State v. Penley

Before pleading to the indictments the defendant moved for a change of venue or, in the alternative, that a jury be drawn from another county. As grounds for these motions defendant asserted that because of the extensive publicity and public discussion of the cases against him, he could not get a fair and impartial trial from a jury composed of Burke County citizens. The court instructed the attorneys for defendant to reduce these motions to writing, and proceeded with the selection of the jury. In the course of examination of prospective jurors by the solicitor, the court instructed the…