The judge in Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price's public corruption case has set a hearing for late January so Price's attorneys can argue for two separate trials — one for bribery and the other for tax fraud.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn scheduled the hearing for Jan. 27. Price's attorneys asked that the charges be split into two cases in a motion filed in September.
"Although we should never suggest that an effort is beyond a jury's capabilities, there is every reason to keep the process as manageable and comprehensible as possible," Price's attorney, Billy Ravkind, wrote.
Ravkind said a jury might not be able to fairly consider both issues at the same time and might get confused.
"The issues are different for bribery and tax," he wrote. "The bribery trial and tax trial should be separated. These two categories of offenses have been mis-joined."
Also at the Jan. 27 hearing, attorneys for business consultant Christian Campbell will argue why they want a separate trial for him.
Price, Campbell and two others were indicted last July after a long FBI investigation.
