A suspect in the Kiplyn Davis murder case is hoping that the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will reconsider a recent decision to uphold a prison sentence that he considers excessive.

Olsen's appeal was heard in January by a panel of three of the 10th Circuit's 21 judges. The panel ruled against Olsen last month.

Jeremy Delicino, one of Olsen's attorneys in his federal perjury case, said the U.S. District Court that convicted Olsen erred in applying the lowest standard of sentencing. The court also did not take into account the purpose of the grand jury to which Olsen was convicted of lying, he said.

Olsen was convicted in 2006 on 15 counts of perjury for lying to a federal grand jury that convened to investigate Davis's disappearance. Davis, then 15, disappeared from Spanish Fork High School on May 2, 1995. Olsen and co-defendant Christopher Neal Jeppson are charged with her murder in Provo's 4th District Court.

Under normal sentencing guidelines, Delicino said Olsen's sentence should have been 18-24 months. But the court agreed with prosecutors that Olsen's perjury was committed in conjunction with a murder investigation, and sentenced him to 12 1/2 years in federal prison.

Olsen's attorneys argued that his perjury charges should not have been cross-referenced, because the grand jury's stated purpose was to investigate Davis's disappearance, not a murder.

"The finding that Olsen's perjury was in relation to a murder is therefore undermined by the fact that the government itself did not characterize the grand jury investigation as a murder investigation," attorney Stephen McCaughey wrote in the petition.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Greene should have given Olsen an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the sentencing enhancement should be applied, Delicino said.

"Our argument is he ought to have given Timmy an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing, at the least," Delicino said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office disagreed with Delicino and McCaughey's assessment of the case.

"We believe the panel's decision was correct and a rehearing en banc is unnecessary," said spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch.

Delicino said he expects the 10th Circuit to vote on whether to grant Olsen's petition sometime in the next two to four weeks. If the petition is granted, he said it will likely be six months to a year before the court hears oral arguments in the case.

"The main issue right now is whether they'll hear it," Delicino said.

Olsen was one of five people convicted of perjury in federal court for statements made to authorities in the Davis investigation, and he is the only one who has been sentenced. The other sentencing hearings were on hold while attorneys awaited the 10th Circuit's decision in Olsen's appeal because the ruling could have an impact on the other four defendants. The U.S. Attorney's Office said it plans to pursue the same cross-referencing in all five cases.

Olsen's recent petition may extend the wait for the other sentencing hearings. Jeppson and David Rucker Leifson were scheduled to be sentenced today, but both hearings have been continued.

Scott C. Williams, Jeppson's attorney, said he requested a continuance in part because of the impact the 10th Circuit's decision in Olsen's case may have on Jeppson's sentence. He also asked for the continuance because he is filing a motion for a new trial, which he hopes to submit next week.

"The judge and the government felt it might have some relevance to sentencing issues and so they might as well get the guidance," Williams said of the 10th Circuit's decision.

Ed Brass, Leifson's attorney, filed a motion on Thursday asking that Leifson's hearing be continued to a date closer to Jeppson's sentencing, which is scheduled for May 22.

"The parties believe it is in the best interest of all concerned to resolve these matters near to the same time," Brass wrote.

Brass also wrote that the hearing should be continued because one of the prosecutors has been unavailable to discuss sentencing during the past week.

Sentencing for Scott Brunson and Garry Blackmore, the other two defendants convicted of perjury in the Davis case, is not expected to occur until after Olsen's murder trial is over, because they have agreed to testify for the prosecution.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it