Suspended Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope wants his malfeasance trial moved outside Lafayette Parish, claiming the "adverse nature of the media bombardment" prevents him from getting a fair trial.

A seven-page request filed with the 15th Judicial District Court by Brett Grayson, one of Pope's attorneys, argues a change of venue is needed for Pope to receive a trial that isn't tainted by "adverse" publicity.

"(Pope) cannot receive a fair trial in Lafayette Parish or any of the nearby parishes due to the level of media coverage of the public records civil litigation, the ensuing recall election petition drive, and that relating to this prosecution (involving two indictments and arrest warrants) has tainted the entire parish," Grayson wrote.

More:Three crazy years for City Marshal Brian 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 to the charges 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 the marshal's office from Lafayette Consolidated Government, according to his indictment. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

All of those charges were consolidated into the case Pope is asking to have moved. He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 6.

A recall campaign in 2017 to remove Pope from his city marshal position after he became embroiled in a public records lawsuit with The Independent failed.

A Lafayette Parish jury found Pope guilty in October 2018 of perjury and malfeasance after prosecutors accused him of lying under oath in a public-records case. He was accused of lying about approving a campaign-related mass email distribution from his official work address. The malfeasance conviction stemmed from his illegal use of public money to pay for personal legal work.

That work included attorneys trying to unseal Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mark Garber's divorce record, representing Pope's employees when they gave sworn statements to prosecutors investigating the marshal, and filing court papers on Pope's behalf when his refusal to comply with the public-records lawsuit led to a criminal contempt case.

Last June, Pope was sentenced for three counts of malfeasance in office for using public money to hire attorneys for his personal use in 2016. His 2018 perjury conviction also was set aside in June by 15th Judicial District Court Judge Donald Smith, who granted Pope's motion for acquittal. The Lafayette District Attorney's Office has filed a motion to appeal that acquittal.

"It is improbable that any resident of Lafayette Parish is unfamiliar with (Pope) or unaware of the present case due to the weekly if not daily coverage," Grayson wrote. "A change of venue provides the only method of avoiding the appearance and reality of unfairness created by the impact of (pre-trial publicity) and prejudice in the community."

Grayson also argued the change of venue is necessary because even if jury members could be unbiased, "there exists prejudice or influences within the community at large that would affect the jurors' answers."

But the Supreme Court "recognized the inherent difficulty of presenting direct evidence of community-wide prejudice against a defendant," Grayson wrote.

Pope's attorneys have asked for time to subpoena local media outlets for coverage relating to the suspended marshal to supplement their request.

From the archive:Brian Pope wanted felony trial moved out of Lafayette in 2018

Pope also filed a lawsuit in October against attorney Gary McGoffin, who led a civil suit against Pope in 2015 over his failure to fill a public records request by The Independent, which has since closed. Pope is representing himself in his suit against McGoffin.

In 2015, Pope refused the publication's requests for public records related to a press conference he held in support of Garber's former opponent for Lafayette Parish Sheriff, Chad Leger. His refusal prompted the civil suit seeking the public records, which was followed by the criminal trial initiated by the District Attorney's office that led to the 2018 perjury conviction.

Pope's new suit claims McGoffin had maliciously prosecuted him by turning over the public records from Pope's civil trial to the District Attorney's office, which then obtained grand jury indictments against Pope for two counts of perjury and five counts of malfeasance in office. Pope was convicted on one perjury charge and three charges of malfeasance.

McGoffin was a witness in Pope's criminal trial, which Pope also alleged contributed to his malicious prosecution.

McGoffin filed an answer to Pope's claims Thursday, calling the lawsuit "frivolous" and "unwarranted" and asking a judge to dismiss Pope's claims because "the sole purpose of this suit is to retaliate for being exposed."

"The qualified or conditional privilege extended to the communication of alleged wrongful acts to the officials authorized to protect the public from such acts is founded on a strong public policy consideration: vital to our system of justice is that there be the ability to communicate the alleged wrongful acts of others without fear of civil action," McGoffin wrote.

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