The Federal trial for Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner could be moved to San Diego in a change of venue motion by the defense counsel. It appears that Loughner could not receive a fair trial in Arizona, due to the public status of a couple of the victims, including a Federal judge.
The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that it would resist any effort to try the man blamed for the carnage in Tucson in San Diego.
"The department plans to bring the case in Arizona and will oppose any change in venue motions," Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday morning in remarks reported in The Washington Post.
Law enforcement sources told the Post that the trial of Jared Lee Loughner, 22, could be sent to San Diego because of pretrial publicity in Arizona. The case could also be moved because judges in Arizona have recused themselves because one of their own, John Roll, died in the Jan. 8 shooting.
Larry Burns, the judge appointed to the case, and Judy Clarke, Loughner's defense attorney, are both based in San Diego.
The shooting killed six people and wounded 14, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who is recovering at the University of Arizona Medical Center.
It is "extraordinarily unusual" for a change of venue motion to be granted in federal court, said David Steinberg, a professor of law at the San Diego-based Thomas Jefferson School of Law, said. But there is a strong argument for moving this one.
The change of venue would eliminate some grounds for appealing the verdict, Steinberg said.http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_6ef4da1f-db6f-56fa-b6da-8c9630854ca9.html
"If Loughner is tried in Tucson, there is a reason to appeal. If you move it to San Diego, you effectively eliminate that issue," he said.
He said it would be easier outside Arizona to find jurors who know little about the case.
"I know it sounds strange, but you can find such people," Steinberg said. "People who have been working overseas, people who don't read the newspaper -- there are such people -- or students who have been working on a dissertation."
The charges that Loughner faces include attempted assassination of a member of Congress and two counts of murder of federal employees.
He is being held at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution outside Phoenix, where he is reported to spend 23 hours a day alone in his cell
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