Judge denies bid to move W.R. Grace execs’ trial

Thu., Jan. 12, 2006

Associated Press

BILLINGS – A federal judge in Missoula on Wednesday denied a request to move the trial of W.R. Grace and Co. executives out of state, saying the case has been extensively covered by the media but not so much as to keep the defendants from getting a fair trial.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, in a lengthy written order, said he determined, following a review of the news coverage surrounding the case over the last year and half, that the coverage has been predominantly “factual” in nature.

“The record does not show a barrage of inflammatory publicity immediately prior to trial. Nor does there appear to be a presently existing wave of public passion,” Molloy wrote. “I am not satisfied that so great a prejudice exists against the defendants that they cannot obtain a fair trial here.”

Last year, a federal grand jury charged that Grace and some top managers conspired to conceal the health risks posed by asbestos at its vermiculite mine near Libby, in northwest Montana, and knowingly endangered members of the local community.

Hundreds of people have been sickened by asbestos-related illness, some fatally. The mine closed in 1990.

The defendants argued that the jury pool has been tainted by pretrial news coverage and that a venue change was necessary to ensure a fair trial. The case has been set for trial in September.

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