Lay, Skilling request change of venue in Enron trial News
Lay, Skilling request change of venue in Enron trial

[JURIST] Lawyers for former Enron [JURIST news archive] chairman Kenneth Lay [Chronicle profile] and ex-CEO Jeffrey Skilling [Chronicle profile] on Wednesday afternoon filed a motion to move the location of the trial, where both defendants face charges of conspiracy and fraud in connection with the fall of the energy company. The trial is currently scheduled to begin on January 30 in Houston, but lawyers for the defendants believe that the Houston community is much too biased to properly conduct a fair trial. If US District Judge Sim Lake denies the change of venue motion, the defense has also suggested a delay in the trial date so that a new jury pool can be summoned. This comes after proceedings were postponed for two weeks [JURIST report] last week following a guilty plea by former co-defendant Richard Causey [Chronicle profile]. The Houston Chronicle has local coverage.