Judge nixes bid to move Enron trial

[Judi Lynn]

Judge nixes bid to move Enron trial
Lay and Skilling can get a fair trial in Houston, judge says

Tuesday, January 24, 2006; Posted: 4:34 p.m. EST (21:34 GMT)

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling will go to trial in the scandal-ridden company's hometown of Houston, a judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Sim Lake issued an order late Monday denying the former executives' last-minute request to move the trial from Houston based on potential jurors' vitriolic statements about Lay and Skilling on questionnaires.

The judge said he wasn't persuaded by defense arguments that a fair jury can't be found in Houston because the questionnaire answers reveal inherent prejudice against Lay and Skilling.

Lake said questionnaires with unbiased answers and his intention to question the pool during jury selection next Monday "provide adequate safeguards to defendants and will result in the selection of a fair and impartial jury in this case."
(snip/...)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/24/enron.lay.skilling.ap/index.html

[Mithras61]

1. Good! Glad to hear it!

This was nothing more than a delaying tactic and I believe the judge saw right through it. Yes, some Houstonians will have prejudged these two, but I believe that, as much as they are detested, they can get as fair a trial here as they can anywhere at this point.