Judge Tony Graf ordered both sides in the Tyler Robinson case to bring trial-length estimates to an Oct. 23 hearing.

A scheduling order is case management. It is not a ruling on the evidence, and no trial date has been set. Graf wrote that the estimates are not binding and that either side can ask for changes as issues come up. KSL reported Robinson faces a possible death sentence if convicted, and the order asks for a separate estimate for a capital penalty phase if one applies.

KSL and the Daily Herald reported that Fourth District Judge Tony Graf filed an order late last week, on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, directing prosecutors and Tyler Robinson's defense attorneys to file memorandums by Oct. 21, two days before Robinson's Oct. 23 hearing in Provo's 4th District Court. KSL reported the order asks for "the estimated time needed to prepare for jury trial, including the requested preparation period in calendar days and an itemized description of the anticipated preparation tasks, with reasonable estimates of the days and hours required" and "the estimated number of trial days required and the number of trial hours per day." The Daily Herald reported Graf also asked each side for the time needed for jury selection, a proposed trial start date, an anticipated readiness date, and proposed deadlines for discovery, expert disclosures, and pretrial motions. "Counsel shall be prepared to explain their proposals and address any scheduling objections," Graf wrote, according to both outlets. The order sets up a scheduling discussion. It does not set a trial date by itself.

KSL reported the order also says that "if a capital penalty phase is applicable, counsel shall separately estimate the preparation and trial time needed for that phase, including aggravation and mitigation evidence." At the Oct. 23 hearing, the court will consider proposed trial dates, preparation periods, pretrial deadlines, anticipated trial length, and the number of alternate jurors, KSL reported. The Daily Herald reported Graf said the estimates are not binding but will be used to build a schedule that accounts for the rights of Robinson and the Kirk family, while "ensuring adequate preparation by both parties and a fair and impartial trial, and avoiding unwarranted delay." The paper reported that representatives of the Kirk family have filed multiple requests for a speedy trial during the case.

The Daily Herald reported that Graf found probable cause on Sept. 1, 2026, that Robinson shot and killed Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University in Orem, and ordered him to stand trial on seven counts, including aggravated murder. KSL reported Kirk, the conservative political activist, was shot during a Turning Point USA event on campus, and that Robinson was arraigned immediately after the bindover, with his attorneys entering not-guilty pleas to all seven counts. A bindover means a judge found enough evidence to send the case to trial. It is a lower standard than proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and it is not a verdict.

Salt Lake City defense attorney Greg Skordas, a former prosecutor and KSL NewsRadio host who is not involved in the case, told KSL a trial likely will not happen for at least a year and maybe not until 2028. Skordas said he had expected the preliminary hearing to take two days and that it instead lasted more than a week, and that because it is a death penalty case the defense will "challenge the state's case on everything they can," KSL reported. On any effort to move the trial out of Utah County, Skordas pointed to the Kouri Richins case in Summit County, where he said a fair jury was seated after two venue requests were denied. That is one outside lawyer's forecast. The schedule will come from the court. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.