By Erik Schelzig | TNJ
Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) is replacing his legal team after a federal judge rejected his motion to vacate his decision to plead guilty to campaign finance crimes. He also wants to delay his July 27 sentencing date by at least a month.
In a court filing on Wednesday, Kelsey said he has hired J. Alex Little and Zachary Lawson of the Burr & Forman law firm as his new lawyers. They replace Paul Bruno, David Rivera, Jerry Martin, and David Warrington.
The move came amid what Kelsey’s new lawyers called “the deterioration of attorney-client
relationships, the potential for future litigation involving prior counsel, and the need to have counsel of choice representing him at sentencing.”
Little and Lawson asked District Judge Waverly Crenshaw for at least a 30 day delay so they can familiarize themselves with the sentencing materials and because of other state and federal court obligations on July 26 and July 30.
“There is one issue that might be raised as substantial mitigation in the sentencing memorandum, and this issue requires additional time to research and investigate,” Kelsey’s lawyers said. “But .. counsel believes that this can be accomplished within 30 days.”
