Defense attorneys for the man accused of Bel Air?s first murder in decades want the trial moved to another jurisdiction, fearing that pretrial publicity will make it harder to find an impartial jury.
Citing media coverage and the stabbing?s proximity to the courthouse ? occurring in an alley within sight of the Circuit Court ? lawyers for Michael Razzio Simmons, who is accused of killing 23-year-old Patrick Walker in a road rage incident last May, want his trial removed from Bel Air.
“The jury can look out the window and see the crime scene. … They can go out to lunch and pass the memorial there,” said David Henninger, Simmons? attorney. “There?s a whole lot of things affecting the jurors other than the evidence.”
Footage from the courthouse?s security cameras might even be introduced as evidence, he said, since they show the cars of the victim and defendant as they pass on Bond Street before the stabbing.
Even with the judge?s explicit orders to the jury not to visit the crime scene or conduct their own investigations, Henninger said that knowing the scene?s proximity to the courthouse and other downtown landmarks might make jurors uneasy.
Circuit Judge Thomas Marshall said the rationale for the request was unusual, even if Henninger just used the standard jury selection process to weed out those who could not be impartial.
“Suppose there?s a juror who drives that way every day … Do you exclude him just because he?s knowledgeable about the town of Bel Air?” Marshall said.
Henninger also said extensive media coverage naturally followed the case, which was the Harford town?s first homicide since 1983. He gave the judge several issues of The Aegis, which he said focused too much attention on previous assault charges against Simmons that were never brought to trial and might unfairly prejudice potential jurors against him.
Marshall again questioned Henninger?s reasoning, claiming he?d be surprised if a majority of jurors even read The Aegis.
Along with Henninger?s requests to suppress various parts of Simmons? testimony to police, Marshall will rule on the motion to remove the case sometime before the April 23 trial date.
