9th Cir.;
08-99013
The court of appeals affirmed a district court judgment denying a federal habeas petition. The court held that there is no reduced legal standard, in capital cases, for showing prejudice in support of a defendant’s request for a change of trial venue. The court held further that a state trial court’s refusal to change venue due to substantial media coverage of a small-town murder was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent where the media coverage was largely factual and jurors were amply screened and instructed on issues of media exposure.
