Tim DeChristopher, the University of Utah student who disrupted a federal oil and gas lease auction to protest potential environmental harm, now is scheduled to face a jury in late summer.

U.S. District Judge Dee Benson has pushed back the trial, initially set to begin July 6, to Sept. 14 to give DeChristopher's lawyers more time to prepare for the case.

Defense attorneys Ron Yengich and Pat Shea face a Monday deadline to a federal prosecutor's motion that says they shouldn't be allowed to argue DeChristopher made bogus bids on oil and gas leases to combat the climate crisis. The reason, some legal experts assert, is the fear some jurors may buy his argument.

DeChristopher's lawyers had told the U.S. Attorney's Office they would base their arguments on a defense commonly known as "necessity" or "choice of evils."

The prosecution countered that such a defense would "encourage improper jury nullification." That means a jury could acquit DeChristopher regardless of his admission that he foiled the lease sale on purpose.

On Friday, DeChristopher said he looks forward to a jury trial. "There's a lot of injustice that needs to be brought to the surface regarding this oil and gas auction."

The U. economics major monkey-wrenched a U.S. Bureau of Land Management auction Dec. 19 in Salt Lake City. After he bid $1.8 million to win 14 parcels near Arches and Canyonlands national parks and drove up offers on several others, BLM agents removed him from the auction room for questioning.

DeChristopher, who has become a folk hero to many since the lease sale, acknowledged his false bidding, saying it was an act of civil disobedience in protest of Bush administration oil and gas policies that have worsened global climate disruption and threatened the health of everyone on the planet.

On April 1, a federal jury handed up a two-count felony indictment against him for violating the terms of the auction he promised to observe when he signed up to bid. He pleaded not guilty at his April 28 arraignment.

Tim DeChristopher, the University of Utah student who disrupted a federal oil and gas lease auction to protest potential environmental harm, now is scheduled to face a jury in late summer.

U.S. District Judge Dee Benson has pushed back the trial, initially set to begin July 6, to Sept. 14 to give DeChristopher's lawyers more time to prepare for the case.

Defense attorneys Ron Yengich and Pat Shea face a Monday deadline to a federal prosecutor's motion that says they shouldn't be allowed to argue DeChristopher made bogus bids on oil and gas leases to combat the climate crisis. The reason, some legal experts assert, is the fear some jurors may buy his argument.

DeChristopher's lawyers had told the U.S. Attorney's Office they would base their arguments on a defense commonly known as "necessity" or "choice of evils."

The prosecution countered that such a defense would "encourage improper jury nullification." That means a jury could acquit DeChristopher regardless of his admission that he foiled the lease sale on purpose.

On Friday, DeChristopher said he looks forward to a jury trial. "There's a lot of injustice that needs to be brought to the surface regarding this oil and gas auction."

The U. economics major monkey-wrenched a U.S. Bureau of Land Management auction Dec. 19 in Salt Lake City. After he bid $1.8 million to win 14 parcels near Arches and Canyonlands national parks and drove up offers on several others, BLM agents removed him from the auction room for questioning.

DeChristopher, who has become a folk hero to many since the lease sale, acknowledged his false bidding, saying it was an act of civil disobedience in protest of Bush administration oil and gas policies that have worsened global climate disruption and threatened the health of everyone on the planet.

On April 1, a federal jury handed up a two-count felony indictment against him for violating the terms of the auction he promised to observe when he signed up to bid. He pleaded not guilty at his April 28 arraignment.