Quasi Victory: Judge Moves Rubashkin Trial to South Dakota

A U.S. District Court judge has moved the trial of four former managers of Agriprocessors from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Sioux Falls, S.D. Judge Linda Reade ruled today that the “prodigious” amount of negative pretrial publicity about Agriprocessors, Inc., and former top manager R’ Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin caused potential jurors to develop a bias against them. (See previous reports here and here.) The trial has been set for Oct. 13.

The order filed today was the second victory for Rubashkin’s defense team , who earlier asked for and received a month’s delay in the trial.

Rubashkin and three co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to immigration, bank fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud charges.

Agriprocessors was the subject of a massive immigration raid in 2008.

{Los Angeles Times/Matzav.com Newscenter}