A Tennessee judge scheduled a state criminal trial on Aug. 12, 2024, for the four former Memphis police officers who have pleaded not guilty in the beating death of Black motorist Tyre Nichols, The Associated Press reports.

At the Monday hearing  (Nov. 6), Shelby County Criminal Court Judge James Jones Jr. scheduled three deadlines in the case to keep the trial date on track, Memphis newspaper Commercial Appeal reports. Under the timeline, the attorneys must complete discovery by Dec. 4, written motions by Feb. 2 and motion hearings before June 14.

State prosecutors charged the officers with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, official oppression, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of official misconduct at the state level.

Video footage shows the ex-officers, all of whom are Black, viciously beating Nichols in a Jan. 7 traffic stop. Nichols, 29, died three days later in a hospital.

In a parallel case, federal prosecutors indicted the ex-officers with excessive force, deliberate indifference, conspiracy to witness tamper and obstruction of justice.

Jones announced the trial schedule after Desmond Mills Jr., one of the former officers in the state and federal cases, changed his not-guilty plea to guilty on Thursday (Nov. 2). The deal includes Mills potentially testifying against his former colleagues.

The remaining officers in the state and federal cases are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith.

Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman and William Massey, the attorney representing Martin, said the August 2024 trial date is reasonable.

"We had taken a lot of considerations in setting the trial date — the federal trial, and things like this. It's hard for these attorneys, and defense attorneys especially, to litigate this sort of on two different fronts,” Hagerman said after the hearing, giving reporters insight into the discussions in the judge’s chambers.

Massey said he’s considering several motions, especially a request to change the trial’s location. "We're looking very hard at whether or not a change of venue is going to be necessary. "We don't want it to be, but it may," he stated, adding that a change in venue motion is unlikely to impact the trial date.

The former officers were part of a now-disbanded street crimes unit that stopped Nichols for alleged reckless driving.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ’ Davis said an investigation found no evidence of the reckless driving allegation. An autopsy report showed Nichols died from blows to the head and the manner of death was homicide.

If convicted, the four former officers face maximum life sentences in the state and federal cases. Federal prosecutors suggested a maximum sentence of 15 years in exchange for Mills’ cooperation.

Meanwhile, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents Nichols’ family, filed a $550 million civil lawsuit against Memphis, the five charged officers, the Memphis police chief and several others connected to Nichols’ death. A trial is slated for January 2025 if the parties don’t resolve it sooner.