UPDATED 12:45 p.m. Sept. 24, 2018:

The felony trial of Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope is off to a slow start today.

The district attorney's office filed several motions Friday, while Pope's attorneys filed additional motions Monday morning as the trial was scheduled to begin.

The motions will be heard by 15th Judicial District Court Judge David Smith this afternoon.

Jury selection is expected to begin Tuesday.

Assistant District Attorney Alan Haney filed a motion Friday opposing a motion by Pope's attorneys to provide special instructions to the jury regarding "jury nullification."

Pope's attorneys, Brett Grayson and John McLindon, want to tell jurors if they disagree with a law or believe it's not being enforced properly, the jury can find Pope not guilty on the grounds of jury nullification.

The defendant, Haney argues in his motion, and the prosecution have a right to submit special written charges for the jury.

"That is where the entitlement ends," Haney wrote. "He does not have a legal right to an instruction to jurors to the effect that they can ignore the law."

Haney also filed motions Friday:

Advising he intends to introduce a transcript and videotape of the entire civil deposition by Pope taken Dec. 28, 2015, in The IND's civil case.

Amending the wording of one count of perjury that the DA's office says is "to correct a miswriting in the indictment."

Quashing a subpoena by Pope's attorneys for District Attorney Keith Stutes to testify.

Subpoenaing attorneys Kathryn Guillot and Jonathan Jarrett, who previously represented Pope.

ORIGINAL STORY Sept. 24, 2018:

The felony trial of Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope is scheduled to begin today.

Pope faces five counts of malfeasance in office and two counts of perjury.

Each count of perjury carries a sentence of up to five years in jail or $10,000 in fines or both. Each count of malfeasance carries a sentence of up to five years in jail or $5,000 in fines or both.

If he's convicted of a felony, Pope could lose the job he was elected to in December 2014.

RELATED: Pope's attorneys ask for special jury instructions

Pope's attorneys attempted to have the trial moved out of the Lafayette area, claiming excessive pretrial publicity tainted the jury pool. Fifteenth Judicial District Judge David Smith, at a May hearing, suggested trying to seat a jury in Lafayette first.

Witness subpoenas were served on Sheriff Mark Garber and his ex-wife, Scott Police Chief Chad Leger, several deputies with the marshal's office and two of Pope's former attorneys, including Charles Middleton, whose perjury trial is scheduled in December.

A grand jury indicted Middleton after he allegedly lied under oath to a grand jury in August 2016 for allegedly denying he knew who "Redmond" was when he allegedly knew "Redmond" was "Jason Redmond."

Pope's legal troubles started with an Oct. 6, 2015, press conference he held at his office, in uniform, surrounded by uniformed deputies, where he disparaged Garber, a candidate for Sheriff and a worker's compensation attorney, claiming Garber encouraged illegal immigrants to file bogus worker's comp claims.

RELATED: Pope indicted on seven additional felony charges

The IND news organization, now defunct, sued Pope when he ignored a public records request for documents and emails related to the press conference. The newspaper sought the records in an attempt to show Pope colluded with the campaign of Leger to discredit Garber, his opponent in the race for sheriff. Garber won.

Among the malfeasance charges Pope faces is the use of public money to pay an attorney to attempt to unseal Garber's divorce file, and the use of public money to pay an attorney to represent employees who were questioned in the investigation in which they were not the targets.

MORE: Pope on probation again

Pope also allegedly committed perjury while under oath Dec. 28, 2015, at a sworn deposition in The IND's civil case.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the circumstances leading to a perjury charge against attorney Charles Middleton. A grand jury indicted Middleton after he allegedly lied under oath to a grand jury in August 2016 for allegedly denying he knew who "Redmond" was when he allegedly knew "Redmond" was "Jason Redmond."