Slager Attorney Seeks Protection From Case To Care For Emanuel Victims In Federal Trial

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager’s attorney wants protection from trying any cases this winter so that he can be with the victims of the Emanuel AME shooting during Dylann Roof’s federal trial.

Slager’s murder trial is set to begin Oct. 31.

Attorney Andy Savage asked the court to excuse him from any hearings between Oct. 15 and Jan. 15.

Savage is representing, family members of Ethel Lance, Susie Jackson, Tywanza Sanders, Myra Thompson, DePayne Middleton-Doctor, and the survivors, Felicia Sanders, Polly Sheppard, and Sanders’ 11-year-old granddaughter.

Sanders and Sheppard are expected to be key witnesses in the trial, and Savage said in the filing other family members will likely be called to testify during the month-long proceeding.

Savage says he talked to U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles and Roof’s appointed attorney, David Bruck, who did not express any issues with the request.

Last month, Savage objected to a date change in the Slager trial. The solicitor’s office, in preparation for the state’s trial against Roof, asked the court to move the date up to August or back until May of 2017.

Quoting Judge Clifton Newman, Savage responded to the request saying, “When the trial date is set, it’s going to be a fixed trial date. It’s not going to be a moving target based on contingencies.”

Slager also faces a federal trial, but it has not been set. Savage is also representing Slager in that case.