Dean Skelos, a former Republican majority leader in the New York State Senate, and his son Adam Skelos, who are set to stand trial for public corruption charges for a second time, don't think they can get a fair trial in New York.

That was the argument they have made in a bid to move their case out of the federal courts based in the state.

The Skeloses were convicted in 2015 of Hobbs Act conspiracy and extortion, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, and federal program bribery.

But in September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit tossed out the verdict, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision establishing an elevated standard for delivering jury instructions for public corruption cases.

Dean Skelos is accused of using his official office to steer government contracts to companies who gave his son no-show jobs. They are scheduled to be retried in June.

Attorneys for the Skeloses argue in a change-of-venue request that the case has received “extraordinary wall-to-wall coverage” that has been vitriolic and prejudicial at times, citing both straight news articles on the case by New York publications, as well as columns about the case that called for Dean Skelos' ouster from office.

The attorneys, who also filed a motion to dismiss the case on Thursday, citing improper grand jury instructions, said the new standard that the Supreme Court set in its decision in McDonnell v. United States for jury instructions in corruption cases will present the eventual retrial for the Skeloses with an “unusually sensitive and searching inquiry.”

“Given the three-year media drumbeat calling for the Skeloses' conviction and swift imprisonment, a drumbeat fueled by government misconduct, it is extremely doubtful that a New York jury will be able to perform this task with an open mind,” the attorneys said.

The attorneys said that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania or a court somewhere within the confines of the Sixth Circuit would place the case beyond the reach of the New York media.

As the defense attorneys acknowledge in the request, there is a high standard to meet to succeed on a change of venue, which is rarely granted.