A judge ruled last week that Andrew Thomas Gallo will have his trial in Orange County, asserting confidence that a fair jury can be selected to hear the matter. Yet many Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys still aren't certain that Orange County residents will ever be able to forget about the intense coverage of the crash that killed Anaheim Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and may question the fairness of his trial.
OC Weekly reports that Andrew Gallo has been accused of killing Nick Adenhart and two other people in a 2009 drunk driving crash. The suspect had a blood alcohol level that was more than three times the legal limit after the crash and also had one prior DUI conviction. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to three second degree murder counts and can be sentenced to 50 years in prison if he is convicted of all the criminal charges. This could be a trial to remember for DUI attorneys all over California.
Because of the ongoing Southern California news coverage over the incident, many people in the OC community probably hate Andrew Gallo. But does this mean it's impossible to find an impartial jury? The defendant's DUI attorney Jacqueline Goodman Rubio wrote in a 36-page motion that her client's trial should be moved out of the OC. While Superior Court Judge Richard F. Toohey denied the motion, but he did say that he would reconsider the motion if he has trouble seating a jury. So perhaps the issue of moving his trial isn't over yet.
Related Resources:
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Nick Adenhart's Death: Defense Attorneys Want Trial Out of OC (FindLaw's Los Angeles Criminal Law Blog)
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Find a Los Angles DUI Attorney (FindLaw)
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Andrew Gallo Pleads Not Guilty in Nick Adenhart DUI Murder Case (FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty Blog)
