By Olga R. Rodriguez | Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Wednesday denied a motion to move the trial of a man charged in last year’s attack against former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband out of San Francisco, saying she wasn’t convinced the court wouldn’t be able to find impartial and fair jurors in the San Francisco Bay Area.
David DePape’s defense attorneys argued that the intense publicity the case has received means he won’t get a fair trial in the city. They had asked Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley to move the trial to Eureka, a city near the border with Oregon. The federal trial is set to start Nov. 13.
Federal public defender Angela Chuang said local media attention has tainted the pool of jurors. In its motion asking for the change of venue, the defense said a survey it commissioned shows many potential jurors already believe DePape is guilty of the crimes and would be unable to change their minds.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley pointed out that the case received national attention and that the defense survey also showed many people in Eureka are also familiar with the details of the case.
She also said it could be hard to find such a jury in Eureka because the population the court could pull from is 326,000, compared to 5.5 million in the Bay Area.
“I agree with you that to ensure Mr. DePape has an impartial jury, we are going to have to pull a lot of jurors and make sure we question them,” Scott Corley said.
“I actually think we will have a way harder time if this case is transferred … because the number of people we’re pulling from is a magnitude smaller,” she added.
Prosecutors say DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home on Oct. 28 seeking to kidnap the former speaker — who was out of town — and instead beat her 83-year-old husband, Paul, with a hammer. The violence sent shockwaves through the political world.
DePape, 43, pleaded not guilty to federal charges of attempting to kidnap a federal official and assaulting a federal official’s family member. He also pleaded not guilty to state charges, including attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. He remains jailed without bail. The state trial hasn’t been scheduled.
Chuang and federal public defender Jodi Linker also said in their motion they fear potential jurors in San Francisco could be biased against DePape because Nancy Pelosi, who has represented the city in Congress since 1987, remains a popular figure in the Bay Area.
Eureka is in rural Humboldt County and is politically more conservative.
They said Bay Area media outlets have extensively covered the case and played video footage of the assault on Paul Pelosi, the 911 call, and a police interview of DePape shortly after his arrest.
Footage of the attack was released to the public in January after a California judge denied prosecutors’ request to keep it secret.