LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new attorney for Steve Lawson, one of three men charged in the Crystal Rogers murder case, told a judge Thursday it is possible the February trial date will have to be pushed back given he and his co-counsel have yet to review the massive amount of evidence in the case.

"We literally just got appointed to this thing," said Louisville attorney Darren Wolff, who, along with attorney Zach Buckler, took over after Lawson recently fired attorney Ted lavit. "I am not 100% positive that we are going to be prepared to try the case in the time period that this court has scheduled for."

Nelson County Judge Charles Simms III responded that three people have been incarcerated for "a significant period of time and one thing I like to do is get cases handled as quickly and efficiently as possible. And that’s my hope and goal in this case."

Simms added that he would "cross any bridges we need to in the future."

On Aug. 8, Steve Lawson asked the judge for a new attorney saying Lavit wasn't doing a good job.

He was in court for what was supposed to be a hearing about whether he wanted to include or exclude statements he made in 2023 police interviews in his trial.

Wolff asked for 45 days to prepare for that hearing, noting how much evidence he has to review. Simms set a date for Oct. 4.

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.

Prosecutors want the three men tried together on Feb. 10, 2025, given they are facing the same charges and allegedly worked with each other in the 2015 disappearance of Rogers.

But defense attorneys have asked for separate trials, with Houck's attorneys arguing Steve Lawson has given about 20 hours of contradictory testimony and information about the case and, unless he testified at a joint trial, Houck would be unable to confront Lawson about the lies.

Steve Lawson’s new defense team will have to look through thousands of pages of documents and hours of interviews Lawson gave to investigators and a grand jury in the case.

Wolff, who practices in Louisville, and Butkler, from Lexington, are private attorneys hired as contractors by the the Department of Public Advocacy.

Joseph Lawson pleaded not guilty in September 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 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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