Court hears change of venue request in Meade case

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A change of venue hearing in the case against the former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy who fatally shot Casey Goodson Jr. was held Wednesday.  

Ex-deputy Jason Meade's lawyers filed a charge last month requesting a change of venue for his February 2025 re-trial.  

After a Franklin County judge declared a mistrial in the murder case against Meade last February, his lawyers argued that due to all of the publicity before, during and after the trial, a change of venue is necessary for the retrial.

Meade is accused of fatally shooting Goodson at the door of his grandmother's house in 2020, shooting him six times in the back. Meade claims Goodson pointed a gun at him twice, making him fear for his life.  

Meade's attorney Mark Collins pointed to banners on I-70 and I-71, signs, and flyers all calling for justice for Goodson. Collins said that taints the jury pool.   

Collins also pointed to the role of elected officials in Franklin County after the first trial, calling out people like Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, City Attorney Zach Klein, and newly elected Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor, who have all taken to social media voicing support for Goodson's family and the case against Meade. 

"When they post on social media, when they give statements like that, they're reaching out to people that voted for them, people that gave them money to run their campaign, people who trust them," Collins said.  

Meantime, prosecutors opposed the change of venue motion. Prosecutor Tim Merkle said until a jury is seated, it's impossible to know what kind of prejudice is out there.  

"He's assuming that every voter is paying attention to the elected official," Merkle said. "But that isn't necessarily true. We've got 800,000 registered voters. We have a jury pool of 800,000."  

Collins said a case like this is anything but typical 

"When you have those types of things happening along with the social media, along with the podcasts, along with the Tik Toks, along with the Snapchats where he's labeled 'murderer Meade,' those are all the things that input explicit bias," Collins said.  

The request for the change of venue was taken into consideration by the judge; however,no decision was made.   

Another motion was brought forth by Meade's defense to manage the conduct of those inside the courtroom. Meade's attorney Steve Nolder said those in the courtroom should not be allowed to wear Airpods or clothing that may influence the jury's decision. 

"People coming into court shouldn't come to the courthouse dressed trying to influence the jurors by wearing clothing that might signal what they believe and how just they should be," Nolder said.   

The Goodson family’s attorney Sean Walton said the defense's strategy is to distract, and what people wear is irrelevant to the outcome.   

"Issues with the Airpods, I think we all know that people commonly forget to take your Airpods out," Walton said. "In fact, it wasn't even on the side facing the jurors and so it's disingenuous, it's a distraction."  

The defendants' motion for courtroom decorum, meant to enforce proper in-court behavior, was also taken into consideration by the judge. 

Goodson's mother, Tamala Payne, along with other members of the family, sat in on the hearing.

"It's hard," Payne said. "We've got to come, and we've got to do it a second time but we're walking in expecting a victory. We're expecting a guilty verdict."  

One thing both sides agreed on was the jury view, which is a procedure where a jury is taken to a location or property that's relevant to the case but can't be brought into a courtroom. They agreed it's important for the jury to be able to see everything before making a decision.  

Meade is set to go back on trial in February. There is no word on when the judge will rule on the motions heard Thursday.