Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / Tyler Robinson’s Defense Costs Reach $1.6 Million in Charlie Kirk Murder Case (9/10/26)

Transcript

Tyler Robinson’s Defense Costs Reach $1.6 Million in Charlie Kirk Murder Case (9/10/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

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  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome back to the program. In
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: this episode, we're going to spin back out to Utah
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  Speaker 1: and talk a little bit more about the Tyler Robinson
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  Speaker 1: trial that is now scheduled to take place. Now, we
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  Speaker 1: don't know the exact date when all of that's going
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  Speaker 1: to occur, but what we do know is that this trial,
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  Speaker 1: this investigation, and the defense of Tyler Robinson has already
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  Speaker 1: cost the taxpayers $ 1. 6 million, and that is only going
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  Speaker 1: to skyrocket. And whenever you're trying a complex case like this,
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  Speaker 1: especially a capital murder case, it's going to come with
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  Speaker 1: a hefty price tag. And keep in mind that the
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  Speaker 1: state is providing the defense for Tyler Robinson. And we
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  Speaker 1: know that those people are not cheap. Experts, the lawyers,
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  Speaker 1: building a case, a defense, the whole thing. And it
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  Speaker 1: comes with a hefty ass price tag. And that's a
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  Speaker 1: price tag that the taxpayers in Utah are going to
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  Speaker 1: have to eat. And if you recall over in Idaho,
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  Speaker 1: it was the same kind of conversation. Considering that it
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  Speaker 1: happened in such a small town, such a small county,
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  Speaker 1: they didn't have the funds to even investigate what was
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  Speaker 1: going on. So they had to get an injection of
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  Speaker 1: money from the state. And obviously that's going to happen
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  Speaker 1: here too. There's going to be some budgeting issues that
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  Speaker 1: pop up and they're going to need to be addressed.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that we'll see pretty much the same
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  Speaker 1: playbook that we saw in Idaho. And of course that
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  Speaker 1: ended up with the state providing more funds to the county.
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  Speaker 1: But one thing is for sure. This whole entire trial
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  Speaker 1: is going to come with a gigantic price tag. Today's
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  Speaker 1: article is from the Salt Lake Tribune. And the headline.
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  Speaker 1: A year after Charlie Kirk's killing, Tyler Robinson's defense has
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  Speaker 1: cost taxpayers $ 1. 6 million so far. This article was authored
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  Speaker 1: by Jessica Schreifels. It's been a year since Charlie Kirk
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  Speaker 1: was fatally shot in Utah County. has so far paid $ 1. 6
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  Speaker 1: million to the public defenders who represent the man accused
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  Speaker 1: of pulling the trigger. And the criminal case is far
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  Speaker 1: from over. And I know that's a hard pill for
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  Speaker 1: people to swallow. The fact that somebody that's accused of
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  Speaker 1: something this heinous, but even somebody accused of something like this,
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  Speaker 1: deserves to have legal counsel. And if they can't afford it,
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  Speaker 1: then that's provided to them by the state. And when
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about a capital murder case, It's not like
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  Speaker 1: every single lawyer is capable of handling that kind of load.
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  Speaker 1: So there are only a certain amount of lawyers in
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  Speaker 1: the state that are capable of even dealing with something
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  Speaker 1: this complex. So of course it's going to cost a
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  Speaker 1: ton of money. The county has already exhausted the $ 1
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  Speaker 1: million earmarked to help pay for the Tyler Robinson's defense.
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  Speaker 1: The rest has come from its public defense budget or
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  Speaker 1: a rainy day fund, Utah County Commissioner Skylar Beltran said.
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  Speaker 1: And this is going to continue to be an issue.
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  Speaker 1: There's going to be a lot of cost that comes
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  Speaker 1: along with this. Remember, there's going to have to be
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  Speaker 1: an expert to challenge every expert. And the experts that
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  Speaker 1: the state are bringing up, they have to pay for
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  Speaker 1: them too. So not only are the taxpayers on the
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  Speaker 1: hook for Tyler Robinson's defense, they have to pay for
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  Speaker 1: the whole prosecution as well. And look, I hate to
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  Speaker 1: sound morbid and, you know, talk about money here. A
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  Speaker 1: man was assassinated. But this is the reality of a
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  Speaker 1: complex capital punishment case. And it's something that these districts
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  Speaker 1: certainly take into account. And that's why you don't see
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  Speaker 1: more capital punishment pushes. There's a lot that goes into
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  Speaker 1: getting a capital case across the finish line. And the
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  Speaker 1: bill will continue to grow. A trial date has not
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  Speaker 1: been set. And Robinson's attorneys have indicated that they're preparing
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  Speaker 1: to file and argue numerous motions before trial. Oh, this
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  Speaker 1: is going to be a long protracted battle. There's going
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  Speaker 1: to be motions for days. And like I predicted earlier,
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  Speaker 1: I think they're going to follow the Brian Koberger model.
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  Speaker 1: I think that they're going to try and gum things up,
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  Speaker 1: slow things down, and try to make things move at
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  Speaker 1: a snail's pace because that's beneficial to their client, right?
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  Speaker 1: The more time, the better. And with all of the
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  Speaker 1: experts that are going to be brought in by the state,
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  Speaker 1: the defense is going to have a chance to rebut
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  Speaker 1: that testimony. So they're going to have to do their
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  Speaker 1: due diligence. And with all of the discovery that's been
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  Speaker 1: hand it over to them and all the discovery that's
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  Speaker 1: to come. This is a monumental task, folks. Not something
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  Speaker 1: that's easy on either side. And I know it gets
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  Speaker 1: frustrating watching these lawyers with all the motions and, you know,
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  Speaker 1: slowing things down. But try and keep in mind that's
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  Speaker 1: their job, right? They have to do the best they
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  Speaker 1: can do for their client. And when they're not working
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  Speaker 1: from a place of advantage, that's difficult. So they have
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  Speaker 1: to try and pierce a hole. And look, if I
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  Speaker 1: was on trial for my life I'd want my lawyers
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  Speaker 1: to do the same thing. So we have to try
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  Speaker 1: and understand that the lawyers, while they might be frustrating,
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  Speaker 1: they might be annoying. This is their job. And unless
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  Speaker 1: they step over the line and do something that's sanctionable,
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  Speaker 1: there is no recourse because their job is to confront
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  Speaker 1: the evidence that's being presented by the prosecution. And I
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  Speaker 1: think so far they're doing a pretty good job. Well,
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  Speaker 1: not that they're winning, but they're doing a good job
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  Speaker 1: with what they have. And I think we'll continue to
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  Speaker 1: see that. because this is a competent defense team, just
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  Speaker 1: like Brian Koberger's team was very competent. County officials previously
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  Speaker 1: acknowledged that they're paying more for defense attorneys for Tyler
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  Speaker 1: Robinson than for defendants in other death penalty eligible cases,
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  Speaker 1: saying the increased attention and public scrutiny of the case
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  Speaker 1: call for it. Beltran said in a recent interview that
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  Speaker 1: the defense, cost for Robinson so far, are about in
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  Speaker 1: line with what we anticipated. And I think that's probably correct.
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  Speaker 1: They know what they're looking at. They know what the
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  Speaker 1: billable hours are. They know how much these attorneys cost
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  Speaker 1: and the experts so they can get a good idea,
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  Speaker 1: an estimate of what they're going to be on the
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  Speaker 1: hook for. And then from there, they can get a
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  Speaker 1: game plan with the state as far as how much
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  Speaker 1: more money they might need. Robinson, now 23, is facing
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  Speaker 1: seven criminal charges, including aggravated murder in connection with Kirk's
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  Speaker 1: September 10th, 2025 death. Given that Robinson can't afford his
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  Speaker 1: own attorney, Utah County has no choice but to foot
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  Speaker 1: the bill for its public defenders. And that's the way
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  Speaker 1: the system's set up. And I understand that people don't
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  Speaker 1: like it, but it's the only way we can have
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  Speaker 1: a fair system, or at least close to fair. Imagine
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  Speaker 1: if people were going to court with no legal representation.
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  Speaker 1: You think the system's fucking people now? Boy oh boy.
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  Speaker 1: So I understand completely when people are fired up with
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  Speaker 1: how much money is being spent, and I get it.
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  Speaker 1: But we have to keep in mind that Tyler Robinson,
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  Speaker 1: as of right now, is an innocent man. And the
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  Speaker 1: government has so much power to destroy people's lives, we
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  Speaker 1: have to make sure that people that are accused of
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  Speaker 1: crimes are getting the best legal representation that they can get.
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  Speaker 1: So this is one of those issues where I'm middle
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  Speaker 1: of the road. I usually have an opinion one way
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  Speaker 1: or the other, but I understand both sides of this argument.
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  Speaker 1: And when you cover enough of these cases, you see
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  Speaker 1: it play out time and time again. In Robinson's case,
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  Speaker 1: the judge last week made a key decision when he
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  Speaker 1: determined that there was enough evidence to move the aggravated
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  Speaker 1: murder case forward to trial. His ruling came after a
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  Speaker 1: week-long prelim hearing in July where prosecutors presented evidence that
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  Speaker 1: they say shows Robinson used his grandfather's rifle to fire
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  Speaker 1: a single shot from atop a Utah Valley University building
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  Speaker 1: toward a crowd of thousands gathered for Kirk's Turning Point
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  Speaker 1: USA event. And I think that the prosecution did a
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  Speaker 1: good enough job presenting evidence that every single charge should
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  Speaker 1: have been binded over. And they were. Now, do they
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  Speaker 1: stand once we get the trial and there's a rigorous examination?
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  Speaker 1: I don't know. We'll have to see, right? But at
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  Speaker 1: this stage, according to the law in Utah, this is
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  Speaker 1: exactly where we should be. This part of the court
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  Speaker 1: case was time intensive, Beltran said, so county officials expected
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  Speaker 1: more from billing from Robinson's defense lawyers. But with that
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  Speaker 1: decision behind them, Beltran said his optimistic costs will be
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  Speaker 1: lower for now. I don't believe that. There's going to
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  Speaker 1: be expert upon expert, and they cost a lot of money.
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  Speaker 1: It goes in waves, he said. We kind of hit
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  Speaker 1: peak expense. Now we'll have a little less expenses before trial,
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  Speaker 1: and then the trial will be expensive. I have my
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  Speaker 1: doubts about that. This sort of shit is very, very,
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  Speaker 1: very expensive. When you're investigating something like this, all these leads,
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  Speaker 1: all these different, you know, angles you have to chase down,
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  Speaker 1: and then on top of that, you're paying for the
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  Speaker 1: defense to counter all of that. So it's one of
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  Speaker 1: those things where, no matter what you do, you're spending money,
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  Speaker 1: and a lot of it. Robinson is pleaded not guilty
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  Speaker 1: to aggravated murder and six other charges. A trial date
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  Speaker 1: might be set at his next court hearing in October,
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  Speaker 1: but Robinson's defense team indicated they may not be ready
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  Speaker 1: to finalize dates yet as they consider what kind of
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  Speaker 1: motions they want to file ahead of trial. And look,
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  Speaker 1: I caution everybody to be prepared. It's going to be
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  Speaker 1: a slog, right? It's going to take time. And there's
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  Speaker 1: going to be a lot of back and forth. And
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  Speaker 1: the most important thing we can do to try and
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  Speaker 1: keep up to date is follow the court docket. Whatever
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  Speaker 1: court documents are coming out Follow them. They're going to
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  Speaker 1: give us a blueprint to what's happening behind the scenes. Remember,
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  Speaker 1: there's a gag order. So we're not going to be
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  Speaker 1: hearing from lawyers. We're not going to be hearing from
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  Speaker 1: people involved. But if you read the court documents, you
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  Speaker 1: kind of get an idea. And that's the same method
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  Speaker 1: we used with Koberger when all of that was going down.
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  Speaker 1: In the next phase of the court case, both prosecutors
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  Speaker 1: and defense will file pretrial motions that 4th District Judge
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  Speaker 1: Tony Graff will rule on. This essentially sets the ground
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  Speaker 1: rules about what evidence or witnesses can be presented to
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  Speaker 1: the jury during the trial. Very key hearing, right? Very important.
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  Speaker 1: And that's going to give us a better idea of
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  Speaker 1: what kind of argument we can expect from both sides.
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  Speaker 1: All of that work comes at a cost, one that,
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  Speaker 1: under Utah's public defense system, falls to Utah County. There
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  Speaker 1: is a state-managed fund that counties can pay into, sort
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  Speaker 1: of insurance policy from which county officials can request money
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  Speaker 1: if they have a death penalty eligible case. But Utah
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  Speaker 1: County doesn't pay into that pot, and instead uses its
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  Speaker 1: own money to contract with individual attorneys in death penalty
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  Speaker 1: eligible cases. Well, that seems like a mistake, no? Nobody
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  Speaker 1: needs insurance. until you need insurance. It is getting some
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  Speaker 1: state help, though. Beltran confirmed that the Utah legislature earmarked
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  Speaker 1: $ 1 million during this year's session to help with defense
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  Speaker 1: costs after the county had requested $ 2 million. When asked
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  Speaker 1: if Utah County has considered paying into the state-managed fund,
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  Speaker 1: Beltran said the county tried to join a few years ago,
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  Speaker 1: but was denied. The Utah Indigent Defense Commission oversees that fund.
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  Speaker 1: Matthew Barza, the commission's executive director, disputed the Utah County
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  Speaker 1: was turned away. Oh, nothing like some infighting, huh? Nothing
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  Speaker 1: like a little bit of infighting when you're trying to
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  Speaker 1: pursue a capital murder case in one of the most
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  Speaker 1: high profile cases in what, the past 30, 40 years?
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  Speaker 1: Always nice to have infighting. Baratza said the county officials
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  Speaker 1: approached the commission in 2024 and tried to enter the fund,
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  Speaker 1: but they wanted access to money immediately to pay for
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  Speaker 1: the defense in a death penalty case that had already
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  Speaker 1: been filed against a truck driver named Michael Jane. He's
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  Speaker 1: accused of intentionally crashing into a police car and killing
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  Speaker 1: an officer. The fund acts similarly to an insurance policy,
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  Speaker 1: he said. Payment into the fund allows participating counties to
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  Speaker 1: draw upon the fund for future capital cases. Look, it's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of money, and there's just no getting around it.
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  Speaker 1: And if you don't think that comes into the decision-making
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  Speaker 1: process for the DA, you have not been paying attention.
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  Speaker 1: It always comes down to the dough, no matter what.
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  Speaker 1: The commission decided at the time that Jane's case wasn't
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  Speaker 1: eligible for the fund because it had already been filed.
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  Speaker 1: But Baratza said that they did not entirely turn Utah
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  Speaker 1: County away. He said he reached out to county managers
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  Speaker 1: with additional questions about defense costs the county had in
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  Speaker 1: recent death penalty cases. He said he never heard back.
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  Speaker 1: And Utah County never followed up on its pending application. Alright,
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  Speaker 1: so there's where things currently stand up in Utah. And
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: when we get some more information, obviously, we'll get it
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  Speaker 1: added to the catalog. All the information that goes with
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  Speaker 1: this episode can be found in the description box.