Posted on 10/16/2009 6:03:26 PM PDT by SmithL
OAKLAND — The murder trial against former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle will be moved to another county, a judge declared Friday.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson informed attorneys late Thursday that the case against Mehserle, in which he is accused of murder in the shooting of an unarmed Oscar Grant III early New Year's Day, should occur in another county because the 27-year-old cannot receive a fair trial in Alameda County.
Jacobson's ruling was made less than a week after a hearing on a change of venue in the case concluded with prosecutors arguing that Alameda County is large enough to find impartial jurors and defense attorneys arguing that media coverage of the case has made it impossible to find residents who have not formed an opinion on the case.
In making his decision, Jacobson had to consider six factors: media coverage, nature and gravity of offense, size of community, status of victim and defendant before the crime, politics surrounding the crime and possibility of violence during and after the trial.
During the four-day hearing last week, Jacobson appeared to be concerned about protests at the Rene Davidson Courthouse and the impact those protests would have on jurors assigned to the case.
Jacobson questioned Deputy District Attorney David Stein about the potential of daily protests and wondered how jurors could report to court for the trial without being confronted by dozens of protesters holding signs calling for Mehserle's head.
Mehserle is accused of purposely killing Grant, of Hayward, while BART police were trying to handcuff the 22-year-old after he was pulled by police from a Dublin-bound train under suspicion of being in a fight.
The incident was recorded on about half-a-dozen cell phone and video cameras and became an instant sensation as the videos were plastered across the Internet and the shooting became a national story.
Riots immediately following the shooting and after a judge granted Mehserle a $3 million bail further sensationalized the story.
In making his argument for the change of venue, Mehserle's attorney Michael Rains pointed to the media coverage and a survey he conducted to argue his client had no chance of receiving a fair trial in Alameda County.
The survey conducted by a Rains-hired jury consultant found that more than 96 percent of 400 potential jurors questioned knew about the case with 46 percent believing Mehserle was or probably is guilty of the crime.
That survey also revealed a racial divide in the county, Rains argued, in which black residents overwhelmingly believed Mehserle was guilty of murder. According to the survey, more than 78 percent of the 32 black residents who responded to the poll believed Mehserle was guilty compared to 33 percent of the white respondents believing the former police officer intended to kill Grant.
Where the trial will be held will now be decided by Jacobson with help from the state Administrative Office of the Courts and after a hearing with prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Within two weeks, Jacobson will be supplied with a list of at most three locations that would "not be unduly burdened by the trial of the case." The judge would then hold a hearing and consider arguments for each location and then make a decision.
According to court rules, the site chosen must be a number of factors surrounding the case.
"A suitable court site should be able to handle news media, staffing needs and security requirements related to the defendant or others," the rule states. "Demographic characteristics may also be an important consideration."
You better believe it.
As a former Californian, I've seen this movie before.
Bump.
The talk didn’t go around as much in the white community. I think virtually anyone who sees the videos is going to take a dim view of Mehserle.
“The talk didn’t go around as much in the white community. I think virtually anyone who sees the videos is going to take a dim view of Mehserle.”
I saw the video, live in California, and the cop shot the poor fellow, regardless of the race of either one.
The cop did wrong. IMO.
The cop deserves a fair trial. Dublin is a suburb, not like Oakland.
I think this was the right decision if a fair trial is truly desired. We all want a fair trial, don’t we? But from what I know the BART cop has an uphill case. The videos I have seen make his action inexplicable - the only reason I can see for him shooting that unarmed, face down man is he lost his temper.
He gets his day in court. I hope justice is served.
Funny, I’d think the lieyer would do best to let the trial be queered, then get it overturned on appeal, and on and on rope a dope with the system. Rather than risk this donut brain getting the death penalty.
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