Opinion ID: 2746353
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Pretrial Publicity and Venue

Text: {¶ 90} Trial courts have a “duty to protect” criminal defendants from “inherently prejudicial publicity” that renders a jury’s deliberations unfair. Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, 363, 86 S.Ct. 1507, 16 L.Ed.2d 600 (1966). Even so, “pretrial publicity—even pervasive, adverse publicity—does not inevitably lead to an unfair trial.” Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539, 554, 96 S.Ct. 2791, 49 L.Ed.2d 683 (1976). “[T]he best test of whether prejudicial pretrial publicity has prevented obtaining a fair and impartial jury from 24 January Term, 2014 the locality” is “a careful and searching voir dire.” State v. Bayless, 48 Ohio St.2d 73, 98, 357 N.E.2d 1035 (1976), death penalty vacated on other grounds, 438 U.S. 911, 98 S.Ct. 3135, 57 L.Ed.2d 1155. {¶ 91} Decisions about whether to order a change of venue “rest[] largely in the discretion of the trial court.” State v. Fairbanks, 32 Ohio St.2d 34, 37, 289 N.E.2d 352 (1972). We will not reverse a trial court’s venue ruling “unless is it clearly shown that the trial court has abused its discretion.” Id. An abuse of discretion is more than a mere error of law or judgment; instead, it implies that a trial court’s decision was unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable. Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217, 219, 450 N.E.2d 1140 (1983).