Knudsen Requests Change of Venue

Mar 10, 2021 | Regional News

Torrington, Wyo. (Story by Denise Heilbrun-Ellis) March 10, 2021 — Former Torrington attorney, Gregory Knudsen, who recently had his plea agreement denied by the special presiding Honorable Judge Dawnessa Snyder of the Second District Court of Carbon Count last month, recently had his lawyers file a motion to change of venue for his trial.

 

Knudsen is charged with 10 counts, four misdemeanors and six felonies; three, third-degree sexual assault which is punishable for 25 years imprisonment; five stalking charges, which are punishable for six months and/$750 fine; an unlawful contact, which is punishable by six months incarceration and/or $750 fine; lastly a felony burglary charge, punishable by 10 years and/or a $10,000 fine.
His lawyers, Scott Ortiz and P. Craig Silva, filed papers in District Court, reasons stating that the facts – Knudsen has been a lifelong resident of Goshen County; he was a former public defender, county attorney, private attorney, city judge; several local newspapers printed articles about him; published first article on him March 27 before he had gone to District Court; comments on  Facebook show prejudice.
Article I of the Wyoming Constitution provides criminal defendant’s a constitutional right to a trial “by an impartial jury of the county or district in which the offense allegedly to have been committed.”
The motion states that there have been five articles published in the local paper.
It stated the lead sentence in the article read, “Greg Knudsen, the disgraced and disbarred attorney and former municipal judge, could spend the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted of a slew of felony sexual assault charges.”
The filing showed that the news article and Facebook feedback has ruined the jury pool in Goshen County.
Special prosecuting attorney in the case is Kevin Taheri from Seventh Judicial Court in Casper.