BATTLEFORD, Sask. - A judge has ruled that a trial for the man accused of killing two Saskatchewan RCMP officers will be moved to another location.

Curtis Dagenais, 43, will have his first-degree murder case heard in Saskatoon instead of the town of Battleford.

Justice Gerald Allbright said in a decision released Wednesday that a change of venue is necessary to ensure Dagenais get a fair trial with an impartial jury.

"Not surprisingly, there has been an extensive amount of publicity and commentary surrounding the allegations against the applicant," Allbright said in his written ruling.

"This publicity has been wide-ranging and over a sustained period of time."

Lawyer Bill Roe had argued at a hearing last week that the cumulative effect of tributes and memorials for the dead Mounties may have influenced the public's perception of the case.

He said in a interview Wednesday from his office in Saskatoon that Dagenais is "pleased" by the ruling.

During the court hearing, Roe cited as examples "Remembering Heroes" bumper stickers that have been sold and a memorial painting entitled "Fallen Heroes" that is to be auctioned to raise money for the officers' families.

Having a jury trial in a much larger community reduces the chances that a potential juror is biased, he suggested.

"In Saskatoon, we have a much larger jury pool and a much larger number of potential jurors to draw from," said Roe.

He said the potential jury pool in the Battlefords area was much smaller and there was a higher chance that potential jury members may have already formed some opinions about the case.

The Crown opposed the application. Prosecutor Scott Bartlett said Roe had not provided enough evidence that the public was affected by the tributes.

Constables Robin Cameron, 29, and Marc Bourdages, 26, were shot in the head during a chase along country roads near Spiritwood in July 2006. They died nine days later in hospital, just hours apart.

Allbright did suggest the high profile of the case means people all over Saskatchewan will probably have heard about it to some degree.

But he pointed out that Saskatoon draws from a much larger jury pool than the Battlefords area.

Allbright also granted Roe's request that he be allowed to question potential jurors about possible bias.

"I do not believe that it will unduly delay the selection and empanelling of an impartial jury," the judge wrote.

He directed Roe to prepare a proposed list of questions that will be provided to the prosecution for review.

"When you get into cases that have a substantial amount of publicity, it is a concern to the defence that the juror may be affected by the publicity or matters that have gone before," Roe said.

"The reason for the challenge for cause is to ask the juror a specific set of questions to determine if there's any bias," he said.

The questions would be submitted to the court for a judge's approval, Roe said.

But if the two sides can't agree on what kind of questions would be appropriate, the matter would go back before a judge, and the court would ultimately decide which questions can be asked of potential jurors, he said.

Dagenais has pleaded not guilty. His month-long jury trial was to be begin Sept. 15, but was postponed because of the change of venue application.

No date has been set for the trial, but Roe said he expects it may start early next year.