Agriprocessors financial trial moved to South Dakota

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Agriprocessors financial trial will be moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., because a judge says the pretrial publicity in this district is “so extensive and inflammatory” that an impartial jury couldn't be seated.

Chief Judge Linda Reade granted the defendants' change of venue today after saying at a previous hearing last month that she wouldn't move the trial out of district.

Reade said in this ruling she reviewed the completed potential juror pool questionnaires and also considered the evidence and arguments made by defendants Sholom Rubashkin, former Agriprocessors vice president, and Agriprocessors in their first and second motions for change of venue. They submitted thousands of newspaper articles from the state and beyond to the court with what they called negative and corrupting publicity.

Reade said the prejudice from pretrial publicity was so “extensive and corrupting that it may presume unfairness of a constitutional magnitude against defendants Rubashkin and Agriprocessors.” She noted the juror questionnaires that demonstrate how the “negative” pretrial publicity has caused the potential jurors to develop a pervasive, strong bias against the defendants.

The trial is moved to the District of South Dakota, Southern Division, because there has been minimal publicity surrounding Agriprocessors in this district, Reade said. The population in and around Sioux Falls is comparable to the Cedar Rapids area and the distance of Sioux Falls to the Northern District's Sioux City courthouse, about 90 miles, is also helpful to the court to take care of other pending matters.

The South Dakota district also has court facilities and a jury pool readily available for the Oct. 13 trial date, Reade said.

The last sentence of the order reminds attorneys not to speak with the press, particularly with publications in and around the District of South Dakota, about this change of venue. Reade warned the attorneys at a previous hearing about trying the case in the press.

Agriprocessors was dismissed Monday from the financial trial because of the bankruptcy proceedings against it, but it still faces the immigration charges included in the 163-count indictment.

The financial and immigration charges are part of the 163-count indictment stemming from the immigration raid in May 2008 at the Postville meatpacking plant.