Opinion ID: 1867526
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Pretrial Motion to Change Venue

Text: On December 6, 1999, Blom moved to change venue from Carlton County to a more suitable location. Blom argued that it would be difficult to find fair and impartial jurors in Carlton County due to the extensive local publicity and because so many people from the county had been involved in the search for Poirier. Blom urged the district court to move the trial from Carlton County, but left the specific location to the court's discretion, with the understanding that his motion could be renewed if the new site did not work out. The state agreed with Blom that there was a basis to change venue, but argued that the court did not need to go very far from Carlton County to find fair and impartial jurors. The district court granted Blom's motion, changing venue to Saint Louis County, specifically, the City of Virginia, which is approximately 65 miles from the Carlton County Courthouse. In moving the trial to Virginia, the court noted that most of the state had been inundated with media coverage, thereby making it difficult to find jurors anywhere in the state who were unfamiliar with the case. The court concluded that Virginia was convenient to the parties and at the same time free from the significant community involvement that existed in Carlton County.