Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., two defendants who took plea deals in the Tyré Nichols federal criminal case, had their most recent state court dates reset to Oct. 23.
Martin and Mills' case came up in court at 201 Poplar on Aug. 17.
Mills testified during the federal and state trials. Three other officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith Jr., were convicted of various counts in the federal case but fully acquitted in the state case.
It's unclear how Martin and Mills' cases will end; the federal criminal verdict for the other three officers was thrown out, and a decision about a new federal trial is pending. Both are taking place in that appeals process. Mills had pleaded guilty in state court years ago, and Martin's case was pending.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee is appealing that decision, but the appeal process is slow, said Blake Ballin, Mills' attorney.
"We're really just on pause," said Ballin, who spoke to reporters after the report date was reset. "We're waiting to find out if he has to testify again. There's really only one thing left for us to focus on for Mr. Mills, which is sentencing. It's just a matter of when that comes around."
The civil lawsuit against the City of Memphis brought by Nichols' mother is also still awaiting trial.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Sheryl Lipman for the Western District of Tennessee recently set a scheduling conference to set new pretrial deadlines and a trial date for the civil case.
On July 30, Wells' attorneys suggested a new trial date of March 15, 2027, about two months later than the currently scheduled trial.
Jack Armstrong covers breaking news and the environment for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at jack.armstrong@commercialappeal.com and followed on X @jca2902.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Court date reset for two cops in Tyré Nichols case amid legal quagmire
