Opinion ID: 854073
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Request for Change of Venue

Text: Elsten claims the trial court erred by denying his motion for change of venue. He alleges that publicity surrounding the case was so prejudicial as to deny him a fair trial. Although the court failed to rule on this motion, it conducted individual voir dire of the prospective jurors. For our purposes, we will deem the motion denied. A trial court's denial of a change of venue motion will be reversed only for an abuse of discretion. Davidson v. State, 580 N.E.2d 238, 244 (Ind.1991) (citing Linder v. State, 456 N.E.2d 400 (Ind.1983)). Showing potential juror exposure to press coverage is not enough. Barnes v. State, 693 N.E.2d 520, 524 (Ind.1998) (citing Ind.Code Ann. § 35-37-1-5(b) (West 1993)). Instead, the defendant must demonstrate that the jurors were unable to disregard preconceived notions of guilt and render a verdict based on the evidence. Id. at 524-25. An abuse of discretion does not occur where voir dire reveals that the seated panel was able to set aside preconceived notions of guilt and render a verdict based solely on the evidence. Lindsey v. State, 485 N.E.2d 102, 106 (Ind. 1985). During the individual voir dire of the potential jurors in this case, each was asked about exposure to pretrial publicity and whether each could serve fairly and impartially. After five potential jurors indicated that they could not, the trial court dismissed them for cause upon defense counsel's request. All of the impaneled jurors, however, answered that they could function impartially to render a verdict based solely upon the evidence presented. Because Elsten has not shown any other evidence of prejudice arising form publicity, we conclude that his right to a fair trial was not denied by conducting the trial in Madison County.