The accused gunman in last year’s mass shooting near the Florida State University Student Union was in court yesterday. It was the first physical appearance in court for Phoenix Ikner.
During a case management conference, Ikner’s lawyer, Blake Johnson, and State Attorney Jack Campbell discussed a timeline for the defense team to disclose witnesses. Campbell says he needs that information so he can be prepared.
“I need him to make a move so I can make a counter move and we can meaningfully prepare for trial," Campbell says. "I don’t want to waste the court’s time. I certainly don’t want to string along the victims’ families and witnesses with unrealistic dates, but at the same time, I’m not going to not be prepared for trial."
Campbell says if Ikner’s defense team uses expert witnesses, like mental health professionals, he’ll need time to find his own expert witnesses with similar areas of expertise. But Ikner’s lawyer says the volume of discovery, including Ikner’s alleged conversations with an AI chatbot and the Attorney General’s criminal investigation against the artificial intelligence company have made the case complicated. And Johnson says meeting the proposed deadlines would be “virtually impossible.”
“We could not be ready to list our experts by the state’s proposed dates simply because our investigation is not complete," Johnson says.
Judge Lance Neff pushed back. He says he doesn’t agree that the case is complicated.
“It is a death penalty case. It is very important. But you don’t get to have an unlimited amount of time to prepare a perfect case," Neff says. "I think there is a lot of case law out there that says your client is entitled to a fair trial, not a perfect trial. So you need to use your resources and deploy your resources in a way that you’re spending your time wisely.”
Neff said he would take the arguments under consideration. The trial is currently set to take place in October.
Ikner is facing two first-degree murder charges and additional attempted murder charges. The state attorney is seeking the death penalty in the case.
