Marilyn Mosby Seeks to Change Venue for Federal Trial Amid Poll Results

Marilyn Mosby, the former State's Attorney for Baltimore, is making another attempt to have her upcoming federal trial moved out of the city. This effort comes from her newly appointed legal team, which has conducted a poll indicating widespread negative perceptions of Mosby among Baltimore residents.

Previously, an attempt to transfer the trial to Greenbelt was rejected by U.S. District Judge Lydia K. Griggsby, who stated that Mosby's notoriety alone did not warrant a venue change.

The recent polling, carried out by Trial Innovations, a national jury research firm, surveyed 602 jury-eligible residents across the Northern and Southern Divisions of Baltimore between May 31 and June 15, 2023. The results revealed that 67% of respondents in the Northern Division who were aware of Mosby held negative views of her, with 36% expressing very negative opinions. Furthermore, 65% of those familiar with controversies surrounding her tenure indicated that these issues would impact their perceptions of her credibility as jurors.

Among the adjectives used by respondents to describe Mosby, 35% labeled her as 'corrupt,' while 20% described her as 'dishonest' or a 'liar.' Additionally, 17% used terms like 'thief,' 'greedy,' or 'selfish.'

In contrast, familiarity with Mosby and her case was notably lower in the Southern Division, according to her legal team.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Delaney previously argued against moving the trial, asserting that the jury pool in Baltimore is sufficient to form an unbiased panel. He emphasized the relevance of the case being tried where the alleged crime occurred.

Moreover, the jury expert's analysis of media coverage concluded that the Northern Division's jury pool has been heavily influenced by negative portrayals of Mosby, her husband, and related political controversies.

Mosby faces charges of perjury and making false statements, accused of misrepresenting her financial situation to access federal relief funds and lying about property purchases in Florida. Her defense has raised concerns about selective prosecution, arguing that no similar cases have been identified.

In addition to the venue change request, Mosby's legal team has filed motions to prevent prosecutors from mentioning her purchase of vacation homes and to separate the perjury charges from mortgage fraud counts. Notably, attorney Lucius Outlaw, who previously left the case, has returned to assist her defense.

Reported by HarborBeat based on The Baltimore Banner (source).