By Associated Press
Decatur, AL – Attorneys for state Rep. Sue Schmitz have asked a federal judge to delay her trial on fraud charges until after the 2009 session of the Alabama Legislature.
The first trial for the Democrat from Toney ended in a mistrial last summer after jurors were unable to reach an unanimous verdict. U.S. District Judge David Proctor had scheduled her retrial to begin Feb. 10 at the federal courthouse in Decatur.
That's one week after the Legislature begins its session. The session will end in mid-May.
In a motion filed Monday, Schmitz attorneys said holding the trial as scheduled would force her to miss legislative meetings and would leave her district without representation.
Federal prosecutors accused Schmitz of taking more than $175,000 in pay from a job in the two-year college system and then performing little or no work.