Judge Grants Change of Venue for Ross Harris

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From day one, the more facts that came out about Ross Harris and his actions on the day he left little Cooper in that hot car, the more judgements and prejudices against Ross Harris built up!

As many of us thought, there was no way a jury would be seated that had not heard of this case.

While it took time and cost money, the advantage is the judge and both sides of lawyers heard directly from the prospective jurors as to how strong their feelings were against Ross Harris.

Now, how do they go about selecting where the trial will be? There has to be some prerequisites for this trial, so hopefully the county will be one with educated, working people and not one of the poorest, dumbest counties in the state! Another factor the lawyers will have to agree on, so I can see this part turning into a circus by itself.
 
MzOpinion8d said:
What does cold record mean?
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It means the record on it's face. In other words, the transcripts and numbers, which can not reflect the facial expressions, intonations and body language of those called as potential jurors.
 
Lily17 said:
Why did she reject Macon? I missed that. Macon was the first place my mind went.
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I didn't hear her give a reason. She just said NOT and kept going on to mention ill -equipped rural courts with few facilities, no security , and maybe not even air conditioning.
 
1&2&3 said:
From day one, the more facts that came out about Ross Harris and his actions on the day he left little Cooper in that hot car, the more judgements and prejudices against Ross Harris built up!

As many of us thought, there was no way a jury would be seated that had not heard of this case.

While it took time and cost money, the advantage is the judge and both sides of lawyers heard directly from the prospective jurors as to how strong their feelings were against Ross Harris.

Now, how do they go about selecting where the trial will be? There has to be some prerequisites for this trial, so hopefully the county will be one with educated, working people and not one of the poorest, dumbest counties in the state! Another factor the lawyers will have to agree on, so I can see this part turning into a circus by itself.
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The DT didn’t have a choice about requesting a change in venue. If RH had been tried with that jury and convicted, he’d have the issue of ineffective counsel for appeal, as well as Staley’s acceptance of a demonstrably tainted jury pool.

IMO, RH might well end up with a less biased but equally unsympathetic jury, and if moved to a very rural area, jurors who are even less likely to understand how a parent can “forget’ a child in a car, because as a whole they are less likely to be living a life involving 2 working parents and on-site daycare.
 
Brunswick was mentioned as a possibility by a local reporter. They moved another Cobb Co. trial there - Lynn Turner - but there is no way the jurors could commute daily from Cobb County.
 
Hope4More said:
I didn't hear her give a reason. She just said NOT and kept going on to mention ill -equipped rural courts with few facilities, no security , and maybe not even air conditioning.
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No air conditioning ????? :waitasec: I'm pretty certain there's not a court-room in Georgia that doesn't have AC.
 
Hope4More said:
Wild's livestream can still be viewed, and is worth watching in entirety. It wasn't even a close decision. She checked with the attys on their progress after an hour plus. They predictably said they were at an impasse. The State would concede 2 of 6 contested jurors and no more, the DT could accept no fewer than all 6.

Staley indicated that she wouldn't have been able to accept any agreement they made anyway. That the DT had met its burden of demonstrating both that pre-trial publicity had been pervasive, and that the publicity had clearly tainted the jury pool--deeply. She also seemed to call into question the reliability of what jurors had testified to ---that some who said on questionnaires they could be unbiased came into court and said they could not be, and some who said in questionnaires they were biased also said otherwise in court. And last, she said that the "cold" record didn't begin to reflect the depth of sentiment against RH she had witnessed for herself.

Not even close.

BTW- in discussing venues, she referred to the trial lasting between 2-4 months, not weeks.
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I read they were predicting the trial to last 6 weeks...how did it increase to 4 months? I'm curious as to why the trial would last that long.
 
I really wonder why the judge keeps bringing up the most backwoods places in Georgia. Why not move the trial to Augusta, Columbus, Macon, or Savannah?


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1&2&3 said:
From day one, the more facts that came out about Ross Harris and his actions on the day he left little Cooper in that hot car, the more judgements and prejudices against Ross Harris built up!

As many of us thought, there was no way a jury would be seated that had not heard of this case.

While it took time and cost money, the advantage is the judge and both sides of lawyers heard directly from the prospective jurors as to how strong their feelings were against Ross Harris.

Now, how do they go about selecting where the trial will be? There has to be some prerequisites for this trial, so hopefully the county will be one with educated, working people and not one of the poorest, dumbest counties in the state! Another factor the lawyers will have to agree on, so I can see this part turning into a circus by itself.
Click to expand...


The BBM is absolutely essential for this trial.
 
Lily17 said:
Why did she reject Macon? I missed that. Macon was the first place my mind went.
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My mind went there first also ... I'm from Atlanta. Were any possibilities given?
 
eileenhawkeye said:
I read they were predicting the trial to last 6 weeks...how did it increase to 4 months? I'm curious as to why the trial would last that long.
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I would think, they are thinking of all the obstacles real and unreal the defense is going to come up with....one being, we cannot make it because we have other clients to represent, issues transporting everyone, unless there is a hotel they can stay in locally and the judge has other cases.
 
I work in the building next door to where this happened. There is no way he strapped that baby into his car seat at Chick-Fila after they had breakfast and drive 1 block to
his office and forget him. The day-care center was across the expressway and further away. In addition, him and a couple of co-workers went to lunch and
went by Home Depot where he purchased some light bulbs. He then walked to his car after lunch and put the light bulbs in it. When he got in that vehicle at the
end of the day, the stench alone would have prevented anyone from driving 3 1/2 miles to then jump out and stage what he did at that shopping center!
 
Tricia said:
Not a surprise. It seemed like almost all potential jurors were problematic for one side or the other.
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Is it bad to hope air conditioner in jail breaks and he gets overcome by that Georgia heat...:(
 
eileenhawkeye said:
I really wonder why the judge keeps bringing up the most backwoods places in Georgia. Why not move the trial to Augusta, Columbus, Macon, or Savannah?


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Athens?
ETA- I agree she made the correct decision.
 
MrsArk said:
Athens?
ETA- I agree she made the correct decision.
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Athens is in the Atlanta media market so they won't go there. The DT requested a COV to outside the Atlanta media market. Since Macon appears to be out of contention, they will likely be in very southern GA or on the far east border/ coast.
 
Sorry - I tried to amend my post above and it wouldn't work for some reason. The Lynn Turner trial was moved to Houston Co. (Perry, Ga.) not Brunswick. She actually had two trials - both were moved - the 2nd was moved north to Dalton. She was found guilty in both and sentenced to life. She poisioned 2 men with antifreeze. She died in prison a little over 3 years into her sentence. No cause of death was determined. ( Probably more than you wanted to know about that! )

So I don't know where they might move the Harris trial. It will totally upset the apple cart of any county's judicial calendar. I noticed the Turner trial began in Feb. of 2004 - they could not seat an impartial jury and moved to Houston CO. the verdict was reached May 14 of 2004. So that was 4 month including the trial.
 
GA_Peach said:
Athens is in the Atlanta media market so they won't go there. The DT requested a COV to outside the Atlanta media market. Since Macon appears to be out of contention, they will likely be in very southern GA or on the far east border/ coast.
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Valdosta or Perry are the locations I'm thinking of.
 
Hope4More said:
Wild's livestream can still be viewed, and is worth watching in entirety. It wasn't even a close decision. She checked with the attys on their progress after an hour plus. They predictably said they were at an impasse. The State would concede 2 of 6 contested jurors and no more, the DT could accept no fewer than all 6.

Staley indicated that she wouldn't have been able to accept any agreement they made anyway. That the DT had met its burden of demonstrating both that pre-trial publicity had been pervasive, and that the publicity had clearly tainted the jury pool--deeply. She also seemed to call into question the reliability of what jurors had testified to ---that some who said on questionnaires they could be unbiased came into court and said they could not be, and some who said in questionnaires they were biased also said otherwise in court. And last, she said that the "cold" record didn't begin to reflect the depth of sentiment against RH she had witnessed for herself.

Not even close.

BTW- in discussing venues, she referred to the trial lasting between 2-4 months, not weeks.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for this very informative and helpful post. I watched the entire live stream earlier this evening and was struck by how unpleasant this trial is for everyone involved. I have been listening to quite a bit of the audio, but it was striking to see the facial expressions. I am sure that none of the parties, excluding JRH himself, are excited about the change of venue. I do appreciate that Judge Staley recognized what an imposition it would be on the jurors to bring them to Cobb County.

eileenhawkeye said:
I read they were predicting the trial to last 6 weeks...how did it increase to 4 months? I'm curious as to why the trial would last that long.
Click to expand...

In the livestream, she said, "4 to 6 months." I think that she misspoke and meant to say 4-6 weeks. At least, I am assuming that she got her units mixed up. She looked like she has had some long, tiring days.

eileenhawkeye said:
I really wonder why the judge keeps bringing up the most backwoods places in Georgia. Why not move the trial to Augusta, Columbus, Macon, or Savannah?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I don't get it either and have wondered that myself.

Todalu said:
I work in the building next door to where this happened. There is no way he strapped that baby into his car seat at Chick-Fila after they had breakfast and drive 1 block to
his office and forget him. The day-care center was across the expressway and further away. In addition, him and a couple of co-workers went to lunch and
went by Home Depot where he purchased some light bulbs. He then walked to his car after lunch and put the light bulbs in it. When he got in that vehicle at the
end of the day, the stench alone would have prevented anyone from driving 3 1/2 miles to then jump out and stage what he did at that shopping center!
Click to expand...

Emphasis added by me.

I 100% agree. While it is one thing to look at a map and see how close these locations are to one other, the map does not convey how it is practically inconceivable that he "forgot" Cooper during the drive. The topography and layout of the Paces Ferry and Cumberland Blvd. intersection cannot be adequately communicated in words. Having worked at The Home Depot's SSC and knowing that area very well, I wish there was a way for people not from the area to understand the visual and physical relationship between CFA, Cooper's daycare, and the Tree House. I really hope that Judge Stanley allows the prosecution to take the jurors on their field trip.
 
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