Steffen v. Municipal Court

In Steffen v. Municipal Court (1978) 80 Cal.App.3d 623, petitioners were granted a venue change on a writ of mandate for their forthcoming trial on charges of prostitution. The newspaper publicity had been neither inflammatory nor had it mentioned petitioners by name. However, there had been longterm publicity concerning petitioners' place of employment as one where prostitution was solicited, and this formed the basis for the requested venue change. The first district concluded: "We recognize that the charged offenses are not of a nature to inflame the community,... However, a suspected prostitute is just as much entitled to a fair trial before an impartial jury as is a suspected murderer." ( Id., at p. 627.)