Where former Philadelphia officer Mark Dial's murder trial stands
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Former Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial is awaiting a decision on whether his murder trial can be moved outside the city, where legal experts say he may have better odds of being acquitted.
The big picture: Dial's attorneys requested nearly a month ago that the trial in the shooting death of Eddie Irizarry be heard in another part of the state — a move that legal experts say is rarely granted.
- The defense team argues in court papers Dial won't receive a fair trial here because of an "avalanche" of media coverage and protests over the shooting.
- But prosecutors say defense lawyers waited too long to ask for the change of venue, and they can't prove the media coverage was so saturated that there wasn't enough time before the trial for "any prejudice to have dissipated."
Catch up quick: The police shooting in Kensington last August drew national coverage and calls for justice after conflicting police narratives.
- Body camera footage shows Dial arriving at the scene after reports of Irizarry driving erratically. Within seconds of exiting his police cruiser, Dial shoots Irizarry, who's seated in a car.
- Police initially said Irizarry lunged at Dial with a knife, but video shows Irizarry inside the vehicle holding a knife pressed to his thigh when shot.
- Protests erupted in the city last fall after a judge initially tossed the case, agreeing with Dial's attorneys who argued the officer feared for his life when he shot Irizarry.
- Another judge reinstated the charges after ruling a jury should decide the case.
The intrigue: Big-city juries usually favor defendants, legal experts tell Axios. But that's not typically true in police shooting trials, where jurors may be more skeptical due to past experiences with officers, they say.
- Philadelphia has a history of racial disparity in police stops, as reported by the District Attorney's Office last year.
- Moving the case to a Philadelphia suburb that's whiter, wealthier and potentially more deferential to law enforcement could draw a more favorable jury and improve Dial's chances of acquittal, says Daniel McGarrigle, a Philadelphia defense attorney not connected to the case.
The latest: Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara McDermott planned to hold mock jury selection behind closed doors (it's unclear if those sessions have occurred) to see how much prospective Philadelphia jurors know about the shooting.
- She'll then decide whether to move the case or have jurors outside Philly brought in for the trial. Either way, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately decides questions like where the case is tried and whether and from where jurors are brought in.
Zoom in: Legal experts tell Axios that having jurors brought into the city may require sequestering them, a rare and costly move that could mean putting them up in a hotel through the trial.
What they're saying: Rutgers law professor J.C. Lore III says that while change-of-venue requests are rarely granted, Dial's defense team has a proven track record of succeeding on the issue.
- For example, following a mistrial last year, they got former Philly SWAT member Richard Nicoletti's case sent out of town.
What to watch: Releasing bodycam footage of the shooting could haunt prosecutors, McGarrigle says. It can be construed under the law as a "reenactment of the crime" by Dial — one of the standards that would justify moving the case to another county.