STATE PROSECUTORS SEEK VENUE CHANGE FOR SHERIFF’S TRIAL IN KY. (WJHL) — Prosecutors in Kentucky have requested to move the trial of former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, who is charged with the September 2024 murder of a judge in his office, citing potential bias in the local area.

The petition was filed in Letcher County Circuit Court by Commonwealth’s Attorney Jackie Steele.

Kentucky law allows a circuit judge to relocate a trial if impartiality seems compromised, enabling a fair trial to be held in a neighboring county or beyond as necessary. Steele highlighted this to support the petition’s request.

Steele emphasized that Stines’ trial is unusual because it’s being held in the courthouse where the alleged crime occurred.

Steele also noted that both Stines and the victim, District Judge Kevin Mullins, were both publicly elected officials.

“Every eligible voter in Letcher County has at some point expressed an opinion about both the defendant and the victim,” Steele stated. “Their past evaluations of these men could severely impact fairness for both parties involved if the trial is held locally.”

The motion addresses the extensive media coverage from both regional and national sources, listing several outlets that reported on the case. Steele also mentioned the existence of GoFundMe campaigns for Stines’ family.

Social media reactions, Steele added, show that many residents have already formed judgments about the case and the events surrounding Mullins’s death.

“Eastern Kentucky as a whole has been permeated with developments in this awaited trial to an extent that opinions as to the Defendant’s guilt and what punishment he should receive have been recorded and solicited across numerous social media platforms,” Steele wrote.

Steele attached multiple examples of news coverage, fundraisers and comment sections tied to the case as examples for the request to change the venue. Steele ended the petition by claiming a fair and unbiased trial in Letcher County or its neighboring counties would likely not be possible.

“The pre-trial and ongoing publicity surrounding this case has aroused the public, specifically in the Eastern Kentucky area, in a way in which a fair in impartial trial held in the counties surrounding Letcher County would be unlikely,” Steele concluded.

Stines has been charged with first-degree murder and murder of a public official. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.