Ariz. judge denies motion to move sweat-lodge case

[September 21, 2010]  PHOENIX (AP) -- The judge overseeing the trial of a self-help author and sweat lodge promoter charged in the deaths of three people has denied a motion to move the case out of a northern Arizona county.

Yavapai (YAV-uh-pie) County Superior Court Judge Warren Darrow made the decision Monday.

Attorneys for motivational speaker James Arthur Ray say publicity in the case will hurt their client's ability to receive a fair trial. They had asked that the manslaughter trial be transferred to the Phoenix area.

Prosecutors insist that the media coverage has been minimal except for the first month of the case.

Ray has pleaded not guilty to the charges that stem from the deaths of the three people who attended a sweat-lodge ceremony he led near Sedona last October.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com/

[Associated Press]

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