A Hamilton County Criminal Court judge will consider pulling a jury from one of the other metro Tennessee counties for a local death penalty trial.
Judge Barry Steelman said in a Tuesday hearing that he will review the request, called a change of venire, made by defense attorney Lee Davis.
Davis and Bryan Hoss represent Jesse Mathews, who faces the death penalty on a first-degree murder charge connected to the April 2 shooting death of Chattanooga police Sgt. Tim Chapin.
Outside the hearing, Davis said their request for an outside jury was the “most critical motion that we’ve filed so far.”
Nearly two dozen family members, friends and fellow police officers came to the half-hour hearing, which also was attended by a host of local media, including a bank of five video cameras, a local blogger and a radio correspondent.