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(NewsDakota.com) – If the murder trial for Leron Lee Howard is held in Stutsman County in August, it may involve jurors from Barnes County.
Southeast District Court judge Thomas E. Merrick signed an order March 23 authorizing the potential juror pool to include 60 people from Stutsman County and 20 people from Barnes County. The expansion of the jury pool to Barnes County is an effort to ensure a fair and impartial jury.
Howard and his attorney Steven Mottinger have since asked for a change of venue, requesting the trial be moved to Cass County because of media coverage in Stutsman County.
Howard is charged with murder and criminal conspiracy in relation to the death of 18-year-old Abdi Ali Ahmed, whose body was found near Spiritwood on April 30, 2011. Co-defendent Janelle Cave was found guilty of manslaughter and criminal conspiracy in a trial held in February in Stutsman County District Court.
Because of the extensive media coverage of Cave’s trial, Merrick says in his March 23 order that the “number of prospective jurors within Stutsman County is insufficient to obtain an adequate jury pool.”
As part of the order expanding the juror pool to Barnes County, juror questionnaires will be mailed out and returned before the trial “to screen out prospective jurors tainted by media coverage.”
In a motion for change of venue received by the court on April 13, Howard’s attorney says, “Howard believes it would be impossible for him to receive a fair trial in Stutsman County.”
Howard, who is black, says in a letter to his attorney that his race, talk around town, and the media focus on his and Cave’s cases may all contribute to him not receiving a fair trial in Jamestown and Stutsman County.
“I just want my trial to be fair and not judged on her outcome in her trial,” he says in reference to Cave’s trial in February.
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Howard Trial 4-19-12
JAMESTOWN (NewsDakota.com) – If the murder trial for Leron Lee Howard is held in Stutsman County in August, it may involve jurors from Barnes County.
Southeast District Court judge Thomas E. Merrick signed an order March 23 authorizing the potential juror pool to include 60 people from Stutsman County and 20 people from Barnes County. The expansion of the jury pool to Barnes County is an effort to ensure a fair and impartial jury.
Howard and his attorney Steven Mottinger have since asked for a change of venue, requesting the trial be moved to Cass County.
Howard is charged with murder and criminal conspiracy in relation to the death of 18-year-old Abdi Ali Ahmed, whose body was found near Spiritwood on April 30, 2011. Co-defendent Janelle Cave was found guilty of manslaughter and criminal conspiracy in a trial held in February in Stutsman County District Court.
Because of the extensive media coverage of Cave’s trial, Merrick says in his March 23 order that the “number of prospective jurors within Stutsman County is insufficient to obtain an adequate jury pool.”
As part of the order, juror questionnaires will be mailed out and returned before the trial “to screen out prospective jurors tainted by media coverage.”
In a motion for change of venue received by the court on April 13, Howard’s attorney says, “Howard believes it would be impossible for him to receive a fair trial in Stutsman County.”
Howard, who is black, says in a letter to his attorney that his race, talk around town, and the media focus on his and Cave’s cases may all contribute to him not receiving a fair trial in Jamestown and Stutsman County.
“I just want my trial to be fair and not judged on her outcome in her trial,” he says in reference to Cave’s trial in February.