The trial opened in neighboring Marysville. Attorney Lewis attempted to obtain a change of venue so that the defendants might be tried in a more neutral setting than the superheated environment of Yuba County. In addition to pervasive bias against the IWW in the local community, Lewis noted that the judge in the case, E.P. McDaniel, was a personal friend of the dead district attorney. The request for the change of venue was denied and Governor Johnson likewise declined to appoint a new judge in the case.