"There's no reason to not have him here," said Dana Facemyer. "Let's get him down here and let's get the case moving."

Timmy Brent Olsen is in federal custody in the Salt Lake County jail on federal perjury charges and has yet to appear in the murder proceedings, including a hearing Wednesday.

Facemyer said it is common for defendants on federal hold to be transported when a writ of habeas corpus is issued.

But the U.S. Marshals Service, on the advice of the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah, already has ignored one such writ signed by Utah's 4th District Judge Lynn Davis.

"If this keeps happening, it would be a violation of a speedy trial," Facemyer said.

County prosecutors say it is likely they won't see Olsen in state court for several months.

A three-week federal jury trial for perjury charges was scheduled to start on Monday, but a technical error has likely delayed that trial for at least two months.

Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, has said federal prosecutors have maintained since the murder charge was filed that Olsen should remain in federal custody until after the perjury trial.

"I do think it's progress that we have defense counsel and we can go forward on some things," said prosecutor Mariane O'Bryant.

Further proceedings in the murder case are scheduled for June 7 at 1:30 p.m.

O'Bryant said her office is concerned the court is going forward without Olsen, but said it makes sense to have status hearings so the case isn't dropped or lost.

Facemyer plans to meet with his new client soon and to review case information to get up to speed.

"I haven't seen anything or read anything," Facemyer said.

thollingshead@sltrib.com