The drug-trafficking trial of Christoper Hawkins, a pivotal figure in the NCAA's case against North Carolina, is expected to be delayed again, the prosecuting attorney said via email Saturday.
Hawkins is scheduled to go to trial Monday in Madison County, Ga., but there are questions about whether Hawkins' defense attorney, Page Pate, will be able to attend Monday's session.
Pate has spent the past month at trial representing former New Roads (La.) mayor Tommy Nelson in a Federal corruption case in Baton Rouge, La., that concluded Wednesday with a guilty verdict on all seven counts.
The Hawkins case has been continued three times already, from last October to January to April to this week. The former UNC football player was charged with felony cocaine trafficking and misdemeanor marijuana possession on April 23, 2009, according to a Georgia State Patrol incident report.
The NCAA has questioned why UNC allowed Hawkins, who the NCAA considers an agent, to have access to football facilities and has identified him as one of the people who provided impermissible benefits to Tar Heels players.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at (919) 829-8947, @LukeDeCock on Twitter or