Will Loughner be tried in Arizona?

The Washington Post reported last night that accused Tucson shooter Jared Loughner will be granted a change of venue request due to extensive publicity in Arizona about his crimes. The report cited unnamed "federal law enforcement" authorities, and said Loughner will most likely be tried in San Diego, the hometown of his defense attorney, Judy Clarke.

The Justice Department begs to differ, however.

"The Department plans to bring the case in Arizona and will oppose any change of venue motions," Justice Department Director of Public Affairs Matt Miller said, according to Politico's Josh Gerstein.

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court Judge Larry Burns, a 2003 Bush appointee based in San Diego, has been assigned the case, so he will most likely make any decisions about where the case is heard, Gerstein adds. The Post said that Arizona federal judge Roslyn O. Silver would make the decision, but she and all Arizona federal judges have recused themselves from the case since their colleague Judge John Roll was killed in the shooting.

Defense teams sometimes ask judges to let their clients be tried elsewhere in high-profile crimes, arguing they cannot receive a fair trial because the jury pool will have been so exposed to negative news about the defendant. However, since both Loughner and the Tucson massacre have received such exhaustive national media attention, legal observers say it's unlikely the defense team could find a juror anywhere in the country who has not read or watched news reports about him.

The law says cases should be moved when "there exists in the district where the prosecution is pending so great a prejudice against the defendant that the defendant cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial at any place fixed by law for holding court in that district."

Clarke was part of the defense team that won a change-of-venue for Oklahoma City bombing criminals Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, but Gerstein notes it took nine months for the judge to approve that motion. Part of the judge's rationale for moving the case was that news coverage of the crime had tapered off outside of Oklahoma.

(Loughner: AP.)