Utah
Defense lawyers in Charlie Kirk murder trial ask to seal evidence and parts of a key hearing
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lawyers for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk will make their case Tuesday to close portions of a key hearing and seal some evidence after a judge rejected their request to ban news cameras from court.
Tyler Robinson’s defense has argued that broadcasts of the proceedings create a media frenzy that often misrepresents him and could bias potential jurors. They hope to keep private portions of his preliminary hearing, scheduled for July 6-10, when prosecutors must show they have enough evidence against Robinson to proceed to trial.
The July hearing will mark the most significant presentation of details to date in a case that has focused largely on public access in its first eight months.
Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if Robinson, 23, is convicted. He is charged with crimes including aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of the conservative activist on the Utah Valley University campus. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
Prior to his death, Kirk and the conservative youth movement he founded, Turning Point USA, emerged as a major force in U.S. politics that was considered instrumental in getting President Donald Trump elected to a second term.
As public attention has swirled, state District Judge Tony Graf has taken steps to protect Robinson’s rights in court, but he declined earlier this month to shut out cameras.
During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors say they plan to introduce forensic analyses, surveillance video, recordings of witness statements, autopsy findings and alleged messages from Robinson admitting to the crime.
Defense attorneys have asked the judge to seal dozens of those exhibits to “prevent infecting the potential jury pool,” according to a court document filed Monday.
Prosecutors argue the preliminary hearing should remain open, but they agree that media should be restricted from viewing or copying some exhibits that could be used in a future trial.
Prosecutors have said Robinson left a note for his romantic partner hidden under a keyboard that said, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” They have also said he wrote in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle used to kill Kirk, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander said in court documents that some evidence they plan to present in July is “reliable hearsay,” or statements made outside of court that are considered highly trustworthy. Such statements are typically allowed in preliminary hearings but not at trial, where standards are stricter.
Robinson’s attorneys worry the statements will spread widely after the preliminary hearing, harm their client and then not be admissible at a trial.
Prosecutors disagree, saying in a court filing, “There is nothing to suggest that the substance of the evidence is inadmissible.”
Washington
Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon’s legal dispute with AI company Anthropic
WASHINGTON (AP) — A panel of appellate judges appeared to be divided on Tuesday over a legal dispute between the Pentagon and technology company Anthropic, which claims Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unlawfully and falsely branded it as a national security risk for raising ethical and safety concerns about AI usage in war.
Three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit didn’t indicate how soon they would rule on Anthropic’s appeal, but some of their questions and remarks hinted at how they might decide the case.
Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson said she sees no evidence to support the Pentagon’s determination that Anthropic poses a supply-chain risk to national security.
“To me, this is just a spectacular overreach by the (Defense) Department,” said Henderson, who was nominated by Republican President George H. W. Bush.
Judge Neomi Rao, who was nominated by Republican President Donald Trump, questioned what basis the court could have for second-guessing Hegseth’s judgment. The Pentagon’s dispute with Anthropic centers on how AI technology can be used in fully autonomous weapons and potential surveillance of Americans.
“I take the secretary to be making more general points than the ones that you’ve identified,” Rao told Anthropic attorney Kelly Dunbar. “It’s about risk, and they say, ‘Well, based on what we know, we can’t trust that the (AI) model may not have something embedded within it that is going to create a problem for military capabilities.”
Anthropic filed lawsuits in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco after the Pentagon designated the San Francisco-based company as a supply chain risk and Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using its technology. Anthropic claims the Pentagon is illegally retaliating against it by stigmatizing it with a designation meant to protect against sabotage of national security systems by foreign adversaries.
Anthropic says neither lawsuit seeks to force the government to contract with the company. But it claims that it has been irreparably harmed by Hegseth’s supply-chain risk designation.
Earlier this month, the D.C. circuit rejected Anthropic’s request for an order that would have blocked the Pentagon’s actions while the company’s appeal is pending.
In a separate but related case, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled in Anthropic’s favor last month and blocked the Pentagon from labeling Anthropic as a supply-chain risk.
In a court filing ahead of Tuesday’s hearing in Washington, Anthropic said it can’t manipulate its AI tool Claude once it is deployed in classified Pentagon military networks.
But a Justice Department attorney, Sharon Swingle, told the D.C. Circuit judges that Anthropic clearly has the ability to interfere with the Pentagon’s usage of the company’s AI model “for critical military operations.”
“It’s undisputed that the failure of the model in active military operations could have catastrophic national-security consequences and put service members’ lives at risk,” she said.
Dunbar said Hegseth’s designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk “defied congressionally mandated procedures, exceeded statutory limits and violated the Constitution.”
“For the first time ever, the secretary turned a powerful national security authority against an American company, and he did so to gain leverage in a contract dispute,” Dunbar said.
Judge Gregory Katsas, another Trump nominee, also heard Tuesday’s arguments.
South Carolina
Alex Murdaugh sues clerk whose behavior led state Supreme Court to overturn his murder convictions
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Alex Murdaugh has filed a lawsuit against the court clerk whose behavior during his murder trial led the South Carolina Supreme Court to overturn his convictions and life sentence for the deaths of his wife and son.
The suit filed Sunday in federal court accuses former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill of violating Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial and seeks punitive and compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees. Murdaugh spent $600,000 on his trial defense, according to the suit.
In a unanimous ruling Wednesday, the state Supreme Court said Hill “egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility” by suggesting to jurors during his 2023 trial that the once-prominent lawyer was guilty and that his testimony could not be trusted.
Murdaugh has denied killing his wife Maggie and younger son Paul since he found their bodies outside their home in 2021.
Murdaugh’s lawsuit accuses Hill of “reckless or callous indifference to Mr. Murdaugh’s federally protected right to trial before an impartial jury” and says her behavior was motivated by “evil motive or intent.”
Hill’s attorney, Will Lewis, did not immediately return a call and email Monday seeking comment.
An attorney for Murdaugh, Jim Griffin, said at a news conference Monday the lawsuit seeks to hold Hill accountable for her behavior and reveal the “entire scope of her conduct.”
“She’s yet to be thoroughly investigated by the state, and she’s not been held accountable by the state,” he said.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, whose office prosecuted Murdaugh, said in a news release that the “Becky Hill matter was previously referred to and reviewed by an independent prosecutor.”
Griffin said Murdaugh got emotional when they talked about the Supreme Court’s decision.
“’I’m reading it. I see it says reversed but I still have a hard time believing it,’” Griffin recalled Murdaugh saying.
A few jurors said Hill, assigned to oversee evidence and the jury during the trial, told them to watch Murdaugh’s body language when he testified in his own defense and to not be fooled, confused or thrown off by what he might say.
The South Carolina Supreme Court said Hill’s motivation was the “siren call of celebrity” and her goal was to increase sales of her book on the trial called “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.” It was pulled from publication after plagiarism allegations were made.
Hill has pleaded guilty to lying about what she said and did during the trial, including showing graphic crime scene photos to several media members.
Prosecutors say they plan to retry Murdaugh, which likely means there will be another lengthy trial. The case became a true crime sensation with several streaming miniseries, bestselling books and dozens of true crime podcasts.
Investigators said Murdaugh was addicted to opioids and his complex schemes to steal money from clients and his family’s law firm were starting to unravel so he killed his wife and son to divert attention and buy time to find a way out of his problems.
Murdaugh remains in prison. He pleaded guilty to stealing around $12 million from his clients and is serving a 40-year federal sentence at the same time as a 27-year state sentence for his financial crimes.
Defense lawyers in Charlie Kirk murder trial ask to seal evidence and parts of a key hearing
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lawyers for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk will make their case Tuesday to close portions of a key hearing and seal some evidence after a judge rejected their request to ban news cameras from court.
Tyler Robinson’s defense has argued that broadcasts of the proceedings create a media frenzy that often misrepresents him and could bias potential jurors. They hope to keep private portions of his preliminary hearing, scheduled for July 6-10, when prosecutors must show they have enough evidence against Robinson to proceed to trial.
The July hearing will mark the most significant presentation of details to date in a case that has focused largely on public access in its first eight months.
Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if Robinson, 23, is convicted. He is charged with crimes including aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of the conservative activist on the Utah Valley University campus. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.
Prior to his death, Kirk and the conservative youth movement he founded, Turning Point USA, emerged as a major force in U.S. politics that was considered instrumental in getting President Donald Trump elected to a second term.
As public attention has swirled, state District Judge Tony Graf has taken steps to protect Robinson’s rights in court, but he declined earlier this month to shut out cameras.
During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors say they plan to introduce forensic analyses, surveillance video, recordings of witness statements, autopsy findings and alleged messages from Robinson admitting to the crime.
Defense attorneys have asked the judge to seal dozens of those exhibits to “prevent infecting the potential jury pool,” according to a court document filed Monday.
Prosecutors argue the preliminary hearing should remain open, but they agree that media should be restricted from viewing or copying some exhibits that could be used in a future trial.
Prosecutors have said Robinson left a note for his romantic partner hidden under a keyboard that said, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” They have also said he wrote in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle used to kill Kirk, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander said in court documents that some evidence they plan to present in July is “reliable hearsay,” or statements made outside of court that are considered highly trustworthy. Such statements are typically allowed in preliminary hearings but not at trial, where standards are stricter.
Robinson’s attorneys worry the statements will spread widely after the preliminary hearing, harm their client and then not be admissible at a trial.
Prosecutors disagree, saying in a court filing, “There is nothing to suggest that the substance of the evidence is inadmissible.”
Washington
Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon’s legal dispute with AI company Anthropic
WASHINGTON (AP) — A panel of appellate judges appeared to be divided on Tuesday over a legal dispute between the Pentagon and technology company Anthropic, which claims Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unlawfully and falsely branded it as a national security risk for raising ethical and safety concerns about AI usage in war.
Three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit didn’t indicate how soon they would rule on Anthropic’s appeal, but some of their questions and remarks hinted at how they might decide the case.
Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson said she sees no evidence to support the Pentagon’s determination that Anthropic poses a supply-chain risk to national security.
“To me, this is just a spectacular overreach by the (Defense) Department,” said Henderson, who was nominated by Republican President George H. W. Bush.
Judge Neomi Rao, who was nominated by Republican President Donald Trump, questioned what basis the court could have for second-guessing Hegseth’s judgment. The Pentagon’s dispute with Anthropic centers on how AI technology can be used in fully autonomous weapons and potential surveillance of Americans.
“I take the secretary to be making more general points than the ones that you’ve identified,” Rao told Anthropic attorney Kelly Dunbar. “It’s about risk, and they say, ‘Well, based on what we know, we can’t trust that the (AI) model may not have something embedded within it that is going to create a problem for military capabilities.”
Anthropic filed lawsuits in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco after the Pentagon designated the San Francisco-based company as a supply chain risk and Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using its technology. Anthropic claims the Pentagon is illegally retaliating against it by stigmatizing it with a designation meant to protect against sabotage of national security systems by foreign adversaries.
Anthropic says neither lawsuit seeks to force the government to contract with the company. But it claims that it has been irreparably harmed by Hegseth’s supply-chain risk designation.
Earlier this month, the D.C. circuit rejected Anthropic’s request for an order that would have blocked the Pentagon’s actions while the company’s appeal is pending.
In a separate but related case, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled in Anthropic’s favor last month and blocked the Pentagon from labeling Anthropic as a supply-chain risk.
In a court filing ahead of Tuesday’s hearing in Washington, Anthropic said it can’t manipulate its AI tool Claude once it is deployed in classified Pentagon military networks.
But a Justice Department attorney, Sharon Swingle, told the D.C. Circuit judges that Anthropic clearly has the ability to interfere with the Pentagon’s usage of the company’s AI model “for critical military operations.”
“It’s undisputed that the failure of the model in active military operations could have catastrophic national-security consequences and put service members’ lives at risk,” she said.
Dunbar said Hegseth’s designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk “defied congressionally mandated procedures, exceeded statutory limits and violated the Constitution.”
“For the first time ever, the secretary turned a powerful national security authority against an American company, and he did so to gain leverage in a contract dispute,” Dunbar said.
Judge Gregory Katsas, another Trump nominee, also heard Tuesday’s arguments.
South Carolina
Alex Murdaugh sues clerk whose behavior led state Supreme Court to overturn his murder convictions
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Alex Murdaugh has filed a lawsuit against the court clerk whose behavior during his murder trial led the South Carolina Supreme Court to overturn his convictions and life sentence for the deaths of his wife and son.
The suit filed Sunday in federal court accuses former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill of violating Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial and seeks punitive and compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees. Murdaugh spent $600,000 on his trial defense, according to the suit.
In a unanimous ruling Wednesday, the state Supreme Court said Hill “egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility” by suggesting to jurors during his 2023 trial that the once-prominent lawyer was guilty and that his testimony could not be trusted.
Murdaugh has denied killing his wife Maggie and younger son Paul since he found their bodies outside their home in 2021.
Murdaugh’s lawsuit accuses Hill of “reckless or callous indifference to Mr. Murdaugh’s federally protected right to trial before an impartial jury” and says her behavior was motivated by “evil motive or intent.”
Hill’s attorney, Will Lewis, did not immediately return a call and email Monday seeking comment.
An attorney for Murdaugh, Jim Griffin, said at a news conference Monday the lawsuit seeks to hold Hill accountable for her behavior and reveal the “entire scope of her conduct.”
“She’s yet to be thoroughly investigated by the state, and she’s not been held accountable by the state,” he said.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, whose office prosecuted Murdaugh, said in a news release that the “Becky Hill matter was previously referred to and reviewed by an independent prosecutor.”
Griffin said Murdaugh got emotional when they talked about the Supreme Court’s decision.
“’I’m reading it. I see it says reversed but I still have a hard time believing it,’” Griffin recalled Murdaugh saying.
A few jurors said Hill, assigned to oversee evidence and the jury during the trial, told them to watch Murdaugh’s body language when he testified in his own defense and to not be fooled, confused or thrown off by what he might say.
The South Carolina Supreme Court said Hill’s motivation was the “siren call of celebrity” and her goal was to increase sales of her book on the trial called “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.” It was pulled from publication after plagiarism allegations were made.
Hill has pleaded guilty to lying about what she said and did during the trial, including showing graphic crime scene photos to several media members.
Prosecutors say they plan to retry Murdaugh, which likely means there will be another lengthy trial. The case became a true crime sensation with several streaming miniseries, bestselling books and dozens of true crime podcasts.
Investigators said Murdaugh was addicted to opioids and his complex schemes to steal money from clients and his family’s law firm were starting to unravel so he killed his wife and son to divert attention and buy time to find a way out of his problems.
Murdaugh remains in prison. He pleaded guilty to stealing around $12 million from his clients and is serving a 40-year federal sentence at the same time as a 27-year state sentence for his financial crimes.
