The request for a new lawyer came immediately before the trial was about to start in March, with Kilpatrick claiming he had lost confidence in his longtime attorney, James Thomas. It is an argument Kilpatrick used several times before, the Detroit Free Press said Monday.

Kilpatrick's father and co-defendant, Bernard Kilpatrick, also has requested a new trial after conviction on a single count of filing a false tax return. In a court filing Friday his lawyer, John Shea, argued there was insufficient evidence to prove his client was aware his 2005 tax return was false.