CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – At the tail end of a roughly two-hour hearing on Friday, Christopher Leibig, the attorney of former Hollymead Elementary staffer Michael Swiney who is facing felony charges of sex crimes against students, motioned for the trial to change venues, suggesting it should be moved as far as two hours away.

Leibig made this motion due to the media attention surrounding the case and Albemarle County Public Schools as a whole, as well as statements made by high-ranking local and state officials, including Gov. Abigail Spanberger and 5th District Rep. John McGuire.

Ultimately, Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Higgins did not make a decision on either, setting an oral ruling on the joinder motion for Nov. 24 at 3 p.m., and taking the motion under advisement but deciding it would be more appropriate to consider it closer to the actual jury trial, which has yet to be set.

The motion was the second to be consider during the hearing in the lower courtroom of Charlottesville Circuit Court, with the first being the Commonwealth’s motion to join the seven cases’ against Swiney into one trial.

As part of Leibig’s argument for the venue change, he submitted into evidence a packet of news story regarding Swiney and ACPS, as well as a TV news story from 7 News, located in Arlington, that was played in the courtroom.

The story, which aired in July, featured interviews of McGuire, as well as ACPD Deputy Chief of Police Camille Stewart and recent ACPS graduate Noah Coffin. The story also included a statement from a Spanberger spokesperson in regard to the letter McGuire sent to her and Attorney General Jay Jones just days prior to the story’s airing, which called for “a full-scale investigation” into ACPS.

In his argument, Leibig called the story “a show,” intended to public interest and only showcasing the opinions of those included. Leibig also highlighted a story by the Charlottesville’s Daily Progress published Thursday, entitled “Virginia Department of Education brings Albemarle school division to heel.”

Leibig argued stories like those two assumed Swiney’s guilt and that the “editorial demand is for punishment.” He suggested moving the trial out of Virginia’s Congressional 5th District completely.

“Albemarle County is ground zero of a fight that really has nothing to do with Mr. Swiney,” he said.

In his rebuttal, Tufts argued while he believed the statements made by state officials were not helpful, they are relevant to people all over the state, making Leibig’s suggestion of moving out of the 5th District because of McGuire’s comments moot. He also mentioned how 7 News is located in Arlington, proving the interest is statewide.

Tufts also once again defended Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley for public comments he made in August in response to School Board Chair and White Hall representative Dr. Rebecca Berlin’s criticizing Tufts for stating he questioned the “trustworthiness” of the division’s Title IX report regarding a pair of allegations against Swiney.

Leibig criticized those comments, as he did previously during Swiney’s Oct. 9 bond hearing, stating it further implied Swiney’s guilt. But Tufts pointed out that Hingeley stated Swiney was innocent until proven guilty in his letter, and that ultimately, many of the public criticisms were being directed toward ACPS and how they handled Swiney’s case, not toward Swiney himself.

The venue change motion was the second heard by Higgins on Thursday, the first regarded the Commonwealth’s joinder motion. Tufts argued the similarity to the seven cases, particularly in the latter five, constitute “a common scheme” that makes trying them together appropriate.

Leibig pushed back on Tuft’s argument, asserting that the commonalities of all seven victims, including that they were at Hollymead and were being pulled out of class by Swiney, stemmed from Swiney’s responsibilities at an SEL coach.

Leibig also argued putting all seven cases together could constitute character evidence, making a jury more likely to convict him due to the total amount of accusations against him.

While Tufts briefly mentioned the idea of joining the first two victims in one trial and the remaining five in another, Leibig argued that the only motion being made was for all seven to be combined.

Tufts countered, arguing the court had authority to join the cases as it saw fit, and disagreed the victims weren’t targeted in a scheme, pointing out that some teachers and parents were not aware that certain kids were being taken out of class by Swiney. He also argued prior cases show there’s no guarantee joining cases will result in all of them resulting in convictions, as many have ended with convictions for some charges and not others.

Ultimately, Higgins did not make a decision on either motion on Friday.