From the YakimaHerald.com Online News.

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Published on Saturday, March 29, 2008

Judge denies Enseys' bid for change of venue
Chris Bristol
Yakima Herald-Republic

A Yakima County judge on Friday refused to move Ron Bonlender's defamation lawsuit against Rick Ensey to another county, calling the publicity standard very high.

"Frankly, this is small potatoes compared to criminal cases in years gone by" that were tried in Yakima County, Superior Court Judge Robert Hackett said Friday.

The request for a change of venue was made by lawyers for Ensey, a member of the Yakima City Council. He, along with his wife, Diane, is being sued by Bonlender, who was defeated by Ensey in November.

The lawsuit alleges that Diane Ensey used an Internet blog to post anonymous and defamatory rumors that Bonlender had been arrested for drunken driving.

Dawna Campbell, one of Ensey's lawyers, argued in a court hearing Friday that moving the case to a different county was necessary to counter extensive media coverage, as well as the political aspects of the case, which she called unique.

But Bonlender's lawyer Bryan Smith said publicity alone cannot justify a change of venue given the fact that impartial juries have been seated in some of Yakima's County's most notorious murder cases.

Hackett agreed, saying he was confident short memories, a large jury pool and the certainty of a long delay in getting to trial would ensure impartiality for both Ensey and Bonlender.

"I have confidence that an appropriate jury can be selected,"
he concluded.