WHAS 11 News Interviews Hans Poppe About The Karen Sypher Extortion of Rick Pitino Trial.

Recently, WHAS 11 sat down with me to discuss Karen Sypher's lawyers reasons for requesting a change of venue and his motion to strike the jury panel.  Ms. Sypher's lawyer doesn't think she can get a fair trial here in Louisville because of all of the pre-trial publicity and because Coach Rick Pitino is so well-known in this community.

I explained that changes in venue are extremely rare and only happen when the court is convinced there has been a "circus-type" atmosphere surrounding the trial.  I also explain that Ms. Sypher has the unusual benefit of a 30-page questionaire of all the panel members and three days of individual voir dire of each potential jury member.

I explained that I would be very surprised if Judge Simpson moved the trial or started jury selection over again.  Following this interview, Judge Simpson denied the defenses motion to move the trial or strike the panel.  The case is scheduled to start on Monday. 

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ps another interesting development is that Ms. Sypher's attorney has served a subpoena on Coach Pitino's lawyer, Steve Pence, to testify at trial.  Mr. Pence's lawyers have filed a motion to quash the subpoena, likely claiming attorney-client privilege.