Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A judge ruled Thursday that only two defendants in the Georgia elections case will begin trial next month, while former President Donald Trump and others will be tried later, possibly in multiple separate proceedings.
Trump's lead attorney, Steven Sadow, filed a waiver of Trump's right to a speedy trial on Wednesday, asking instead for his motion for severance to be considered.
The trial of attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell will begin on Oct. 23. In a filing Thursday morning, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Chesebro and Powell's trial will be severed from the other 17 defendants.
The court will determine by Sept. 29 when the others will go on trial on charges they participated in an illegal scheme to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election results.
McAfee determined that the courthouse does not have the capacity to try all 19 defendants at the same time, calling multiple trials "an absolute necessity."
"The Fulton County Courthouse simply contains no courtroom adequately large enough to hold all 19 defendants, their multiple attorneys and support staff, the sheriff's deputies, court personnel and the state's prosecutorial team," McAfee wrote.
He added that moving the venue would raise security concerns.
The court will have the jury for the Chesebro and Powell trial selected and sworn in by Nov. 3.
Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis filed a brief Wednesday, reiterating the state's wishes to try all 19 defendants at the same time, arguing that holding multiple trials would impair efficiency and fairness.
One of Willis' arguments is that the defendants who are tried at a later date would have the advantage of knowing the prosecution's case beforehand. It would also create a greater inconvenience, and in some cases trauma, for witnesses who have to repeat their testimony.
The prosecution intends to call more than 150 witnesses to the stand in each trial. The trials are estimated to last four months each. McAfee said he could see a trial this expansive taking up to eight months.
Willis argued that it would be "feasible" to try them all at once in the Fulton County Courthouse. Multiple, lengthy trials, however, would strain the court's resources.
"Realistically, holding three or more simultaneous, high-profile trials would create a host of security issues and would create unavoidable burdens on witnesses and victims, who would be forced to testify three or more times on the same set of facts in the same case," the brief reads.
Defendants who request a speedy trial are entitled to have their trial start either during the current court term or the following term, according to Georgia law. Court terms last two months, with the current term beginning in September and the next in November.
Chesebro on Wednesday motioned to have his indictment dismissed. The motion states that every action Chesebro took part in that allegedly interfered with Georgia's election were justified.
"Mr. Chesebro, being an expert in constitutional law, acted within his capacity as a lawyer in researching and finding precedents in order to form a legal opinion, which was then supplied to his client, the Trump campaign," Chesebro's motion says.
