Martinez is seeking the gag order - rarely granted in criminal cases - to quell statements by Workman and her campaign that the prosecution is politically motivated.

Martinez contends in a new court filing that the two felonies against Workman should not be dismissed - as her attorneys have requested - and that he should stay on as prosecutor.

The mayor's lawyers have asked that Martinez be removed because he is biased. Martinez denies it.

Attorneys will argue their motions Thursday before 3rd District Judge Robert Hilder. Workman - who is on paid leave but continues her re-election campaign - faces an Oct. 4 preliminary hearing.

The Republican mayor's attorneys, Greg Skordas and Jack Morgan Jr., maintain in their Monday court filing that Martinez's request for a gag order is "wholly offensive" and the "newest delay tactic."

"The state's objectives are transparent and the strategy of delay is nothing but a blatant political maneuver," Workman's attorneys wrote.

Workman desperately desires a pre-election trial, believing that a jury will clear her before voters go to the polls.

Martinez objects to skipping the preliminary hearing because the mayor will not concede there is "probable cause" that a crime was committed.

Her attorneys counter that is not a requirement to waive the hearing.

They also allege in Monday's filing that Democratic District Attorney David Yocom and Martinez - whom Yocom appointed to head off concerns about political motivation - have "placed this case squarely within the court of public opinion" and have commented on it in the news media "routinely."

"In short, having used the media as a tool to deliver his condemnation of the mayor, [Martinez] now seeks to use this court as a tool to bind and silence her," Workman's attorneys wrote.

They cite Workman's free-speech rights and court cases defending the right of defendants to comment on their cases. "Once a citizen - any citizen - loses his or her right to criticize the exercise of the prosecutor's power, the First Amendment becomes meaningless."

Once far ahead in public-opinion polls, Workman's numbers have tumbled since a bipartisan, independent panel found sufficient evidence to support the criminal charges.

Workman denies any criminal wrongdoing and says Yocom is on a political vendetta to ruin her.

Her attorneys argued in a motion previously that Martinez should be removed because he is prejudiced against the mayor and that the case should be dropped and investigated by an agency independent of the district attorney.

In his court filing, Martinez argues he has no conflict because in his previous columns criticizing the mayor, he was exercising his right as a citizen to comment on public officials. Martinez is a former columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret Morning News.

Martinez also notes that Workman's attorneys concede in court documents that the prosecution has the right to agree - or not agree - to waive a preliminary hearing.

"In summary," he wrote, "defendant has not offered one supporting case, statute or fact to support her supposition that the interests of justice are being trampled and the only remedy is to dismiss the two felony charges brought against her."

tburr@sltrib.com