Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) lawyers have asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling denying a change of venue for his corruption trial. The attorneys want to make their case for the venue transfer on June 13 before Virginia District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III. They argue that the case should be tried in Washington, D.C., because there likely will be fewer black jurors where the case is located now in Alexandria, Va. to evaluate the charges against Jefferson, who is black. Moreover, the lawyers contend, most of the alleged activities took place in Washington, D.C., not Northern Virginia. “The center of gravity of the case as a whole is the District of Columbia, not the Eastern District of Virginia,” they wrote in the motion.

A 7-2 Supreme Court ruling in March ordered a new trial for convicted murderer Allen Snyder of Louisiana because there was evidence that a prospective juror was excluded from the all-white jury for racial reasons.