Richard Luthmann, a Staten Island lawyer who once grabbed headlines by challenging another attorney to “trial by combat” and who has been in jail since December as he awaits trial on kidnapping and other charges, could be released as early as next week on a $1.5 million bond.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Vera Scanlon of the Eastern District of New York granted Luthmann’s bail motion on Wednesday after a hearing that Luthmann’s attorney, Arthur Aidala of Aidala Bertuna & Kamins, described as a battle against a “hyper-aggressive” pretrial stance by prosecutors in which Luthmann was painted as a public safety risk with ties to organized crime.