(WBIR – KNOXVILLE) The trials for two former University of Tennessee football players accused of raping a student have been delayed.
A.J. Johnson, 23, and Michael Williams, 22, were each charged in February with two counts of aggravated rape in connection with an off-campus party last November. The alleged victim was 19 at the time. Both have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they could face between 15-25 years in prison.
Williams' trial was scheduled to start Monday in Knox County Criminal Court.
Williams is now slated to face a jury beginning Sept. 28.
Johnson's trial, first slated for September, will be moved to June at the request of prosecutors, who said scheduling difficulties otherwise may arise with witnesses.
Lawyers for the defense asked for a delay to send subpoenas for social media and cell phone data recorded relevant to the alleged rape.
Johnson's attorney, Stephen Ross Johnson, said he just learned on Friday that police had investigated but not preserved data of several conversations – information he hoped to recover.
Stephen Johnson told Judge Bob McGee the defense believes it needs the information to ensure A.J. Johnson gets a fair trial.
Williams' team, headed by attorney David Eldridge, adopted the motion.
McGee granted the request to send 21 requests concerning four people. The request covers cell phone records, as well as Facebook messages, Snapchats, and correspondence from the smartphone app Yik Yak.
The state characterized the late filing as an abuse of the process and an attempt to delay the proceedings.
"It becoming very clear, your honor, that this is nothing more than an 11th hour fishing expedition,' said Knox County Deputy District Attorney General Kyle Hixson. "That's all this is."
However, WBIR legal expert Don Bosch said what the defense discovers could play a huge role in the case. Court records filed by defense attorneys reveal the alleged victim was corresponding with Williams' in the months leading up to the alleged crime.
"In today's world of social media, with accounts like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, those things become very relevant, especially in cases where there might a sexual assault, that are deemed kind of he-said, she-said matters," Bosch said.
In court filings, Williams' defense team said they also hope to access the social media accounts because of questions concerning how police investigators may have coached witnesses to behave online. Attorneys said in court that some accounts had existed previously, then gone offline, or private.
"There are several things one has to look at," Bosch said. "One, did law enforcement have a duty to collect the evidence? Two, if they did, did they fail in that duty? And three, the most troubling aspect, did law enforcement somehow direct a witness or complaining witness to hide, delete, or destroy evidence that might be relevant or even exculpatory to a defendant."
If that was the case, Bosch said the case could even be dismissed.
"That is a severe and unusual remedy, but if the defense can prove that -- if it's even the case, and I'm not suggesting it is -- then that would be a major bombshell in any case, let alone these," Bosch said.
The subpoenas issued to various social media and telecommunications companies are due back in mid-September. A status hearing for Williams' case is slated for soon after.
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