BARDSTOWN, Ky. (LEX 18 — One of the three men charged in connection with the death of Crystal Rogers in Bardstown dismissed his attorney during a court hearing in Nelson County on Thursday.
Steven Lawson is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence. His son and Rogers’ ex-boyfriend, Brooks Houck, are also charged in the case.
At the beginning of Thursday’s hearing, Lawson raised his hand and told Judge Charles Simms he felt that his attorney, Ted Lavit, was no longer doing his job for him.
When asked if the prosecution had any objections to Lavit being dismissed as Lawson’s attorney, special prosecutor Teresa Young told the judge that she had her own concerns that Lawson was not receiving the “conflict-free” counsel he was entitled to by law.
Young said that Lawson had been heard in a recorded jailhouse call to his family saying that his attorney had been talking to the attorneys for Brooks Houck behind his back.
She pointed to similarities between language and quotes used in motions filed by Lavit on behalf of Lawson and motions filed by attorneys for Brooks Houck and said she felt the situation should be looked into. She also said the motions filed by the attorneys even shared misquotes and paraphrases.
The motions in question referenced interviews Lawson had given law enforcement. Lavit had argued on behalf of Lawson that some of the interviews by law enforcement should be excluded from trial because Lawson had been promised immunity for cooperating and telling the truth.
Prosecutors had argued that Lawson canceled out any promise of immunity when he lied and gave inconsistent statements during the interviews.
Judge Simms ultimately ordered that some of the law enforcement interviews could be excluded from trial because they had amounted to plea negotiations.
Young told the judge Thursday that she could not think of a scenario where Lawson’s attorney would collaborate with Houck’s attorney where the interviews are concerned, because Lawson gave law enforcement information about Houck during those interviews.
“I don’t know what’s going on here but I know that it’s something I think the court needs to inquire about, it’s disturbing,” Young said. “I’m not sure Mr. Lawson has received conflict-free counsel, I’m not sure that he has had what he is entitled to under the Sixth Amendment.”
The original purpose of Thursday’s hearing was for Lavit to tell the judge whether or not he wanted to exclude the interviews in question. That did not end up being discussed and the hearing ended after Lawson asked that Lavit be dismissed as his attorney.
Lavit told the judge in the hearing Thursday that Lawson had not brought up any concerns to him before the hearing, and that his representation of Lawson had been without conflict and that he’d done his best.
