Attorneys for Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope want the judge to give special instructions to jurors in his felony trial that is scheduled to start Monday.

The instructions include the citation of laws and the defense attorneys' interpretation of those laws in such a way that would limit the jurors' ability to find Pope guilty.

The defense attorneys also want 15th Judicial District Judge David Smith to let them 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.

Pope is charged with seven felony counts, including five malfeasance in office charges and two perjury charges.

Special instructions Pope's attorneys want the jury to hear

Wednesday, Pope's attorneys Brett Grayson and John McLindon filed an eleventh-hour request to give jurors special instructions. If Smith concurs, he would advise jurors before deliberations that:

State law specifies malfeasance must be intentional.

If someone does something on the advice of his attorney and the act ends up being criminal, that individual is excused.

An employer is required to pay employees for short breaks during work hours.

It is OK to pay an attorney with funds from the City Marshal's Office to defend any employees "for acts done in the scope and course of performing official duties ..."

A violation of Louisiana Revised Statute 42:1461 is not a crime but a civil action.

Any ambiguity in substantive provisions of a criminal statute are resolved in favor of the accused.

A defendant shall be found not guilty if their conduct, while otherwise criminal, was "apparently authorized, even though not actually authorized" and "was a reasonable fulfillment" of his public duties.

RELATED: Request to drop felony case against Pope denied

Although the jury is not responsible for sentencing, if found guilty of perjury, Pope could be sentenced to serve up to five years in jail or $10,000 in fines or both on each count.

If found guilty of malfeasance, Pope could be sentenced to up to five years in jail or $5,000 in fines or both on each count.

To find Pope guilty on two of the malfeasance charges, the jury must find he used public money to urge voters to vote for or against a certain candidate.

To find Pope guilty on three other malfeasance charges, the jury must find Pope misappropriated to himself public funds to pay for attorney fees.

If a witness under oath corrects himself, then he did not willingly commit perjury.

Pope's attorneys want jurors to know they can reject the law

Finally, Pope's attorneys want jurors to be told about jury nullification.

If the jury determines evidence shows the defendant violated a law but they disagree with the law or believe the prosecution is trying to enforce the law inappropriately, the jury has the legal right to render a verdict of not guilty on the grounds of jury nullification, Pope's attorneys argue.

"Jury nullification is nothing less than a rejection of a law of this state ..." they wrote.

Jury nullification allows jurors, as citizens to tell government they believe the laws the defendant is charged with exceed what is appropriate and acceptable in our society, they added.

Pope faces new felony charges

Last week, a grand jury indicted Pope on seven additional felony charges of malfeasance in office dating between January and July.

The charges may be related to Pope keeping certain fees for himself as part of his salary instead of depositing the fees into the City Marshal's Office account for office purposes as instructed by an attorney general opinion.

He is scheduled for arraignment Oct. 23 on the latest charges.

Pope also is on probation in relation to civil case filed by The Independent newspaper in 2015.