A St. Louis city judge denied Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ request to move up his invasion of privacy trial date to April 3, in a hearing this afternoon.
Greitens’ defense lawyers tried to argue that this was an “extraordinary case” that needed a “quick resolution” so the Missouri legislature could move on. Circuit Judge Rex Burlison previously had set the trial for May 14, which was already a half year earlier than the November date that Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s prosecution team had requested. Gardner objected to the defense’s request for an April trial, as did the victim’s lawyer.
At the March 21 hearing, Burlison said, “I will not change my trial schedule based on what’s happening west of here.”
On February 22, Greitens was indicted on felony charges of invasion of privacy, which stemmed from an allegation that he non-consensually took a partially nude photograph of a woman he was having an extramarital affair with in 2015.
On Monday, March 26, Burlison will hear the defense’s motion to disqualify Ronald S. Sullivan, who joined the prosecution team earlier this month. Sullivan is the faculty director of the Harvard Criminal Justice Institute and Harvard Trial Advocacy Workshop. He also serves as the faculty dean of Winthrop House, making him the first African American ever appointed faculty dean in Harvard’s history.
The defense argues that Gardner does not have the authority to appoint Sullivan as a special prosecutor. On Monday, Burlison will also hear the defense’s motion to waive Greitens’ right to a jury and have a bench trial. Gardner has objected to this motion.
Burlison said, “The court is going to have the final say in that.”
