Stephen Lawson’s attorneys seek court to set aside verdicts or grant new trial
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Friday, June 6, 2025 — The attorneys for Stephen Lawson, the first of the three Crystal Rogers defendants to go to trial, have asked the court for a either a new trial or to set aside the guilty verdicts based on a series of errors that occurred during the course of the trial.
In the trial that ended Friday, May 30, 2025, Lawson was found guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to tampering with physical evidence.
His defense team cited eight issues that it claims made the proceedings unfair and in violation of Lawson’s right for due process.
FAULTY JURY INSTRUCTIONS. Lawson’s attorneys claim Circuit Judge Charles Simms’ instructions to the jury were flawed because they failed to accurately reflect state law in regard to the conspiracy to commit murder charge, “thereby leading to confusion by the jurors.”
The jury instructions were “contrary to Kentucky law,” the filing states.
DNA TESTING. The defense cites the court’s failure to have DNA testing conducted on two hairs recovered during the search of Crystal Roger’s car in 2015. Prosecutors initially filed a motion to have the hairs tested, but later withdrew the request. The defense states Lawson’s right to test evidence was violated by the action of prosecutors.
JUDGE’S ORDER VIOLATED. Prior to the start of the Lawson trial, on May 13, 2025, Judge Simms issued an order in regard to courtroom decorum, which included a prohibition on clothing that expressed a message related to the case.
The defense noted that members of the courtroom gallery — particularly members of the Ballard family — wore pink, which was a sign of support for the “Team Crystal” movement. Wearing the color pink expressed a message in violation of Judge Simms’ May 13th order.
INADEQUATE PREPARATION FOR TRIAL. One of the pretrial motions presented prior to the start of the trial was a request to delay the trial in order for Lawson and his attorneys to complete review of the thousands of pages of documents and hundreds of hours of audio and videotape ahead of his trail. Jail records show Lawson himself only logged 50 hours of review time on the discovery evidence, as his defense counsel also advised the court they lacked sufficient time to review the evidence. “This provided an unfair, lopsided means of preparation in favor of the Commonwealth.”
IMPROPER CONTACT WITH BALLARD FAMILY. Lawson’s attorneys state that one of the Commonwealth’s witnesses had inappropriate contact with Crystal Rogers’ mother, Sherry Ballard.
According to the witness, she ran into Ballard in the restroom. Ballard thanked the witness for her testimony, and the witness said she “prayed it would give Ms. Ballard peace.” This made the witness’ testimony prejudicial to Lawson.
FAILED JURY INSTRUCTION. Lawson’s attorneys say Judge Simms failed to instruct the jury on the limited use of text messages introduced in court prior to the jury beginning its deliberations.
RUSH TO JUDGMENT. The defense claims there was an appearance of urgency to conclude the trial on Friday, May 30, 2025, so the jury would not have to return the following Monday.
The jury deliberated for approximately three hours, time which defense attorneys insufficient to adequately consider the evidence presented during the case.
“There is no conceivable way this jury reviewed the evidence, considered the instructions, and thoughtfully deliberated this matter in the time it took for them to reach a verdict.”
EVIDENCE LACKING. According to the defense, the Commonwealth failed to present evidence that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Lawson entered into an agreement with Brooks Houck in regard to assisting Houck with the murder of Crystal Rogers.
The defense argues the errors in this case are reasonable grounds for acquittal, or alternately, granting Lawson’s request for a new trial.
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