Now DeLay Wants To Be Tried In A Less Liberal Neighborhood

Lawyers Wrangle Over DeLay Trial Locale
Prosecutors Arguing Against Rep. Tom DeLay's Request for Change of Venue Say He Could Get a Fair Trial

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1289162

(Gold9472: Nope... sorry, that judge is too liberal. Nope... sorry, that town is too liberal. Nope... sorry, that state is too liberal. Nope... sorry, that country is too liberal. Nope... sorry, that planet is too liberal. The only opportune place for me to be tried would be... Uranus.)

AUSTIN, Texas Nov 7, 2005 — Travis County is not so prejudiced against Rep. Tom DeLay that former House majority leader couldn't get a fair trial in the city, a veteran defense attorney said Monday in a sworn court statement.

The affidavit by Betty Blackwell was filed on behalf of prosecutors who are arguing against DeLay's request that his trial on money laundering and conspiracy charges be moved to another county.

"There is not so great a prejudice against the defendant, nor is there a dangerous combination of any sort, that will interfere with him receiving a fair trial in Travis County," Blackwell stated in the affidavit.

Defense attorneys argue that DeLay has been vilified in liberal Travis County, which was split into three different congressional districts as a result of a redistricting map DeLay engineered.

The change of venue request probably will be the first order of business for semiretired San Antonio Judge Pat Priest, who was assigned to the case last week. Priest has not yet scheduled a hearing on the matter.

DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin has not specified another city to move the trial to, but said state law mandates this type of case be returned to the home county of the accused. That would put the trial in Fort Bend County, outside of Houston.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

What next? "Only a jury made up of my family members can be objective in this case?"

I don't understand how he has the ability to do this.

He gets to shop for a judge, now he's shopping for a new neighborhood... you or I wouldn't get that option.

reminds me of some of the stuff they do on American Dad...

Well, recently the Miami 5 were granted teh right to a new trial because the Supreme (?) Court ruled that as officials of the Castro government, engaged in monitoring militant anti-Castro terrorist groups in Miami, due to the large presence of anti-Castroites the men could not have been guaranteed a fair trial in Miami. (And rightly so).

So it does have some basis in law.

That said, the Miami 5 don't look like they are gonna get a new trial, and the judgement is just going to be ignored.