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A state judge has delayed an August evidence hearing in the criminal case against a Utah man dubbed a "fixer" for former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.
Timothy Lawson is charged with six felonies — including counts of tax evasion, witness tampering, obstruction of justice and a pattern of unlawful conduct — stemming from allegations that he attempted to intimidate or threaten individuals with ties to Shurtleff and his successor, John Swallow, some of whom were facing their own criminal charges.
Lawson's attorneys filed papers seeking to delay the three-day hearing, which was set to begin Aug. 3 in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court. No reason for the delay is cited, but the documents say Salt Lake County prosecutors agreed to the postponement.
Judge Katie Bernards-Goodman later signed the order pushing back the hearing, but, as of Wednesday, no new date had been set.
The purpose of a preliminary hearing is to determine whether prosecutors have sufficient probable cause and evidence to support the filed charges and hold a trial. A judge makes that determination.
Lawson, 50, has not yet entered a formal plea to the charges, the most serious of which carry a possible punishment of up to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors filed their case against the Provo businessman in December 2013, amid the state, federal and legislative probes of Shurtleff and Swallow.
Seven months later, the former GOP officeholders were jointly charged with multiple felonies stemming from allegations of corruption and bribery inside the attorney general's office.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to those charges and their now-separated cases are ongoing.
In January, Lawson also filed a notice of claim threatening to sue Salt Lake County, the Utah Bureau of Investigation and the FBI over alleged mistreatment and harassment he claims to have suffered in jail and at the hands of officers looking for evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Shurtleff and Swallow.
The notice proposed a settlement of $150,000 to avoid a lawsuit. The issue remained unresolved Wednesday and no lawsuit has yet been filed, according to Shane Johnson, Lawson's civil attorney.
Salt Lake County, the FBI and state attorneys all have declined to comment on Lawson's claims of mistreatment.