Pre-trial hearings set in ex-officer's federal civil rights trial

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former South Carolina police officer facing civil rights charges in the death of an unarmed black motorist will soon be in federal court.

Documents filed Friday show a March 17 pre-trial hearing is scheduled in Charleston for Michael Slager.

SPECIAL SECTION:THE SHOOTING DEATH OF WALTER SCOTT

The former North Charleston officer's federal trial is set to begin in May. He's charged with violating Walter Scott's civil rights when he shot the man to death as Scott ran from a traffic stop in April 2015.

The hearing serves as a place for the court to hash out a battery of motions filed by Slager's attorneys, including a request to toss out statements he gave investigators and not show jurors video of the shooting.

State hearing set for March 14

State prosecutors responded to a motion to toss out the case Friday with a filing stating the defense "fails to provide adequate factual or legal support for its claim; thus their motion should be denied."

Attorneys will be in court with Judge Clifton Newman on Tuesday, March 14 to hash it all out.

The 9-page response cites several notes from Slager's murder trial in December that ended in a hung jury.

While Slager's team of attorneys argue a retrial would violate the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Solicitor Scarlett Wilson counters that a mistrial is "the equivalent of no trial and leaves the cause pending the circuit court." The solicitor mentions several cases that ended in a mistrial in making her argument.

* ABC News 4 contributed to this report.