LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP)— The judge in the case of a Gwinnett County dentist accused of shooting his wife to death tossed out an unusual effort Friday by Barton Corbin’s lawyers to delay the case for 14 years.

David Wolfe, one of Corbin’s attorneys, acknowledged he may have submitted the motion “in a sarcastic manner,” but said it was meant to show that evidence from the shooting death of Corbin’s girlfriend in 1990 is too old to be used during the trial.

"I understand your argument,” said Superior Court Judge Michael Clark.“There’s just a better way to do it.”

Jennifer Corbin, 33, was found dead of a gunshot wound to her head Dec. 4, 2004. At the time, the Corbins were in the midst of divorce proceedings.

In 1990, Dolly Hearn, 27, reportedly had been trying to break up with Corbin while they were students at the Medical College of Georgia dental school in Augusta. She was found dead of a gunshot wound to her head.

Corbin is charged with murder in both cases. His attorneys say both deaths were suicides. Both cases were initially ruled suicide, but an investigation of Hearn’s shooting was reopened after Jennifer Corbin’s death.

During a hearing Friday, Wolfe said witnesses from Hearn’s 1990 death are telling their stories differently in recent interviews than they did at the time of the death.

The lengthy time gap “takes the truth factor out of the statements that were made in 1990 and adds to it opinions and thoughts about what happened here,” Wolfe said.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter argued Corbin’s effort to delay the trial “makes light not only of the case in Augusta but the case here.”

He countered with a little sarcasm of his own, offering to grant the delay if Corbin remains in jail.

"If Dr. Corbin really wants a 14-year continuation, and he'll waive his right to bond, the state will agree to it,” Porter said.

Attorneys will argue whether evidence from the Augusta shooting may be considered at a later hearing. Clark said he wants the trial to begin April 17.

Family members of Jennifer Corbin sat together during the hearing, wearing buttons bearing her image with the words, “Justice For Jenn.” They left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

Corbin, chewing gum and wearing a gray business suit, sat silently throughout the hearing, turning afterward to wink at his brother, Bob Corbin.

Bob Corbin said he was not surprised the judge tossed out the delay effort.

"It got some points across,” he said.  “I think it served its purpose.”

Source: AP - AP Wire Service