With no indication that former City Councilman John “Duke” Franklin Jr. plans to plead guilty to accusations he was involved in a local cocaine ring, defense attorney Cornel Williams is preparing to vigorously defend his childhood friend.

“Whatever date the court sets, I’ll be here, ready for trial,” Mr. Williams emphatically told U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Lee Wednesday as Mr. Franklin appeared with his codefendants in court for a new arraignment.

Judge Lee set Oct. 15 as the trial date, calling it “very firm” and telling the courtroom full of attorneys that no excuses will be tolerated for being ill-prepared to litigate the “complex case.”

Charged with money laundering, conspiring to obstruct justice and providing false statements to federal officials, Mr. Franklin continues to rely in part on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrows the money laundering statute and could make it more difficult to prosecute such cases, said Mr. Williams, who’s based in Houston, Texas.

The money laundering charge is the most serious Mr. Franklin faces, and a conviction on it could land him in a federal prison for up to 20 years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Winne said Wednesday, however, that he doesn’t “anticipate the Supreme Court case having an impact on the indictment.”

Mr. Franklin and his eight codefendants first pleaded not guilty May 27, and an Aug. 5 trial date was set. A new indictment recently issued to include a 10th codefendant, however, has extended deadlines in the case and prompted the second arraignment Wednesday.

The new indictment does not list more charges against Mr. Franklin.

Like Mr. Franklin, the new codefendant, Chattanooga accountant Ronald Goodwin, is accused of helping codefendant Michael Kelley conceal the origin of money that authorities say was intended to buy drugs.

All 10 codefendants named in the 13-count indictment are accused of running or helping to run a local cocaine ring worth about $1.2 million, exposed May 14 when federal agents arrested 42 people in a roundup.

The allegations against Mr. Franklin are in connection with a March 5 traffic stop by Hamilton County sheriff’s deputies, who found $69,500 in Mr. Kelley’s car.

According to the indictment, Mr. Kelley planned to use the money to buy cocaine. To help Mr. Kelley make the money look legitimate, Mr. Franklin arranged to have a loan document falsified, authorities allege.

Mr. Goodwin also is accused of helping Mr. Kelley launder the money, telling him to solicit personal checks that were intended to falsely represent investments in his business in order to justify a claim for the return of the seized money.

Mr. Kelley told the people who wrote those personal checks that they never would be cashed, according to the indictment.

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