Update
Girls Guy's Trial Postponed
Michael Bezjian/WireImage.com
Joe Francis will have to wait a little longer for his day in court.
A federal judge in Los Angeles today allowed the Girls Gone Wild guru to bring aboard a new defense team. The move means his long-in-the-works tax-dodging trial will be pushed from March 31 to July 7 to give new attorneys Janet Levine and John Vandevelde time to get up to snuff.
"We now have a trial date and we look forward to winning in the courtroom for Mr. Francis," Vandevelde said in a statement.
But that wasn't the best news for Francis...
U.S. District Judge James Otero's also refused to grant a prosecution request to rescind bail for showing up late to a hearing last week. Francis said he was sick and had a doctor's note to prove it.
Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, says the judge instead restricted Francis' travel to the seven counties in the state's central district, which includes L.A. County. That's a step up for Francis, who had been serving house arrest with electronic monitoring.
The 35-year-old Girls guy has pleaded not guilty to two counts of felony tax evasion. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. His new lawyers were unavailable for comment.
"I look forward to being vindicated when the case goes to trial and putting these absurd allegations permanently to rest," Francis said in a statement issued by his reps Wednesday afternoon.
"I am tired of being singled out and criminalized by the government because of what I do for a living. This is not a case about tax evasion; it's simply another attempt to prosecute Joe Francis for being the creator of Girls Gone Wild."
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