LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Nelson County judge postponed the February trial for Steve Lawson, one of three men charged in the Crystal Rogers murder case, until May 27 to give defense attorneys more time to review evidence in the nearly 10-year-old case.

Louisville attorney Darren Wolff, who, along with attorney Zach Buckler, took over after Lawson fired attorney Ted Lavit in August, said at the time it may not be possible for them to be prepared by February for trial given the massive amount of evidence collected.

Wolff asked a judge Thursday to postpone the February trial date, arguing the defense "has done the best they can" to review all of the evidence but "it is simply impossible" and going forward with a February trial would likely prompt a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel by Lawson.

In addition, Wolff said that in November more evidence was turned over by prosecutors that had been in the custody of the federal government.

Wolff asked for a later summer trial date.

Prosecutor Shane Young objected, telling Nelson County Judge Charles Simms III the new evidence was mostly duplicative of evidence already turned over and that delaying the trial would inconvenience the judge in Warren County, where the trial was moved, as well as witnesses who have already been subpoenaed.

Young also said Rogers' family had a right under state law for the trial to be conducted as soon as possible. 

Simms said he was concerned that Lawson’s new attorneys have not had enough time to go through the discovery, or evidence, and worried that if the trial went forward in February, a possible conviction could be appealed for ineffective assistance of counsel.

Wolff asked for more time than the May 27 date, saying it wasn’t "sufficient."

"I am positive we will not be ready in May," Wolff told the judge. 

Simms disagreed and said that was a sufficient amount of time to prepare for trial. He scheduled a pre-trial hearing for Feb. 27.

Simms has already separated Lawson’s trial from that of his son, Joseph, and Brooks Houck.

Houck and Joseph Lawson are scheduled to stand trial on June 24, 2025, also in Warren County.

Both trials were moved out of Nelson County because of the massive amount of publicity surrounding the case.

Rogers was last seen with her boyfriend, Brooks Houck, during the Fourth of July weekend in 2015. Her car was left running on the side of Bluegrass Parkway with her purse still inside. She's presumed dead, but her body was never found.

Joseph Lawson pleaded not guilty in September 2023 to criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in the Rogers case. He is not charged with Rogers' murder, but prosecutors instead charged him with conspiracy, meaning they believe he was involved in some fashion with whomever killed Rogers.

The maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge is 10-20 years in prison.

In addition, the indictment charges Joseph Lawson with complicity to tampering with physical evidence when he "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered physical evidence." The maximum penalty for that charge is one to five years in prison.

Steve Lawson, according to a Dec. 6, 2023, Nelson County indictment, agreed to "aid one or more persons in the planning or commission" of the death of another and then "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed" or altered physical evidence on July 3 or July 4, 2015, when Rogers disappeared.

Houck's indictment accused him of "acting alone or in complicity with another" committing the offense of murder of Rogers. He's also charged with tampering when he "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered" physical evidence, according to the indictment.

This story may be updated.

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