PORTLAND, Ore. — Jeremy Christian's double-murder trial will not be moved away from Portland, a judge ruled Monday.
Christian's attorneys on Friday argued the trial should be moved to another county.
"What we are concerned about is local media coverage of this case,” said Greg Scholl. “The factual occurrences that took place on the day Mr. Christian was arrested were in fact drastically different than what has been portrayed in the media.”
Christian's attorneys argue the coverage could sway potential jurors who are supposed to be impartial.
The Oregonian reported that Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht said the prosecution could proceed with jury selection, but if it becomes clear that an impartial jury can't be found, then she can rule the trial must be moved.
Christian is accused of attacking three men on a MAX train with a knife back in May of 2017. Two of those men, Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche died. The lone survivor was Micah Fletcher.
Police said the men were trying to intervene as Christian yelled racial slurs at two black, Muslim teen girls.
Prosecutors argued against moving the trial.
“On behalf of the victims, there is strong opposition to this motion because of the hardship that they would have to endure if this trial was moved to some far flung county,” said Donald Rees, the chief deputy district attorney on the case.
Rees said that in such a large county, prosecutors believe selecting an impartial jury won't be an issue
“It's fair to believe an impartial jury can be selected,” Rees said.
“I don't know how you look at the coverage in this case and come to any other conclusion other than there is a reasonable likelihood that the coverage would prevent a fair trial from occurring,” said Scholl.
Christian's trial is set to start in June.