The state Supreme Court selected the site for the trial in an order handed down earlier this week.

Lackawanna County Court Administrator William Murray said the selection of Dauphin County as the site of the trial clears the way for Senior Judge Barry Feudale of Northumberland County to set a date for the trial to start.

Judge Feudale is expected to want to consult with officials of the Dauphin County Court before setting the trial date, Mr. Murray said.

Mr. Eagen's attorney, William Costopoulos, has suggested the trial start will be late summer or early fall at the latest.

Judge Feudale was earlier selected to specially preside at the trial.

He subsequently granted a motion by Mr. Eagen to move the trial out of Lackawanna County.

In granting Mr. Eagen's motion, the judge noted it was the first time in 12 years on the bench that he had moved a trial. He based his decision, he said, on the saturation coverage given the case by the media, especially by The Times/Tribune newspapers, even though "our review of the print media coverage reflected no unfair, slanted or inflammatory material."

The Supreme Court's designation of Dauphin County as the site of the trial means the prosecution teams and witnesses will all have to travel to Harrisburg where the Dauphin County Court is located, for the trial.

While this will be an inconvenience for Mr. Eagen and trial witnesses, most of whom reside in Lackawanna County, it will be convenient for Mr. Costopoulos and the prosecution team headed by Deputy Attorney General Pat Blessington.

Mr. Costopoulos resides in Dauphin County. Mr. Blessington, who is handling the prosecution, works in the Norristown office.

Mr. Eagen is charged with taking money in return for appointing guardians for estates under his jurisdiction that were eventually looted, and attempting to undermine the investigation by the county grand jury which eventually indicted him.