Judge Turns Down Request to Move King Beating Trial : Courts: The four officers charged wanted a change of venue. Jurist says he is confident an impartial panel can be found in L.A. County.

In a major blow to the defense, the judge in the Rodney G. King police beating case Thursday refused to move the trial of four Los Angeles Police Department officers to another county.

“I don’t have any doubt that a fair jury can be selected in Los Angeles County,” Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins said. “I think jurors can set aside their preconceptions and listen to the evidence.”

But Kamins, who has put off the trial date until June 19, said he will consider “other alternatives”--such as bringing jurors from another county or starting jury selection again elsewhere if an impartial jury cannot be found here.

Defense attorneys maintain that a fair trial is impossible in a city torn apart by the March 3 incident and the political developments it triggered, adding that the judge had ruled against them on nearly all of about 35 pretrial motions.

“I think this judge decided the issues honestly,” said attorney John Barnett, who represents Officer Theodore J. Briseno. “He called them as he saw them. We just don’t agree, and we’re going to review all our options,” including an emergency appeal of Kamins’ denial of their motion for a change of venue.

Referring to the continuing controversies, Kamins said he hopes the delay will “let the heat cool a little.” He cited the continuing illness of one defendant, Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, and the fact that the prosecution has not yet given all its evidence to the defense as among the reasons for his decision.

In postponing, but not moving, the trial, Kamins said he believes both sides have won and lost.

Kamins told the attorneys that their passionate and persuasive arguments Wednesday had been “awesome . . . the best lawyering I have seen on the bench, some of the best I’ve seen in the 22 years I’ve been in the legal system. . . . I was shaken.

“You really made me want to reconsider,” he said, explaining why he had taken an extra day to make his decision.

But Kamins said the good reputation of the Los Angeles Police Department will offset the negative image caused by the King beating. He said he thought, “By golly, give the jurors from this jurisdiction more credit,” that they can render a dispassionate verdict based on all the evidence, not only the graphic videotape of the beating.

He said he was near tears as he watched a television broadcast Wednesday night of California Gov. Pete Wilson honoring police officers who have died in the line of duty.

“Most people are really proud of the Los Angeles Police Department” he said. “We are aware the police risk their lives on a daily basis to protect all of us and most police officers are good, decent human beings.”

Looking at the defendants, he said: “These men here under indictment appear to be good, decent human beings (too). . . . They’re accused of using bad judgment and doing a bad thing. I’m not saying they’re not good men.”

Koon, who has pneumonia, was not in court Thursday. His attorney was ordered to bring Koon or the sergeant’s physician to court Monday. The other defendants are Officers Laurence M. Powell, Timothy E. Wind and Briseno. All face charges of assault and excessive force.

Participants will meet one more time before the trial starts. Prospective jurors who do not claim hardship will be asked to fill written questionnaires and to return June 24 for individual questioning in small groups.

Jury selection is expected to be lengthy, as the lawyers can reject 60 candidates without giving a reason, plus an unlimited number for good cause.

Kamins ordered the lawyers to provide a list of all the witnesses they want to call, and a description of what they would testify about.

“I intend to keep control” to make sure neither side puts on unnecessary witnesses and redundant evidence, he said. In a related development, Kamins said he will decide Monday whether a Los Angeles Daily News reporter and an assistant city attorney should be found in contempt of court.

The reporter, John Polich, left a tape recorder running in the courtroom after the judge excluded the press and the public for a closed-door hearing involving statements the defendants made during an internal police investigation.

Assistant City Atty. David Hotchkiss is accused of releasing confidential information about the investigation to the press.