A federal judge in Buffalo has shut down a bid to move Payton Gendron’s federal death penalty trial to New York City, keeping the high-profile case rooted in Western New York and narrowing a long-running fight over where the jury will be picked.
The judge delivered the ruling during a pretrial hearing on Feb. 13, rejecting New York City as a transfer site and limiting any venue change to locations within the Western District of New York. The decision, first reported by WGRZ, eliminates one of the biggest wild cards in the venue fight but leaves plenty of pretrial wrangling over jury questionnaires and evidence deadlines.
Defense Asked For Manhattan Jury Pool
Gendron’s lawyers had pushed to move the case to the Southern District of New York, arguing that “due to the overwhelming amount of pretrial publicity” and Buffalo’s stark segregation, an impartial jury could not be seated locally. They urged the court to consider Manhattan, pointing to its different media market and larger minority population as a better backdrop for a fair trial, according to filings and court statements detailed by ABC News.
Families And Prosecutors Pushed Back
Federal prosecutors and families of the victims lined up against that request, arguing that moving the trial downstate would make it harder for survivors and relatives to attend and would not erase the wall-to-wall coverage of the Tops supermarket shooting. Family members told reporters they want the trial to stay in Buffalo so they can sit in the courtroom and watch every step, a stance described in the same ABC News reporting.
Where The Schedule Lands
The federal case has been moving on a shifting calendar as lawyers argue over discovery and timing, with earlier start dates pushed back while the court kept the door open for venue and other pretrial motions. The trial is now set for 2025, and jury selection is scheduled to begin in August 2026 unless the judge changes course, according to court scheduling reported by Spectrum News.
What The Law Requires
Change of venue requests in federal criminal cases fall under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 21, which lets judges move a case if prejudice in the original district would prevent a fair trial, or for convenience and in the interest of justice. The rule also tells courts to consider victims’ interests along with those of the parties and witnesses, giving judges wide latitude to balance fairness, logistics and the community’s stake in seeing the proceedings up close, as outlined by Cornell Law School.
What To Watch Next
With New York City off the table, expect both sides to dig in on the next round of fights: how to screen potential jurors, how fast evidence must be turned over, and how the court will handle the death penalty question. Local prosecutors and court officials are likely to keep arguing that shipping the trial out of Buffalo would place an unfair burden on victims and the broader community, while the defense continues to press for procedures it says are needed to protect Gendron’s right to a fair trial, according to coverage by WGRZ.
