The attorney for a Coralville woman accused of killing her 2-year-old son in 2008 asked a Buchanan County judge on Wednesday to take uncommon measures to determine whether a jury can be impartial.

Andrea Dryer, a Waterloo-based public defender, asked 1st District Judge Bruce Zager to assemble a “mock jury.”

Michelle Kehoe’s attorneys have filed a motion to move the trial out of Buchanan County, claiming the area’s residents can’t be neutral given media coverage of the case.

Mock juries, which can take a number of forms, could help determine whether an impartial jury can be selected in Buchanan County.

In some cases, attorneys from both sides present a summary of their case to a panel of jurors, then observe the participants discuss the case as actual jurors might during a trial.

Buchanan County prosecutor Allan Vander Hart said in this case, the judge would likely distribute questionnaires to a group of people and use their answers to decide whether they can be impartial.

Generally, they have been used in communities to gauge public sentiment toward a particular case, Vander Hart said, adding he has never dealt with a mock jury.

UI law Professor Margaret Raymond said the use of mock juries for criminal trials is “unusual.”

The outcome of the mock jury — if the judge allows it to take place — could help determine whether the venue is changed.

Prosecutors are resisting both the change of venue motion and the request of a mock jury.

Vander Hart said although bias is a possibility, it is something attorneys on both sides would be able to detect during the traditional jury selection process. Attorneys would “voir dire” the jury, or ask them an extensive series of questions to see if they would be suitable for the case.

Changing the venue imposes complexity in terms of logistics, he said.

“We feel it can be tried fairly [in Buchanan County],” he said.

Kehoe is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and child endangerment causing serious injury. She is accused of killing her 2-year-old son and seriously harming his 5-year-old brother in October 2008.

Police arrested her Nov. 5, 2008, after she was released from the UI Hospitals and Clinics, and she is now being held in Buchanan County. A restraining order prevents her from contacting her son and anyone related to him, including her husband.

Though no cost estimate is available for the mock-jury process, Vander Hart said it would likely be paid similarly to a real jury, with money from the courthouse budget.

Officials said they did not know when Zager would make a decision, though Vander Hart said the judge would likely decide fairly soon because of Kehoe’s upcoming trial, currently scheduled for Oct. 28.