Two BP figures seek delay in spill-related criminal trial
Two BP well-site leaders are seeking a nine-month delay in their
trial on charges of manslaughter in the deaths of 11 workers killed in
the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.
The motion filed by the
defendants' lawyers was one of three developments Wednesday in legal
cases arising from the April 20, 2010, blowout of BP's Macondo well in
the Gulf of Mexico, which led to the rig explosion and the worst
offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
The attorneys for well-site leaders Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine said in a federal court filingin New Orleans that due to the complexity of the case, they won't be ready for trial on Jan. 14.
The filing says the government opposes the request for a delay.
"The prosecution may claim
the case is 'straightforward.' That is preposterous," attorneys David
Gerger and Robert Habans said in the joint defense motion.
The charges against Kaluza
and Vidrine - who have pleaded not guilty - stem from a botched test on
BP's well hours before it blew out.
