(CN) - The top prosecutor in the murder case of Charlie Kirk testified Tuesday that the presence of a team member's adult daughter at the outdoor rally where the political activist died played no role in his decision to seek the death penalty.
Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray said he handpicked the prosecutors who serve on the team that's prosecuting Tyler Robinson for Kirk's slaying. One of those team members has a child who attended the Utah Valley University rally where a gunman killed Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA. Defense attorneys for Robinson, 22, seek to disqualify Gray's office over it, saying a conflict exists.
"I do not believe that there's any conflict whatsoever," Gray said Tuesday from the witness stand. "I stand by that."
Fourth District Judge Tony Graf Jr. made no decision about the potential disqualification of Gray's office, saying he'd issue a ruling on Feb. 24.
Gray first took the stand on Jan. 16, when he said in the hearing the disqualification attempt was meant to delay the proceeding. Defense attorneys denied the accusation.
On Tuesday, defense attorney Richard Novak tried to have Gray pinpoint the moment when the decision to seek the death penalty occurred. Under questioning, Gray said he had informal conversations with his team about the decision. He said it was possible he told Governor Spencer Cox on Sept. 11, a day after the fatal shooting.
"But I had pretty much made up my decision," Gray added.
He also didn't exclude the prosecutor whose adult child attended Kirk's rally from those discussions, Gray said.
The prosecutor and his adult child testified on Tuesday, though the judge closed the courtroom to the public during the child's testimony.
Under cross-examination, Gray said he learned from experience that a decision to seek death should occur early in the legal process. It's more urgent in highly publicized cases like Robinson's.
"The more delay, it just creates all this unnecessary public speculation," Gray said.
Arguing Robinson's case to the judge, Novak said Gray should have walled off the prosecutor from the case until a judge had a chance to consider disqualifying his office.
Referring to the prosecutor, Novak said he indicated the death penalty decision happened with no regard to his daughter.
"There was an emotional response to Mr. Kirk's death," Novak said, adding that keeping Gray's office in the case creates an appearance of impropriety.
That appearance - and the public's perception of it - is the legal standard for removing a prosecutor's office, Novak said. He called Gray's response casual and inappropriate, questioning how a reasonable member of the public would view it.
"Mr. Gray should have implemented a firewall and he didn't," he added.
Attorney Ryan McBride, a prosecutor with Gray's office, pointedly said the adult child isn't a witness in the case. He argued that if a prosecutor was related to Kirk, a conflict would exist. That isn't the case.
"She's not a witness," he said of the adult child. "She's not necessary in this case and as a result there's no conflict here."
McBride said the argument a prosecutor would seek retaliation because his daughter was present for the shooting is incorrect.
"[Robinson's] being prosecuted for killing someone because he killed someone," McBride said, adding that's what he believes evidence will show. "Someone was shot and killed. That's why the charges were brought."
McBride added that when a conflict arises, recusal of a prosecutor's office should be considered, not mandated. Additionally, his office notified Robinson's defense counsel five days after they were appointed to the case.
Turning Point USA champions conservative values at high schools and universities. Co-founded in 2012 by Kirk, its goal is to identify, educate, train and organize students, leading them to herald ideals like fiscal responsibility and limited government.
Source: Courthouse News Service
