Opinion ID: 1298155
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: change of judge and venue

Text: Karen asks that another district judge be assigned to preside over this case upon remand. Karen relies upon Blomquist v. Clague, 290 N.W.2d 235 (N.D.1980), and United Hospital v. Hagen, 285 N.W.2d 586 (N.D. 1979). Those cases, however, do not support Karen's argument. In Blomquist and Hagen we held that where there has been a plausible allegation of prejudice against the trial judge, we favor granting the request for change of judge if the judge will be presiding over the retrial on the merits. In this case, however, the trial judge would not be determining factual issues on the merits, but would be presiding over a jury trial. Blomquist and Hagen suggest that we apply a stricter standard when allegations of prejudice are made against a judge who will try the case without a jury upon retrial. Karen has not pointed to specific instances in the record to support her conclusory allegation that this trial judge is prejudiced or biased against her. We will not automatically grant a request for a change of judge based upon unproved allegations of bias or prejudice, although we do not preclude the trial court from considering such a request upon remand. See Vorachek v. Citizens State Bank of Lankin, 461 N.W.2d 580, 586 (N.D.1990). We decline to order that a different judge preside over the case on remand. Karen also requests that we order a change of venue from Pierce County, asserting that she cannot receive a fair trial there. The question of whether a change of venue is necessary to obtain a fair and impartial trial is a question of fact. Jerry Harmon Motors, Inc. v. First National Bank & Trust Co., 440 N.W.2d 704, 708 (N.D.1989). The trial court, having more complete knowledge of the facts and circumstances of the case, is in a better position than the appellate court to make this determination. Id. Furthermore, the usual practice is to defer ruling upon the motion until the completion of voir dire, because a better assessment of prejudice may be made at that time. Id. at 711. We conclude that the question of changing venue should be decided by the trial court on remand. Resolution of this question on the record on appeal would be hindered by our inability to assess contemporaneous factors. See Bohn v. Johnson, 371 N.W.2d 781, 790 n. 2 (N.D.1985). The accident occurred nearly five years ago and it has been nearly two years since the first trial. The passage of time may have softened public sentiment concerning the case. Conversely, media coverage of the result in the first trial may have adversely affected public perception of the case. These are factors for consideration by the trial court, not for this court on appeal. Our disposition of this appeal makes it unnecessary to reach the remaining questions raised by the parties. We reverse the judgment and remand for a new trial in accordance with this opinion. ERICKSTAD, C.J., and LEVINE, VANDE WALLE and GIERKE, JJ., concur.