Supreme Court recognize presumptive access but nevertheless
- 7:12Speaker 1: affirmed nondisclosure where the particular documents contained sensitive and inflammatory
- 7:17Speaker 1: information and disclosure posed a realistic likelihood of prejudice? The
- 7:22Speaker 1: present record is materially different. The information defendant seeks to
- 7:27Speaker 1: redact consists principally of publicly accessible market links and associated
- 7:32Speaker 1: market data, rather than previously undisclosed inflammatory allegations exceeding what
- 7:38Speaker 1: was revealed in the open proceeding. Second, the information defendant
- 7:42Speaker 1: seeks to shield, namely the existence of specific online prediction
- 7:46Speaker 1: market and betting pool targeting his homicide case, is already
- 7:50Speaker 1: widely available and easily accessible to the general public on
- 7:54Speaker 1: the internet. The prior public availability of the information does
- 7:59Speaker 1: not itself eliminate the court's authority to classify or redact
- 8:02Speaker 1: a court record. It does, however, substantially reduce the practical
- 8:06Speaker 1: protections that classification would provide and therefore diminishes the weight
- 8:11Speaker 1: of that interest in Rule 4-202.04, Sub 6 Balance. Here,
- 8:16Speaker 1: restricting access to the URLs would not remove the underlying
- 8:20Speaker 1: market or previously disseminated information from public availability. Third, the
- 8:25Speaker 1: court credits defendant's concerns concerning jury contamination and prediction markets
- 8:31Speaker 1: activity as genuine. The present record, however, does not establish
- 8:36Speaker 1: a sufficient particularized casual connection. Casual connection between public access
- 8:42Speaker 1: to these specific filings and the material incremental prejudice beyond
- 8:46Speaker 1: the extensive publicity that already exists. Fourth, because the court
- 8:51Speaker 1: concludes that Rule 4-202.04 states, Subbalance 6 favors access, I'm sorry,
- 8:57Speaker 1: subsection 6C does not require a separate finding concerning alternatives
- 9:01Speaker 1: to closure. Nevertheless, the availability of recognized jury selection safeguards
- 9:07Speaker 1: further supports the court's conclusion that classification is unwarranted on
- 9:11Speaker 1: the present record. Such safeguards may include an expanded veneer,
- 9:16Speaker 1: individualized jury questionnaires, an individualized voir dire, addressing exposure to publicity,
- 9:21Speaker 1: prediction markets, and any financial interest in the outcome. The
- 9:26Speaker 1: adequacy of those measures remains subject to reassessment as jury
- 9:30Speaker 1: selection approaches and the record develops. Considering the particular information
- 9:35Speaker 1: at issue, its existing public availability, the incremental rather than
- 9:39Speaker 1: initial disclosure involved, and the fair trial interest identified by
- 9:43Speaker 1: the defendant, the court concludes that the interest favoring access
- 9:47Speaker 1: outweighs the interest favoring classification on the present record. The
- 9:52Speaker 1: defendant's motion to classify must therefore be denied, and the
- 9:56Speaker 1: unredacted version of his opposition's must be made part of
- 9:59Speaker 1: the public record. In conclusion, based off the foregoing, particularized findings,
- 10:04Speaker 1: the procedural record, the oral arguments presented at September 1st hearing,
- 10:09Speaker 1: Closure hearing and the procedural mandates of the Utah Rules
- 10:12Speaker 1: of Judicial Administration is hereby order that defendant's motion to
- 10:16Speaker 1: classify defendant Tyler James Robinson's unredacted opposition to EMC order
- 10:21Speaker 1: is denied. The unredacted version of defendant's opposition shall be
- 10:26Speaker 1: unsealed and made publicly accessible in accordance with this order
- 10:30Speaker 1: on the public docket. KUTV's request for electronic media coverage
- 10:35Speaker 1: of court proceedings is granted in part and denied in part.
- 10:38Speaker 1: KUTV is permitted to provide live streaming of September 1st
- 10:42Speaker 1: oral arguments. KUTV's request for a separate still photography is denied.
- 10:47Speaker 1: The Salt Lake Tribune's request for electronic media coverage of
- 10:51Speaker 1: the court proceeding is granted. The Salt Lake Tribune is
- 10:54Speaker 1: permitted to provide still photography of the September 1st oral arguments.
- 10:58Speaker 1: The defendant's objection to KUTV and the Salt Lake Tribune's
- 11:02Speaker 1: EMC request are sustained in part and overruled in part.
- 11:06Speaker 1: Still photography of the September 1st hearing is strictly limited
- 11:10Speaker 1: to a single photographer from the Salt Lake Tribune, who
- 11:13Speaker 1: shall provide pool coverage to all other participating media agencies
- 11:18Speaker 1: in accordance to UCJA Rule 4-401.01 Sub 4. KUTV is
- 11:25Speaker 1: prohibited from operating still cameras in the courtroom. KUTV and
- 11:30Speaker 1: the Salt Lake Tribune shall strictly comply with the pooling
- 11:33Speaker 1: position and decorum conditions set forth in this order in
- 11:36Speaker 1: the court's amended standing decorum order. Based off the privacy, confidentiality,
- 11:42Speaker 1: and courtroom management findings set forth above, the electronic media
- 11:45Speaker 1: coverage shall not include confidential attorney-client communication, bench conferences, jury
- 11:51Speaker 1: or prospective, jurors or the faces of minors. The camera
- 11:55Speaker 1: operator shall remain in position designated above and shall comply
- 11:59Speaker 1: with the applicable polling requirements. Any additional restrictions concerning identifiable
- 12:05Speaker 1: family members shall apply only to extent authorized by the
- 12:08Speaker 1: court's amended standing decorum order and applicable rule 4-401.01. Following
- 12:15Speaker 1: the entry of this order, the court will separately resolve
- 12:19Speaker 1: the prelim hearing issues after the completion of argument. Nothing
- 12:22Speaker 1: in this order addresses or anticipates those determinations. I'm sorry,
- 12:27Speaker 1: the clerk. shall therefore thereafter make publicly accessible the unredacted filings,
- 12:32Speaker 1: the transcripts of the closure hearing, and the audio recording
- 12:36Speaker 1: of the closure hearing. It's so ordered, and that is
- 12:38Speaker 1: the order of this court. All right, folks, we're going
- 12:41Speaker 1: to wrap up right here, and in the next episode,
- 12:43Speaker 1: pick up where we left off. All the information that
- 12:47Speaker 1: goes with this episode can be found in the description box.