(Updated 9/10/2015) Baltimore—The officers accused in the death of Baltimore man Freddie Gray will be tried in Baltimore. Judge Barry Williams made the decision Sept. 10, after listening to arguments from lawyers representing the officers and from the state attorney’s office.

“The citizens of Baltimore are not monolithic,” Williams told the court. “They can think for themselves.”

“I do not find that the Constitution, statutes and case law require a change of venue.”

Attorney Ivan Bates, speaking for the defense, had argued that the case was too volatile to be held within Baltimore City.

Bates represents Sgt. Alicia White.

Bates argued that it would be impossible to find an impartial jury, because everyone in Baltimore has been affected by this case. Primarily, he said, because of the unrest that followed Gray’s death.

“They smelled it, they breathed it,” Bates said. “This city lost jobs.”

He said that everyone in the city was affected by the subsequent curfew that was put into place as officials sought to restore order. And, as tax payers, all city residents are affected by the $6.4 million settlement that the city has agreed to pay Gray’s family.

Bates also argued that potential jurors could be swayed by statements that public officials have made in the media. He pointed to the manner in which State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that she would be filing charges against the officers.

“On May first, Mrs. Mosby took an unusual step,” Bates said. “It was as if she had given a public trial.”

When Mosby announced the charges against the officers on May 1, she said, “To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America: I heard your call for ‘No justice, no peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man.”

Bates argued that jurors would feel pressured by friends and neighbors to find the officers guilty – an assertion that the judge questioned.

“You’re saying that you speak for every single citizen in Baltimore,” Williams said.

Bates told the judge that potential jurors have been tainted by the press. He cited the leaked medical examiner’s report and interviews with Donta Allen, who was in police custody with Gray.

Ultimately, the judge agreed with the prosecution’s argument that it was wrong to make assumptions about what potential jurors might think without actually assembling potential jurors.

Michael Schatzow, the chief deputy of the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office, said it would be up to the judge to evaluate jurors to decide whether or not they could truly be impartial.

He said his office has had its own share of bad press. He cited a poll on The Baltimore Sun’s website in which 90 percent of respondents said they didn’t believe the officers should be charged. He also pointed to a recent Washington Post profile about one of the accused officers.

He also noted that the Boston Bomber case was tried in Boston and the trials against John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, also known as the the D.C. snipers were still held in Montgomery County.

One of the things Williams focused on in his statement was the nature of the media and how it related to this case. He said that the way media operates now is very different than in the past. He said that the flow of information from local, national and international is nonstop. He said that the case would continue to garner media attention for as long as it continued.

Williams said that they need just 72 citizens who can listen to the evidence. He said that he could not make assumptions about jurors, which is what the defense wanted the court to do.

The case is scheduled to start October 13.