Hearing on motion to move Greenhouse trial set for 1:30 p.m. today

A hearing on a motion seeking to move the murder trial of Norris Greenhouse Jr. out of Avoyelles Parish will be held at 1:30 p.m. today in 12th Judicial District Court in Marksville.

Defense attorney George Higgins III filed the “change of venue” motion last Wednesday. The Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, responded the next day.

In his motion, Higgins said it was always his intent to have the trial in Avoyelles Parish.

However, Higgins wrote that he has “not previously witnessed the scope, magnitude and depth of media coverage granted the Greenhouse case” and has concluded his client “will not be able to receive a constitutionally mandated fair and impartial jury trial in Avoyelles Parish.”

The AG’s Office countered that “while there has been extensive media coverage surrounding this case, the defendant asks this court to speculate” that all 600 Avoyelles residents in the pool of potential jurors have “read what he (Greenhouse) believes to be prejudicial pretrial publicity and (has) formed an opinion based on this prejudicial pretrial publicity.”

Higgins also cites two Facebook groups, Avoyelles Speaks and Avoyelles Watchdogs for Justice, as a factor impacting the ability to find an unbiased jury.

The prosecutors responded that it is “incorrect to assume, at this state in the proceedings, that the 600 jury venire-men and women are even members of these two Facebook groups."

Greenhouse’s trial on charges of 2nd degree murder of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis and the attempted 2nd degree murder of his father, Christopher Few, is scheduled to begin Oct. 2.

Greenhouse was on duty as a Marksville City Marshal’s deputy when the Nov. 3, 2015 shooting occurred following a traffic stop in Marksville.

As of this morning, Greenhouse was still awaiting a decision from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals on a request for a stay order for the trial and a motion to overrule District Judge William Bennett’s denial of two defense motions preventing prosecutors from using the legal doctrines of “transferred intent” and “principal” in their case against Greenhouse.

Fellow marshal’s deputy Derrick Stafford was tried on the same charges as Greenhouse faces, but was convicted of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter in March and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

The AG’s Office pointed out that publicity was just as intense before Stafford’s trial, and a fair and impartial jury was seated.