U.S. says Carona can get a fair trial in Orange County
Prosecutors say they don't approve of radio hosts John and Ken's bid to taint the ex-sheriff's jury pool but downplay the effect the effort might have.
Noting that even high-profile cases like Watergate were not relocated, federal prosecutors argued Wednesday that a fair and impartial Orange County jury could be found for the trial of former Sheriff Michael S. Carona, despite pretrial publicity including antics by a pair of Los Angeles radio hosts.
The government filed a motion in response to a request by Carona's attorneys to move his corruption trial out of Southern California, in part to increase the odds of finding jurors who have not been tainted by the daily commute-hour banter of "The John and Ken Show" on KFI-AM (640).
"The United States Constitution, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the courts have established that trials, absent extraordinary circumstances not present here, are to be conducted in the district in which the crimes occurred," prosecutors wrote. The defendants "have not and cannot come anywhere close to demonstrating the type of extreme circumstance that is essential if they are to defeat the presumption that venue is appropriate in this district."
Carona's lead attorney, Brian A. Sun, has said the radio-show commentary has been so inflammatory and repetitive that it would be extremely difficult for Carona to receive a fair trial within KFI's considerable reach.
Sun could not be reached Wednesday.
The change-of-venue motion is among several still pending before U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford. Carona is scheduled to go on trial Aug. 26 on criminal charges that he misused his office to enrich himself and others, including his wife and former mistress. All three have pleaded not guilty.
Last week, Guilford dealt a blow to Carona's defense by ruling that jurors could listen to secretly recorded conversations during which Carona and former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl allegedly plot to cover up illegal cash payments and gifts.
Guilford also denied Carona 's motion to dismiss the six felony charges against him, including two witness-tampering counts that accuse Carona of trying to dissuade Haidl from testifying before a grand jury.
The change-of-venue motion was filed under seal, but in a ruling made public Wednesday the judge denied a defense request to keep it sealed.
In the motion, Carona's attorneys contend that potential jurors have been exposed to "toxic publicity," a "barrage of inflammatory publicity" and "prejudicial newspaper articles," according to prosecutors.
