quincy
Senior Member
Most states do not allow for the prosecution to seek a change of venue. I don't know about California.
It will be up to the defense to show there cannot be an impartial jury seated - for whatever reason, but often based on pretrial publicity that is said to have tainted the jury pool.
Prospective jurors are questioned and can be dismissed during voir dire. It is during the process of jury selection where biases are generally discovered/demonstrated.
Again, though, an actual change of venue because there is fear on the part of the defense that the defendant cannot receive a fair trial is rare. I am not sure political affiliation is reason enough to believe an impartial jury cannot be seated.