VIDALIA &8212; The sentencing of Henrietta Williams was postponed by a court order from ad hoc Judge Sharon Marchman in a Thursday order.

The continuance sets up a May 19 showdown that could feature a Williams request for a new trial as well as one by the state to change the venue of the upcoming trial of the Ferriday voter fraud five.

Williams, along with James Skipper, Justin Conner, Emerson Slain and Willie Robinson, are charged with more than 20 counts of filing and maintaining false public records, principal to forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery.

Williams was convicted March 8 on one count of filing or maintaining false public records.

Marchman&8217;s order listed May 10 as the deadline for the state to file the motion, if it desires, and May 17 for the defense to respond to it.

Defense attorney Sam Thomas had a response ready for the anticipated motion.

&8220;If they say it&8217;s so overly-publicized, and everybody knows about it and has made up their minds then it would have been the same for Henrietta Williams and you&8217;re indicating that Henrietta Williams couldn&8217;t get a fair trial,&8221; he said.

Thomas said he would fight the relocation but was confident wherever the trial is ultimately held.

&8220;Wherever they go, you&8217;ve still got to bring the same evidence,&8221; he said.

Kris Wartelle, the Attorney General&8217;s Public Information director, said her office does not comment on ongoing litigation.

&8220;We don&8217;t make comments about what&8217;s going to happen or what our strategy is,&8221; she said.

Thomas said he also planned to file a show-cause motion to force the state to turn over its handwriting expert&8217;s analysis of his expert&8217;s analysis of the handwriting exemplars.

Under the rules of open-file discovery, both sides are to share any and all findings with each other.

It took an order from Marchman to force Thomas to turn over his expert&8217;s report in the first place, and now he said he plans to ask the judge to do the same thing to the state.

&8220;I&8217;m just putting on them what they put on me,&8221; he said.

Before Thomas and the state butt heads, Marchman will hear a motion by Williams&8217; new lawyer for a new trial &8212; the third such motion in his tenure as her counsel.

Hired after her conviction, Raymond Cannon of Tallulah filed a motion and then a supplemental motion for a new trial, both of which Marchman denied.

Cannon, in his request for a continuance, said he had not received a transcript from the trial or the voir dire questioning used to select jurors.

&8220;Without the transcript of the trial, the accused cannot provide the legal grounds with the supporting evidence in the record for a new trial&8230; or any other post-trial motions which must be heard before sentencing,&8221; the motion said.

Marchman ordered a copy of both the trial and the voir dire questioning to be provided to Cannon by May 10. He then has seven days to file any post-trial motions, one of which he said Tuesday would be for a new trial.

That motion, along with any others he files by the May 17 deadline, will be heard on May 19. If denied, Williams has the option of postponing sentencing three business days but could waive that and have Marchman sentence her that day.