ATLANTA — High-profile attorney Claude “Tex” McIver, charged in his wife's death, can get rid of his ankle monitor but he is still facing other restrictions while out on bond.
Channel 2’s Audrey Washington was in the Fulton County Court courtroom Monday as McIver, who remained silent, stood before a judge.
McIver is accused of shooting his wife, Diane, in the back in September.
McIver has said that while sleeping in an SUV, he was jolted awake and then his gun went off, striking Diane.
"The pistol discharged," McIver’s attorney Steve Maples told the judge.
Attorneys for McIver maintain the shooting was an accident, even telling the court that while at the hospital, Diane McIver herself told the lead investigator as much.
"Something to the effect of this is an accident," Detective Darrin Smith with the Atlanta Police Department told the court Monday.
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Diane McIver later died.
Tex McIver is now charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct.
Monday morning, attorneys for McIver fought for changes to his bond conditions, starting with the removal of his ankle monitor.
But, the state pushed back and told the judge that McIver had means to flee the United States while out on bond.
"The State has his passport but that doesn't necessarily mean anything," the prosecutor argued.
The attorneys for McIver told the judge his ankle bracelet kept McIver from traveling for work.
The judge agreed and ordered the removal of the ankle monitor restriction. Other restrictions remain in place.
"The restriction of surrender of passport shall be in place. There should be no firearms or weapons whatsoever," the judge ordered Monday.
Outside of court, McIver only referred to his attorney William Hill for comment.
"I think Mr. Hill speaks for me pretty well," McIver told Washington after court.
"I'll be very candid. Where Mr. McIver is in life right now is a tough place to be in," Hill said.
In court, the judge also ruled that McIver must have no contact with the woman who was driving the SUV at the time of the shooting.
Cox Media Group
