Grand Forks man requests change of venue in criminal case alleging he abused wife

Jun. 17—GRAND FORKS — A Grand Forks man accused of abusing his now-deceased wife while she was suffering from cancer has requested a change of venue for his criminal case.

Joshua Jon Temple, 41, is charged with Class B felony endangering an eligible adult, which has a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Temple is also charged with Class C felony terrorizing, Class C felony domestic violence causing serious bodily injury and Class A misdemeanor domestic violence causing substantial bodily injury.

Charges were filed in April.

The following month, Whitney Temple — Joshua Temple's wife and alleged victim — died.

A family practice doctor at Sanford Health's Grand Forks health clinic,

Whitney Temple was honored by hundreds of doctors, nurses, hospital personnel and others in a "last rounds" ritual.

Weeks later,

Joshua Temple pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Herald reached out to Grand Forks County State's Attorney Haley Wamstad, who declined to comment at the time on whether she suspected Temple would face more serious charges following his alleged victim's death.

She said the matter remained open and was being actively investigated.

The defense has filed a motion for a venue change for Joshua Temple's pre-trial and trial proceedings, arguing that "the extraordinary nature of the allegations, and the Temples' prominence in the community," have caused the case to garner significant media attention.

The motion requests that court proceedings be moved out of Grand Forks County and into "either Ward County, Burleigh County, or a county outside of the Forum Communications' sphere of influence."

In a memorandum filed May 23, Temple and his attorney — Patrick Rosenquist — claim publicity of the allegations against him has been widespread, recent and highly damaging.

The memorandum states that a WDAY headline: "Police say it will take about two months to determine if 33-year-old Whitney Temple died due to a two-year battle with cancer, or an alleged vicious assault by her husband," sensationalized the charges against Temple by using the term "vicious," and cited the Grand Forks Police Department without naming a source.

"At best, the headline is purposefully inflammatory to get more views and to evoke an emotional response from the public," the memorandum says. "At worst, an unnamed source with the Grand Forks Police Department shared investigative details of Dr. Temple's death with the media prior to disclosing it to the government or defense counsel."

The memorandum listed various other news headlines related to the case and Whitney Temple's death. Sources mentioned throughout the memorandum include the Grand Forks Herald, Forum Communications, Valley News Live, WDAZ News, WDAY News, KVRR, KFGO and iNewz.

The Herald, Forum Communications, WDAZ and WDAY all are owned by Forum Communications Co.

Social media comments in response to news posts are also cited in the memorandum, and include implications of violent threats to Joshua Temple. One comment reads, "Bring back the death penalty." Another, "I would pay good money for five minutes alone with him!"

The memorandum says the social media comments relating to Temple's case "is the proverbial equivalent to a crowd with pitchforks and torches standing outside of a sheriff's office demanding mob justice."

Other arguments to move the case include that Joshua Temple and Whitney Temple are both well-known in the community. Joshua Temple is a local business owner, and has received Herald news coverage of his business in the past.

The memorandum says one person sent an anonymous letter to Joshua Temple's business partner, calling him a loser for working with a "murderer and wife beater."

In response, Sarah Gereszek, representing the state, filed a document stating the motion was premature and should be denied. The response, filed June 6, argues there have been few public comments left on the aforementioned articles — particularly those published locally — and there isn't proof that media coverage has been so prejudicial it will prevent Temple from receiving a fair and impartial trial and the case won't be set for a jury trial for months still.

The state says Temple is speculating that a substantially better jury panel could be sworn elsewhere, without showing evidence.

The state also argues it has no responsibility over what the media publishes and that it believes a large percentage of the community has no knowledge of Temple's criminal case.

Temple and his representation filed a reply to the state's response on June 13, citing the number of reactions articles and other news mediums posted on social media have received, as well as social media posts from Temple's family.

The issue went under Judge Kristi Venhuizen's advisement Monday, June 17. There will be no hearing to argue the matter. Instead, Venhuizen will review all the submitted documents and make a determination.