al proceeding longer than they had their father in their lives. 

But Robinson's attorneys said in court filings this week that they must sift through tens of thousands of files turned over by prosecutors.

They said they'll have to conduct extensive investigations into Robinson's life in search of mitigating factors that could influence his sentence if convicted, and must devote  substantial time  to issues such as jury selection.

The defense lawyers said they respected the court's attempt to set a  realistic trial date.  Yet because it's a complex death penalty case, trying to predict when it will be ready for trial  is an exercise that, at this time, will necessarily be infected with false precision,  they wrote in a document filed Wednesday.