UPDATE:
10/01/2025
Judge Lance Neff has granted the defense's motion to delay the trial of accused FSU shooter, Phoenix Ikner.
The judge is now giving Ikner's defense team until next October to gather their case. The judge has now set the trial to start on October 19th, with hopes of it wrapping up on November 6th.
Last week, Ikner's defense team requested that the trial be pushed back, citing their case load, among other things.
To read the judge's full order, click here.
9/30/2025
Phoenix Ikner's defense team has filed a motion asking the court for more time to prepare for trial. Earlier this month, Judge Lance Neff set the new trial date for March 30, 2026. Ikner's original trial was set for November 3rd.
In the motion filed on September 25th, the defense lists several reasons why the trial should be moved, one of them being the case load. They say that as of now, their office is preparing for four capital cases in 2026. They say Ikner's trial conflicts with the jury selection of another trial, stating his trial is set for March 30th-April 10th, while jury selection for another trial is set for April 6th.
They say that due to the size of their team, along with limited resources, current caseload, and trial schedule, their office is unable to simultaneously investigate, prepare, and try three capital cases in the first part of the year and prepare for another in June.
In a memorandum of law in support of the motion, they spoke to the severity of the case involving the death penalty. They say Ikner is on trial for his life and that they have a responsibility to conduct an adequate and independent investigation.
Judge Neff hasn't responded to the motion.
Ikner is accused of opening fire on Florida State's campus on April 17th, where two people were killed and several others were injured.
As of now, Ikner isn't expected back in court until his pretrial, which is set for March 12th.
Original:
A new trial date has been set for Phoenix Ikner, the suspected gunman of the FSU campus shooting.
- Judge Lance Neff set the new trial date for March 30, 2026. Pretrial is set for March 12, 2026.
- Ikner's new attorney, Blake Johnson, has filed a new provisional notice of appearance to represent Ikner as his defense attorney. He appeared with Sarah Morris from his team.
- Ikner did not appear in court.
A new trial date for the suspected FSU gunman, Phoenix Ikner, has been set for March 30, 2026, with pre-trial set for March 12.
Ikner did not appear in court on Wednesday. The only time we have seen Ikner in court was over Zoom at his first appearance back in
After a conflict of interest, the public defender's office is no longer representing Phoenix Ikner. Johnson, who has filed a provisional notice of appearance for Ikner, was in court for Ikner's case management on Wednesday, alongside Sarah Morris.
Wednedsay, Johnson said he needed more time due to the magnitude of the case and the sheer volume of evidence. The State mentioned in court that there are over 200 witnesses and thousands of hours of video evidence. When asked by Judge Neff, the State said they do not plan to call all of these witnesses to the stand during the trial. The original trial date was set for November 3, 2025.
The State confirmed Wednesday that they are ready to go whenever Judge Neff wants to proceed.
The Judge set the new trial date, emphasizing this should give the Defense plenty of time to prepare, citing a Supreme Court case that says capital cases should be ready to go to trial in 60 days.
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