Posted on 08/21/23
| News Source: FOX45
In their latest argument concerning the request to move Marilyn Mosby's federal trial to Greenbelt, her attorneys said that they would be willing to forego a step in jury selection if the trial is moved to Greenbelt.
The former Baltimore City State's Attorney was indicted in January 2022. She is accused of perjury and making false mortgage applications relating to the purchases of two vacation homes in Florida. Mosby has maintained her innocence.
Mosby's public defenders have been fighting to move her federal trial to the Southern Division of Maryland. Today's filing by her defense team is the first of a two-part response to prosecutors' latest arguments.
Prosecutors claimed Mosby whipped up her own media storm after being indicted and criticized the defense's expert's polling that showed potential jurors around Baltimore might be more inclined to find Mosby guilty.
Today, her attorneys doubled down on their findings. "The government never asserts that Southern Division jurors and Northern Division jurors have been exposed to equal amounts of pretrial publicity, hold equally negative views about Mrs. Mosby, or are equally predisposed to find Mrs. Mosby guilty. Nor could it—such a claim would be fanciful," the defense said in today's filing.
Defense attorneys said they would be willing to speed up the jury selection process if it aided the decision to move the trial. Her attorneys said they believed the court clerk could distribute and collect a juror questionnaire in time. "But if time is too short, Mrs. Mosby is willing to forego a juror questionnaire and rely instead on the normal courtroom voir dire process in the Southern Division," said her attorneys in the filing.
Mosby's attorneys claim that the inconvenience of moving the trial would be minimal; it would only affect six witnesses, according to the defense.
"In short, there is only one relevant question under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 18: which division would better promote the prompt administration of justice, convenience of victims and witnesses, and fairness to the defendant?" asked her attorneys in the filing.
The second part of the defense filing, defending their pollster, is due Wednesday; The request to split their response was not opposed by prosecutors.