A Chattanooga attorney on Monday asked for his client's trial to be moved to a new venue following a news conference last month at which Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond held up his photo.
The client, Michael Craig Gervais, was one of several whose mug shots Hammond held up at an Apr. 28 news conference discussing conditions at the jail and telling reporters the inmates were "the roughest of the rough, the baddest of the bad."
Gervais' mug shot was shown above the words "child rape" in large red capital letters.
"To use the sheriff's own words, it was a 'show and tell'," Chattanooga attorney Robin Flores said. "I believe it's necessary and my duty as a lawyer to raise the issue."
Hammond was in court as Flores made the motion for a change of trial venue before Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman, saying it was needed to give Gervais a fair trial.
Gervais, 54, is awaiting trial on child rape and three counts of child abuse and neglect. He has been detained at Silverdale since his arrest in March 2017. His original trial date was May 27, and while Steelman denied the change of venue, he did agree to move the trial date tentatively to Aug. 9.
Flores further argued that, although Gervais' name was not mentioned in the media, the fact that his photo was displayed by Hammond would hurt Gervais' chances of getting an untainted jury.
"Mr. Gervais is a pre-trial detainee under the presumption of innocence according to the law of the state of Tennessee," Flores said. "After his show-and-tell at the conference, the photographs were then laid out on a table for the press."
Flores also said that the position Hammond has in the community means that his words have influence.
"This is the sheriff of Hamilton County saying these things," Flores said. "People listen to him."
In his denial of the venue change, Steelman stated that Flores' efforts could have further hindered his client's chances - noting that the media presence in the courtroom would make Gervais more known to the public, therefore further contaminating the jury pool.
"I think what's going on here is going to shed more light onto the problem," Steelman said. "Are you sure that's something you want to do?"
"I didn't put this process in motion," Flores said. "I don't know what Sheriff Hammondwhat was going through his mind when he decided to do this."
The news conference was Hammond's response to a request from the Chattanooga Clergy for Justice requesting that Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston ask the Department of Justice to investigate the goings-on at Silverdale Detention Center amid allegations of inmate-on-inmate violence, abuses of power and a trio of lawsuits against the Sheriff's Office and the county.
On Friday, Pinkston's office confirmed that the request had officially been submitted to the Department of Justice.
Although Flores subpoenaed Hammond to explain his actions to the court, prosecutor Andrew Coyle said that the sheriff's testimony was unnecessary.
"I don't understand how Sheriff Hammond taking the stand would be necessary," Coyle said, adding that the state is ready for Gervais' trial and that the "case has been prepped," pressing for the current trial date to be kept.
Flores then requested the court that the trial date be moved to August to allow time for the buzz around the case to die down, a delay Steelman granted.
"We would like to get this trial date beyond the election date," Flores said, adding that he would like to have some time for things to calm down before his client's trial happens.
On Aug. 4, Republican nominee Coty Wamp and Democrat John Allen Brooks will face off in the general election to succeed Pinkston, who lost to Wamp in the GOP primary.
Flores did not offer any comments following the hearing.
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow her on Twitter @LaShawnPagan.