Fulton prosecutors seeking delay in start of McIver trial

Defense wants him released on bond if trial is rescheduled.

Fulton County prosecutors are requesting that the upcoming murder trial against Atlanta lawyer Claud “Tex” McIver be delayed until February or March over concerns that potentially critical evidence has yet to be examined.

McIver stands charged with intentionally killing his wife, Diane, on the night of Sept. 25, 2016, as they drove along Piedmont Avenue. He is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 30.

McIver says the shooting was accidental — that he had fallen asleep with a gun in his lap and pulled the trigger after being jolted awake. (The bullet went through Diane McIver’s back; she died hours later at Emory University hospital.) Prosecutors contend McIver, 74, wanted his wife dead and say there was a financial motive.

McIver’s lead attorney, William Hill, said Monday that the defense will agree to a continuance so long as McIver is allowed to be freed on bond. For the past several months, McIver has been housed in the Fulton jail, his bond revoked after a gun was found in his Buckhead condo’s sock drawer.

“I am not the impediment” of the case being delayed so both sides will have more time to prepare, Hill said.

“But this was an accident,” he said. “Tex hurting Diane makes no sense. They loved each other. So if we have to strike a jury on the 30th, I’ll be ready. ”

Hill said that if the trial is delayed, McIver would agree to be held under house arrest at his ranch in Putnam County and be subject to electronic monitoring.

Hill noted that a clerk who works for Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who is presiding over the case, told both sides on Monday that the judge will agree to grant a continuance — but only if both the prosecution and the defense agree on conditions.

The McIver murder case is the subject of Breakdown, a podcast by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The first episode launched Monday.