BARDSTOWN, Ky. — A father-and-son duo charged in the death of Bardstown mother Crystal Rogers are back in court on Thursday.
Joseph and Steve Lawson are charged with complicity to murder and tampering with physical evidence in Rogers' unsolved disappearance. Their charges stem from an incident over the Fourth of July weekend in 2015, the same weekend Rogers was reported missing.
Thursday's hearing in Nelson County is a status hearing in regards to their request for a separate trial.
WHAS11's Shay McAlister will be in the courtroom during the hearing, which begins at 1:30 p.m.
What to Expect
Judge Charles Simms wants to know if Steve Lawsons plans to waive evidentiary protection before he makes his decision on the request for sperate trials.
If Steve Lawson does chose to waive those protections, it means the prosecutor can include statements he made during police interviews last year.
Attorneys for Joseph Lawson and Brooks Houck, Rogers' ex-boyfriend and the third man charged in her death, would also likely make a case that those comments incriminate them and request they should be able to cross examine Steve Lawson -- which would require separate trials.
RELATED: Crystal Rogers Case: Joseph Lawson appears in court, asks judge to sever his trial from his father's
However, if he chooses not to waive those evidentiary protections, the comments will be excluded from trial and the judge may decide the separate trials are not necessary.
Steve Lawson's attorney filed documents to the court on Wednesday that indicate he doesn't believe they should have to make this decision so far ahead of the trial, which is expected to begin next February.
However, if Simms forces them to make a decision, Lawson's attorneys said he will not wait evidentiary protection.
Simms could rule on separate trials during the hearing Thursday, however judges very rarely agree to try defendants separately because of the burden it puts on the victim's family to go through multiple trials and the burden on taxpayers who pay for travel expenses to move court personnel to another county.
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