“After invoking the statutory right to a speedy trial, Defendants Chesebro and Powell filed motions asking that their cases be severed from each other and the additional 17 defendants. The Court held a hearing to consider their arguments on September 6, 2023, after which the State submitted supplemental briefing on September 12, 2023. Considering the record, law, and arguments of counsel, the Court finds that to the extent Defendants Chesebro and Powell request severance from each other, the motions are DENIED. However, after considering the parties’ filings and without the need for a hearing, the Court further finds that severing the remaining 17 co-defendants is simply a procedural and logistical inevitability, and thus the motions to sever from Defendants Chesebro and Powell are GRANTED IN PART. Finally, the motions to stay the proceedings of this Court pending appellate resolution of any federal removal actions are DENIED,” says a Thursday order from Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, severing the two MAGA lawyers from the other 17 co-defendants but denying their motions to separate their trials from each other.
Further down the ruling is the date: “To eliminate any doubts that the statutory speedy trial deadline has been met, the Court will endeavor to have a jury selected and sworn by November 3, 2023,” just a little later than the October 23 start originally targeted by Fulton County prosecutors.