A state judge Thursday delayed the malfeasance trial for suspended Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope, as several requests are processed by prosecutors and defense lawyers.

Fifteenth Judicial District Court Judge John Trahan granted the delay in the trial scheduled to start March 16, allowed the trial to be delayed, but did not set a new date.

The delay will accommodate requests from the defense for Pope's charges to be dismissed, a change of venue and evidence, including emails between Assistant District Attorney Alan Haney and Gary McGoffin, a lawyer who represented a now-defunct publication in a civil lawsuit against Pope.

Pope was charged with taking more than $84,000 in fees collected by the marshal's office in 2018 following a 17-count indictment returned by a grand jury that December. He pleaded not guilty in January 2019. Pope has asked a judge to dismiss those charges.

Pope also is accused of pocketing $3,000 in 2018 in reimbursements of business expenses already paid by his office, according to his indictment. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. Pope also will seek dismissal of those charges, his lawyer said Thursday.

Both sets of charges were consolidated into one criminal case.

In a January filing, Brett Grayson, who is representing Pope, argued the marshal was entitled to the $84,000 in fees he is accused of taking.

That request is the "baseline" of the case, Haney said Thursday in court. Regardless of how Trahan rules, the decision will likely be appealed and require rulings from a higher court before Pope's trial can proceed.

Pope also wants to have the trial moved out of Lafayette Parish. Trahan will hear that request on March 12, which is likely when a new trial date will be set. Grayson argues the "adverse nature of the media bombardment" prevents Pope from getting a fair trial. Prosecutors are protesting the change of location.

Pope's attorneys also have requested evidence from District Attorney Keith Stutes that Pope argues could be used to reveal prosecutorial misconduct and to remove the 15th Judicial District Attorney's office from his case. They are seeking emails, texts, voicemail or letters between McGoffin and the staff of the district attorney's office about Pope's investigation and indictment.

The evidence will give Pope and his lawyers guidance on McGoffin's relationship with prosecutors, Grayson argued. Prosecutors said they have handed over that evidence to Grayson.

This is Pope's second trial in which he is facing malfeasance in office charges. In October 2018, a Lafayette Parish jury found that Pope lied under oath in a public-records case about approving a campaign-related mass email distribution from his official work address and that he used public money to pay for personal legal work.

In June, Pope was sentenced for three counts of malfeasance in office for using public money to hire attorneys for his personal use in 2016. He was acquitted by Judge Donald Smith that same day of a perjury charge. The Lafayette District Attorney's Office has filed a motion to appeal that acquittal.

Contact Ashley White at adwhite@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @AshleyyDi.

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