Choose rejects transferring trial of man charged in Nancy Pelosi’s husband assault out of San Francisco

A federal judge has denied a motion to move the trial of a man accused of assaulting the husband of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year from San Francisco

From

OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press

Jul 19, 2023 6:47 am ET

• 3 minutes read

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request to move the trial of a man accused last year of assaulting the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of San Francisco, saying she was not satisfied the San Francisco Bay Area court could not find an impartial and fair jury.

Defense attorneys for David DePape argued that the intense publicity the case received meant it would not receive a fair trial in the city. They had asked Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley to move the trial to Eureka, a town near the Oregon border. The federal trial is scheduled to begin on November 13.

Federal Defense Attorney Angela Chuang said the attention of the local media affected the jury circuit. In its motion to change jurisdiction, the defense said a poll it commissioned shows that many potential jurors are already convinced that DePape is guilty of the crimes and are unable to change their minds.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley noted that the case had drawn national attention and that the defense survey also showed that many people in Eureka were familiar with the details of the case.

She also said finding such a jury in Eureka might be difficult because the population the court could recruit from is 326,000, compared to the Bay Area’s 5.5 million.

“I agree that in order to ensure Mr. DePape has an impartial jury, we need to gather a lot of jurors and make sure we question them,” Scott Corley said.

“I actually think that if this case transfers, we’re going to have a much harder time…because the number of people we pull off is a lot smaller,” she added.

Prosecutors say DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home on Oct. 28 to kidnap the former speaker, who was out of town, and instead hit her 83-year-old husband Paul with a hammer. The violence shook the political world.

DePape, 43, pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal agent and assaulting a federal agent’s family member. He also pleaded not guilty to state charges including attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. He remains in prison without bail. The state trial is not scheduled.

Chuang and federal defense attorney Jodi Linker also said in their filing that they worry potential San Francisco jurors may be biased toward DePape because Nancy Pelosi, who has represented the city in Congress since 1987, remains a popular Bay Area figure.

Located in rural Humboldt County, Eureka is more politically conservative.

They said Bay Area media reported extensively on the case, playing video footage of the attack on Paul Pelosi, calling 911 and a police interview with DePape shortly after his arrest.

Footage of the attack was released to the public in January after a California judge denied prosecutors’ request for secrecy.