Judge Denies Change of Venue Request for Roeder Posted: Dec 21, 2009 2:34 PM EST Updated: Dec 22, 2009 11:29 AM EST

Judge Denies Change of Venue Request for Roeder

Posted: Dec 21, 2009 2:34 PM EST Updated: Dec 22, 2009 11:29 AM EST

Update - Tuesday 10:15 am:

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A Sedgwick County district judge says a motion to prohibit the use of pre-emptory jury strikes in the trial of a man accused of killing a Kansas abortion doctor is premature.

Judge Warren Wilbert on Tuesday denied a defense motion to prohibit the strikes, but said he would deal with such issues on a person-by-person basis during trial.

Fifty-one-year-old Scott Roeder is accused of fatally shooting Dr. George Tiller on May 31 at Tiller's Wichita Church. Roeder has confessed to shooting Tiller, but he says the slaying was necessary to save unborn children.

Earlier Tuesday, Wilbert denied a defense motion for a change of venue for the trial.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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By Cliff Judy (WICHITA, Kan.)

Scott Roeder's murder trial may be set for next month, but a motion hearing scheduled for Tuesday at the Sedgwick County Courthouse will likely have a major effect on trial strategy. That's because the reason Wichita late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller died will be on debate.

Evidence already presented in court and legal precedents point to Scott Roeder, the man prosecutors and witnesses say shot Tiller in the head while he served as an usher at his church. Roeder points to Tiller's profession.

Judge Warren Wilbert will hear several motions regarding what he will and won't allow at trial. Among them is a defense change of venue motion and Roeder's desire to use a "necessity defense" justifying Tiller's death because Roeder wanted to protect unborn children.

Last month, Roeder admitted to killing Tiller in a phone interview with an Associated Press reporter. He said he didn't regret his actions and wanted to stop Tiller's abortion clinic.

Prosecutors have already told Eyewitness News they don't want abortion mentioned at all during Roeder's murder trial. They've also filed a motion asking that the court ban any use of the defense, citing a 1993 Kansas Supreme Court ruling that allowing the necessity defense could lead to anarchy.

Wilbert's ruling on whether to allow the necessity defense could even set the eventual course for a verdict when combined with Roeder's media confession and a significant amount of evidence against him.

Roeder's attorneys are also asking Wilbert for a change of venue because of the publicity attached to the case. However, judges who've served Sedgwick County for decades can't remember a single case where a judge allowed the trial to leave Wichita.

Eyewitness News and reporter Cliff Judy will be following all aspects of the trial. Expect updates here on kwch.com, on Eyewitness Newscasts, and on Twitter (KWCH12 and 12Judy).