Gov. Greitens' lawyers ask to move trial from May to early April

Attorneys for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens asked Monday that his trial date be moved up to April 3 and that the verdict be determined by the judge instead of a jury.

Edward Dowd Jr. said the governor's attorneys want the case concluded quickly.

"The governor is innocent and he is entitled to have his case heard," Dowd said.

The trial currently is scheduled to begin May 14.

Moving the trial date to April 3 would mean legal proceedings would start before a Missouri House committee investigating the governor finishes its work and makes its findings public.

The committee's final report, along with transcripts of its proceedings, are to be released by April 8, and the committee's chairman — Republican Rep. Jay Barnes — said it is on pace to meet that deadline.

The legislative investigation is the first step towards possible impeachment proceedings.

The governor's attorneys also asked Monday for a bench trial rather than a jury trial.

In some states a defendant can’t waive a jury trial without the permission of the prosecutor, but in Missouri the judge can grant the waiver.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner will object to the earlier trial date, her office said.

"It’s already on an accelerated pace and this request is just designed to harass the prosecution," said Gardner's spokeswoman, Susan Ryan.

Gardner also will object to the governor's request for a bench trial.

"The circuit attorney believes the citizens of St. Louis deserve to hear the evidence and make a decision in this case," Ryan said.

Greitens has been charged with invasion of privacy stemming from a 2015 affair. The felony charge alleges Greitens knowingly photographed the woman with whom he had the affair and transmitted the image “in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer.”

Last week, both prosecuting attorneys and lawyers for the governor’s former lover expressed opposition to allowing cameras in the courtroom during the trial.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison has not announced a decision on whether cameras will be allowed in the courtroom.

Defense attorneys also filed a motion to dismiss the state’s special prosecuting attorney, Ronald S. Sullivan, arguing his appointment is illegal because special prosecutors may only be appointed by judge when the elected prosecutor has a conflict of interest. The motion also notes that Sullivan has no prosecutorial experience and was hired specifically for the Greitens case.

In addition to being a professor of law at Harvard University, Sullivan is a private defense lawyer whose previous clients include the family of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old fatally who was shot in 2014 by a policeman in Ferguson and whose death set off months of protests in and around the St. Louis suburb.

Ryan dismissed the complaint as “irrelevant,” citing historical rulings where similar cases were allowed to move forward.

Previous circuit attorneys — including Jennifer Joyce, Dee Joyce-Hayes and George Peach — all used special assistant circuit attorneys, she said.

"The law’s clear that Kim Gardner is able to swear in up to seven special prosecutors," Ryan said.

This story was originally published March 19, 2018 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Gov. Greitens' lawyers ask to move trial from May to early April."