The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
McIver murder trial date set for Oct. 30
Attorney accused of shooting his wife while in car last September.
Claud “Tex” McIver will stand trial in the murder of his wife on Oct. 30, a judge ordered Monday.
McIver has pleaded not guilty to shooting his wife Diane as they were driving near Piedmont Park last September. He was in court last week as his attorney sought his release from jail, where he’s been for nearly two months, since the discovery of a pistol in a sock drawer of his Buckhead condo, a violation of his prior bond release.
Attorney Stephen Maples, co-counsel for McIver, said the defense is ready and so is his client.
An evidentiary hearing is scheduled Aug. 25. There was no word on when Fulton County Superior
Court Judge Robert McBurney will decide whether to reinstate bond for McIver.
At McIver’s arraignment last week, Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Clint Rucker suggested McIver, the former vice chairman of the state Board of Elections, was trying to manipulate the case against him from behind bars.
“He’s a very smart man and he is very well-connected,” Rucker said. “He has the financial resources to reach out to people who can have influence over what happens to him.”
Prosecutors said authorities recorded three recent phone calls by McIver from jail. In one he speaks about providing a car to a potential witness and in another, they said he could have been soliciting a favor from a judge.
McIver co-counsel William Hill said Rucker was taking those phone conversations out of context.
Prosecutors have charged the 74-year-old attorney with malice murder, felony murder, possession of a weapon and three counts of attempting to influence witnesses. McIver has maintained that he shot his wife accidentally.