Brian Pope wants felony trial moved out of Lafayette

Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope wants his felony trial moved out of Lafayette Parish and surrounding areas.

Attorneys representing Pope also want a judge to quash a Nov. 30 grand jury indictment against him on two felony counts of perjury and five felony counts of malfeasance in office, or to try him separately on the charges.

Pope's attorneys filed a motion Monday seeking a change of venue, alleging Pope cannot receive a fair trial in Lafayette Parish or nearby parishes because citizens have been bombarded with "adverse" media coverage.

"It is improbable that any resident of Lafayette Parish is unfamiliar with Defendant or unaware of the present case due to the weekly if not daily coverage," attorneys Brett Grayson of Lafayette and John McLindon of Baton Rouge, wrote in the motion filed Monday.

Mock trial studies, they wrote, suggest that adverse pretrial publicity "make it impossible" for a Lafayette Parish jury not to have preconceived opinions about Pope and to be able to consider only the evidence presented during a trial.

"An effort to seat an impartial jury in Lafayette Parish will be fruitless," they conclude.

Pope's attorneys want names of everyone who signed recall petition

In connection with the request for a venue change, Pope's attorneys want to subpoena local news organizations, including The Daily Advertiser, for copies of their stories and videos about Pope's legal problems and a recently failed recall effort.

Besides The Daily Advertiser, the attorneys want to subpoena representatives of KLFY TV10, The Independent Weekly, KATC TV3, KADN and the Acadiana Advocate.

In their motion to quash the indictment or try Pope separately on the malfeasance charges, his attorneys claim the single indictment was not proper because they are not all of similar character, are not based on the same act and do not constitute part of the same scheme.

From December: The three-year saga of Brian Pope

The indictment alleges Pope committed malfeasance on:

Sept. 1, 2015, when he had two employees of the City Marshal Office, while on the public's time, write a letter for his personal political campaign.

Oct. 7, 2015, when he held a press conference using the public funds of his office, including his office space and employees who were on duty, for a political purpose,, namely to criticize Mark Garber, a candidate for sheriff who opposed Chad Leger, who was supported by Pope.

Nov. 10, 2015, through June 2, 2016, by using public funds to pay an attorney to prepare and draft a motion to unseal the divorce records of Mark Garber.

June 13, 2016, by using public funds to pay for an attorney to represent employees of the City Marshal Office during questioning in a criminal investigation in which they were not the targets.

The other charges allege Pope committed perjury while under oath Dec. 28, 2015, at a sworn deposition:

When he denied he authorized the distribution of an email through a third-party mass distribution service.

When he said Hilary "Joe" Castille only provided him with a press advisor.

Pope's trial was set for Feb. 20, but it appears that date will be used to hear arguments on various motions instead.

The city marshal also has a hearing Feb. 28 before Judge Jules Edwards to review his criminal contempt probation status.

Brian Pope's probation hearing scheduled