Thread: Court denies Rubashkin, Agriprocessors request for new venue

Court denies Rubashkin, Agriprocessors request for new venue
By Lynda Waddington 3/18/09 4:48 PM

A federal judge ruled today that trials for Agriprocessors, a former executive and a former supervisor do not need to be displaced from Iowa in order to assure justice wields an even hand.

Defense attorneys for Sholom Rubashkin, former day-to-day executive at Agriprocessors, had argued that pretrial publicity prevent their client from receiving a fair hearing in Iowa. The original call for a change of venue was joined by Brent Beebe, a former plant supervisor, and the company itself. In documents filed with the court, however, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade disagreed.

“The issue before the court is not, however, whether Defendants Rubashkin and Agriprocessors have received ‘bad press’ from persons in high places. As counsel for Defendant Rubashkin pointed out at the Hearing, the issue is simply whether Defendants Rubashkin and Agriprocessors will be able to receive a fair trial in the Northern District of Iowa,â€

Why are these defense attornies being given an extra 3 and one-half days at the expense of Iowa taxpayers to come up with a jury they think might be favorable to their cases?