Grand Forks man seeks change of venue in criminal case alleging he abused wife – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — A Grand Forks man accused of abusing his now-deceased wife while she was suffering from cancer has requested a change of venue for his criminal case.

Joshua Jon Temple, 41, is charged with a Class B felony endangering an eligible adult, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Temple is also charged with Class C felony terrorizing, Class C domestic violence causing serious bodily injury and Class A misdemeanor domestic violence causing great bodily injury.

Charges were filed in April. The following month, Whitney Temple, Joshua Temple's wife and alleged victim, died.

A family physician at Sanford Health's Grand Forks Health Clinic, Whitney Temple was honored by hundreds of doctors, nurses, hospital staff and others during a “last round” ritual.

A few weeks later, Joshua Temple pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. The Herald contacted Grand Forks County District Attorney Haley Wamstad, who declined to say at the time whether she suspected Temple could face more serious charges following the death of his alleged victim.

She said the case remains open and is under active investigation.

The defense filed a motion for a change of venue for Joshua Temple's pretrial and trial proceedings, arguing that “the extraordinary nature of the allegations and the importance of Temples in the community” caused the case to attract a significant media attention.

The motion requests that legal proceedings be moved out of Grand Forks County and to “either Ward County, Burleigh County, or a county outside of Forum Communications' sphere of influence.”

In a memorandum filed May 23, Temple and his attorney – Patrick Rosenquist – say the publicity of the allegations against him has been widespread, recent and extremely damaging.

The memorandum states that a WDAY headline: “Police say it will take about two months to determine whether Whitney Temple, 33, died because of a two-year battle with cancer, or an alleged brutal attack by her husband”, caused a sensation. accusations against Temple using the term “vicious,” and cited the Grand Forks Police Department without naming a source.

“At best, the headline is deliberately inflammatory to gain more views and elicit an emotional response from the audience,” the memo states. “At worst, an anonymous source from the Grand Forks Police Department shared details of the investigation into Dr. Temple's death with the media before disclosing them to the government or defense attorney.”

The memorandum listed various other news headlines related to the case and the death of Whitney Temple. Sources mentioned throughout the memorandum include the Grand Forks Herald, Forum Communications, Valley News Live, WDAZ News, WDAY News, KVRR, KFGO and iNewz.

The Herald, Forum Communications, WDAZ and WDAY are all owned by Forum Communications Co.

Social media comments in response to the news articles are also cited in the memorandum and include implications of violent threats against Joshua Temple. One comment says: “Bring back the death penalty.” Another: “I would pay a lot for five minutes alone with him!”

The memorandum says social media comments related to Temple's case “are the proverbial equivalent of a mob with pitchforks and torches standing outside a sheriff's office demanding mob justice.”

Other arguments to move the case forward include the fact that Joshua Temple and Whitney Temple are both well known in the community. Joshua Temple is a local business owner and has previously received media coverage of his business in the Herald.

The memorandum says someone sent an anonymous letter to Joshua Temple's business partner, calling him a loser for working with a “murderer and wife beater.”

In response, Sarah Gereszek, representing the state, filed a document stating that the motion was premature and should be denied. The response, filed June 6, asserts that there has been little public comment on the aforementioned articles – particularly those published locally – and that there is no evidence that the media coverage has been so damaging that it will prevent Temple from receiving a fair and impartial trial. the case won't go to a jury trial for months yet.

The State says Temple is speculating that a much better jury could be sworn in elsewhere, without presenting evidence.

The state also says it has no responsibility for what the media publishes and that it believes a significant percentage of the community has no knowledge of Temple's criminal case.

Temple and its representation filed a response to the State's response on June 13, citing the number of reactions received by articles and other news media published on social media, as well as social media posts from the Temple family.

The matter was considered by Judge Kristi Venhuizen on Monday June 17. There will be no hearing to debate the matter. Instead, Venhuizen will review all submitted documents and make a decision.