The judge overseeing the federal theft and fraud case of state Sen. Katrina Robinson has denied a prosecution request to move the trial because of pretrial publicity.

U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl Lipman ruled on the motion Friday, Sept. 3. 

The motion was filed Thursday, Sept. 2, by prosecutors, who asked for the change of venue for the trial that starts Sept. 13. They claimed recent media interviews given by Robinson, social media posts and a website created by her supporters, including billboards and calls to “pack the courtroom” during the trial, have created “a circus-like atmosphere” surrounding the case.

Prosecutors in Katrina Robinson case ask judge to move trial out of Memphis

Prosecutors requested moving the trial to Jackson, Tennessee. If the court decided not to transfer the trial, they asked the court to exclude Shelby County residents from the jury pool because they said the recent publicity might taint potential jurors.

Lipman denied the motion without prejudice.

“I am going to deny the motion at this point without prejudice so the government can refile it and if the jury pool has been tainted, I will reconsider it,” Lipman said in the ruling.

She said she was optimistic the pool would not be tainted because “unfortunately in our society, not a lot of people read the news and not a lot of people, frankly, pay attention to social media.”

Larry Laurenzi, one of the defense attorneys for Robinson, agreed with the court that the pretrial publicity was not enough to warrant moving the trial.

Robinson trial for wire fraud, money laundering is delayed

“The government seeks to move this case out of the Western division, which is Shelby, Lauderdale, Fayette and Tipton, and move it into a predominately white Republican division for really no good reason whatsoever because there happens to be a couple of interviews that we have done,” Laurenzi said. 

The prosecution, headed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Cotton, argued it was not the volume of interviews but the content and the timing of the interviews leading up to the trial.

“Worst of all, the consistent theme of this campaign is accusing prosecutors and investigators in this case of bringing this case based on racial animus,” Cotton said, “through direct accusations, through insinuations and trying to lump the prosecutors in with her vilest of her detractors.”

Cotton added: “This is a focused attempt to stoke tensions in a community where those tensions are at the very least always simmering below the surface.”

Before denying the motion to move the trial, Lipman issued a gag order prohibiting all parties from discussing the case publicly and will keep that order in place until the trial begins.

Robinson was indicted last year and charged with theft and embezzlement involving government programs and wire fraud.

She is accused of taking some $600,000 from her business, The Healthcare Institute, and using it for personal expenses and compensating herself in excess of what was allowed under the terms of the Health Resources and Services Administration federal grant she received for the business.

Robinson has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.