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COBB COUNTY, Ga. - A Cobb County judge decided to grant the request of defense attorneys for Ross Harris to move his murder trial out of metro Atlanta. The judge weighed the decision after lawyers could not come up with a consensus over the case.
Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds released the following statement Monday regarding the judge's decision:
“While we’re certainly disappointed, we understand and respect the court’s ruling. Whenever and wherever this case is set for trial, the state will be ready.”
Last week, on Friday, defense attorneys dropped a bombshell when they filed a motion to change the venue out of Cobb County.
The defense argues in the motion that too many members of the jury pool have already made up their mind about the case. Judge Mary Staley agreed and shocked many courtroom observers when she moved the trial. No counties were mentioned.
Courtroom observers say it could take between 4 to 6 months to find a similar location and secure hotel rooms and food for witnesses, prosecutors and the defense team. If that's the case, the Harris murder trial won't be heard until the fall.
The judge conceded prejudice exists and granted the change of venue as the remedy.
Legal analyst Lester Tate says while he was surprised by the timing of the change of venue after three weeks of jury selection, he says a change of venue was never out of the question.
"If courts are anything they're supposed to be the great leveler, both sides are supposed to start on equal footing and after 17 days you saw both sides were not starting out on equal footing," said Tate.
Tate says the ultimate decision on where the trial will move is up to the judge but she will likely ask for input from both sides.
Possible cities include Brunswick and Perry simply because other high profile murder cases have moved to those cities.
MORE: Click here to read past articles regarding the Ross Harris murder case
Prosecutors say Harris deliberately left his son Cooper in a hot car to die back in June of 2014. The defense has said the death was an accident.
Follow @HarrisTrialFOX5 on Twitter for the latest on the trial