LEA COUNTY, N.M. — UPDATE: Judge Shoobridge has denied Avila's request to change her trial venue from Lea County to Lincoln County.
The defense did previously state it would attempt to file a change of venue motion again if this one were denied. This motion, if filed, will likely ask to move the trial to Eddy or Chaves County.
At this time no further motions have been made and no hearings are scheduled. The trial is set to begin on April 11.
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Alexis Avila, the Hobbs mother accused of throwing her newborn baby in a dumpster in 2022, had a hearing in a Lovington courtroom Thursday as her attorney asked Judge Shoobridge to consider moving the venue for her trial in April.
Avila, who is under house arrest until her trial, appeared virtually at the Lea County District Court, as did her lawyer and the prosecution.
The defense had filed a motion back in February to change the location from Lea County to Lincoln County on the basis that they believe Avila would not be able to achieve a fair jury trial in the current location.
Avila’s lawyers argued that based on the amount of media coverage and videos that had circulated of Avila, it would be impossible for the court to find an impartial jury while in Lea County.
The prosecution argued that there was no bias to be found in the media coverage the defense had pulled for proof, and Judge Shoobridge seemed to agree, pointing out that publicity does not equate to prejudice automatically.
He also asked for specific examples of inflammatory headlines or incorrect statements within newspaper and web articles covering the situation, or instances of politicians or well-known citizens speaking out on the situation.
While the defense did not cite any articles specifically, it did emphasize how wide-spread coverage of the incident was and how small of a community Lea County seemed to be.
Avila’s lawyer did mention instances of police saying that the actions of those who found the baby and first responders being “pivotal” to the child’s survival, which the defense implied could cause prejudice since there have been few details released on the extent of the bodily harm to the child.
Another instance the defense brought fourth was the Baby Box Bill, proposed by Senator Gallegos to the New Mexico Legislature. Gallegos has heavily tied the Avila’s baby to the bill, allegedly going so far as to posting pictures of the child, who is now over a year old.
The defense also mentioned videos that had received significant circulation, namely one that allegedly shows Avila committing the act of throwing the child in the trash and another that showed a police interview with Avila.
Judge Shoobridge pointed out that any videos potential jurors might have seen would likely be used as evidence and shown in the court anyways.
The judge also addressed the protocol of the motion, namely the defense’s request to move the trial to Lincoln County. Typical procedure says that the trial should only be moved to counties in the same judicial district, which in this case would be Eddy or Chaves counties.
The defense argued that these counties would be more likely to have seen media coverage of the case than other locations like Lincoln County due to the fact that they were more likely to get their news from the same or similar sources as Lea County citizens.
Another point of discussion concerned a jury questionnaire that was conducted back in November, when the trial was originally supposed to take place.
According to the defense, this showed the court that over 100 potential jurors had seen info regarding the case or indicated some level of prejudice. Of those, around 40 said they believe they would be able to be fair during a trial.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the hearing was adjourned and the judge said he would work on a decision, hoping to be able to tell them as soon as Monday.
Judge Shoobridge did say that he had called Lincoln County about the motion, and they did not have a courtroom available for the week of April 11. This means if the motion is granted, the trial will likely need to be rescheduled.
The defense did indicate its intention to refile a change of venue motion if this one was denied. The new motion would change the county to Eddy or Chaves County in compliance with traditional court protocol.
Shoobridge previously denied a motion for Avila to be allowed to see the child back in May of 2022.
NewsWest 9 will continue to follow this case and provide updates as it proceeds.