Judge grants another delay in bribery trial of former Kentucky lawmaker
Defense lawyers for former state Rep. W. Keith Hall, D-Phelps, won another delay Monday in his bribery trial, this time pushing it back to June 22.
U.S. District Chief Judge Karen Caldwell agreed to the two-week delay to allow defense lawyers time to handle a separate criminal case in Louisville. Caldwell told attorneys during a hearing Monday that "the court will not grant any further motions for continuance."
The trial originally was to begin Monday, then was postponed until June 8.
Hall's trial, at the federal courthouse in Pikeville, is expected to last a week. He has pleaded not guilty and is not inclined to enter a plea deal, his attorney, Brent Caldwell, said at Monday's pretrial hearing.
Prosecutors say Hall paid about $46,000 in bribes to Kelly Shortridge when he was a mine inspector for the Kentucky Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement. In exchange for the payments, Shortridge has said, he agreed to ignore safety and environmental violations at Hall's surface mines in Pike County. If convicted, Hall could face up to 10 years in prison.
Shortridge pleaded guilty to his role in the case in March and is expected to testify against Hall at trial, prosecutors said, as is Hall's estranged wife, Stephanie. At Monday's pretrial hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Taylor said Keith Hall told Stephanie Hall that he was paying money to Shortridge, and that he instructed her to make some of the payments from specific bank accounts.
The Halls' marriage is effectively "dead" now, and Stephanie Hall is willing to waive her spousal privilege to testify against her husband, Taylor said.
Prosecutors also will present the jury with a detailed timetable showing money changing hands between Keith Hall and Shortridge, based on the men's bank records, alongside records documenting the dates of Shortridge's visits to Hall's mines, Taylor said.
Hall spent 14 years in the state legislature. He lost his House seat after being defeated in last year's Democratic primary.
This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 1:24 PM with the headline "Judge grants another delay in bribery trial of former Kentucky lawmaker."