Lyon County Attorney Lindell Choat and his wife, Mary Jane, will plead not guilty in Marshall Circuit Court Thursday to multiple charges stemming from a teen party they hosted at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park last February.

They “will ask for and demand a speedy trial,” said their attorney Mark Bryant during a news conference at Bryant’s Paducah office Wednesday.

Special Prosecutor Mac Johns has said he anticipates a trial next spring, but Bryant’s partner, Will Kautz, said he will probably ask for an earlier trial date.

The charges include witness and evidence tampering stemming from Mary Jane’s alleged pelvic examination of a juvenile suspected of having been raped, and Lindell’s Choat’s alleged attempt to persuade two police officers to drop their investigation.

The Choats held hands during the news conference, but said nothing, allowing The Bryant Law Center to speak for them.

At the Choats’ arraignment Thursday, Kautz said he will file several motions on their behalf including a motion to see grand jury testimony. And he said he will question non-existent sections and sub sections of the criminal code referenced in the indictment.

“It’s hard to prepare for a trial based on an indictment that alleges non-existent sections and sub sections,” said Kautz. “My guess is that’s a typographical error.”

He said neither of the Choats appeared before the grand jury nor were they asked to appear.

Bryant said Lindell Choat “will remain the county attorney and he will not resign.” He will continue as legal adviser to the fiscal court and to receive full pay.

“Grounds for his removal are limited to felony conviction,” Bryant said. “I remind you that Mr. and Mrs. Choat are presumed ... to be innocent of any crime. That means you should give them the benefit of the doubt until you hear all of the facts of this case.”

Choat is suspended however from prosecuting cases in Lyon District Court pending resolution of the case. Dan Boaz, county attorney in McCracken County, has been appointed special prosecutor for Lyon District Court.

Bryant said he had hoped to give reporters “a lot of information about this case, but we got a Bar Association opinion that limits what we are allowed to say to you.

“I was really planning and preparing to tell you everything about this case because we don’t have anything to hide,” Bryant said. “I wish the public did know what happened up there that day. ... There are people who just automatically think that if you are charged, you must be guilty.

“I can’t talk about it. I can just tell you that we want a trial, and we want it real fast,” Bryant said.

Bryant said the rules of professional conduct greatly limit what he could say about Lindell Choat’s status as a constitutional office holder, and professional ethics fordid him from speaking about the merits of the case.

Regarding other parties reportedly hosted by the Choats at which there was damage to park facilities, Bryant said he didn’t think this was the first party that ever happened in Marshall County.

Bryant said he couldn’t talk about other parties that might have been hosted by his clients.

But he did comment regarding parties conducted by others in the past at the park.

“I think there have probably been other parties, and I’m not talking about my clients. I’m talking about governors and United States senators and and people I’ve been present with.”

Bryant said no juveniles attended the parties to which he referred.

A Marshall took less than two hours last Thursday to indict Lindell and Mary Jane Choat on 18 and 14 counts respectively. And the grand jury also indicted Scott Hollis of Princeton on a charge of attempted rape of a juvenile girl who was “helpless” at the time.

The Choats are free on bond, but Hollis remains jailed in Marshall County in lieu of $25,000 cash bond.