Multiple news media outlets report that Harris’ attorneys filed a motion for a change of venue Friday afternoon, about three weeks into jury selection. Police have said the boy died after spending about seven hours in the SUV on a day when Atlanta-area temperatures reached at least into the high 80s.
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Juror pool expert Terry Rathmann told Patch last week that it could be hard for Harris to get a fair trial.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley said she’ll hear arguments on the motion Monday morning. When they could not agree, Staley thanked them for their good faith effort and then granted the defense motion. Even if they can, the counties are not obligated to accept the trial, CNN Legal Analyst Philip Holloway said.
A large percentage of the jury pool has admitted having knowledge of the case, with many saying they already formed an opinion about whether or not Harris is guilty of intentionally leaving Cooper in the auto to die.
If the two sides can reach an agreement, jury selection would be able to resume.
She said while reviewing the defense’s request over the weekend, she at first thought the change of venue motion was straightforward, until seeing the request to move to another jurisdiction and select a jury, which would then likely entail bussing those jurors to Cobb, putting them in a hotel and trying the case with them.
Stay with LawNewz.com for continuing coverage of the case, as well as live streaming video of the trial once it begins. I’m going to ask you right now to go out and talk with one another and see where you go.
So far only a few of the 85 jurors questioned have said they believe him.
Prosecutors argued jurors could be found who would be impartial and dismissed the request to move the trial as a defense strategy.
Under questioning by attorneys, some potential jurors cited what they believe are facts about the case but they were actually citing falsehoods, Lumpkin said.
Lumpkin said false information in the case has caused a community bias against the defendant. “If you can figure out a way to move it out of Cobb County, you do that”, Pate said.
Potentially trying the case in another jurisdiction brought other concerns for Staley, from having witnesses traveling to and from the courthouse to the additional costs to taxpayers by having the trial elsewhere would incur.
Boring says the defense wants a “do over”.
“If only six were unqualified, that means the overwhelming majority can be impartial”, said Dunwoody defense attorney Esther Panitch.
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Harris moved to Georgia from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 2012 to work for Home Depot.
