Harvey Updyke, the man accused of lethally poisoning Auburn’s historic Toomer’s Corner oak trees, has a court date coming up soon. He’s due to appear April 20 in Opelika for a probable cause hearing after the canceling of a March 2 preliminary hearing.
Attorney Glennon Threatt is considering applying for a change of venue. If you can think of anywhere in Alabama that won’t turn up a field of jury candidates almost entirely populated by people with Auburn or Bama ties — except maybe, like, UAB’s campus — please share them in the comments with us.
The fact that the poisoned trees are even worse off than originally thought isn’t likely to find Updyke any newly impartial potential jurors, either.
In a probable cause hearing, the prosecution presents to the judge its evidence against the accused. Updyke’s judge will then decide whether there’s sufficient reason to proceed with arraignment and, if the Lord is inclined to bless us with the story of the offseason, trial.
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