Judge Dunne, after a three days' hearing, swept aside the multitude of technical objections which the various attorneys for the defense had advanced. In particular did he refuse to declare the whole nineteen Grand Jurors disqualified, because of the alleged disqualification of Juror Wise. The prosecution had gained another point in its fight to bring the defendants to trial on the merits of their cases. But the attack upon the Grand Jury had scarcely begun. After Judge Dunne's ruling, the nineteen Grand Jurors were to be put on the stand and examined one by one for bias.[137] The defense went further, and had Rudolph Spreckels up to question him as to his motives in guaranteeing a fund for the investigation of graft conditions.[138] District Attorney Langdon was also placed on the stand to be examined as to his motive in appointing Heney his assistant. He denied most emphatically that he had appointed Heney for the sole purpose of instituting criminal proceedings against Ruef and Schmitz. The examination of Grand Jurors, prosecutors and citizens lasted from December 17 until January 22. On the last named date, Judge Dunne denied the motion to set aside the indictments for bias. The prosecution had gained another step toward bringing the defendants to trial. Judge Dunne stated that he was ready to set the cases for trial the next day. But the defendants had another delaying play. They demurred to the indictments. The demurrers were not disposed of until February 18. In the meantime, the defense had made several complicating moves. The first of these was an application to Judge Graham to have the case against Schmitz transferred from Judge Dunne's court. At the same time Schmitz surrendered himself to the Sheriff, and applied to the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus, and a writ of prohibition, setting up the points already raised in Judge Dunne's court against the indictments. The Supreme Court finally decided against Schmitz. But there remained another way of having the case transferred from Judge Dunne's court. The law governing changes of venue could be changed by the Legislature. The 1907 Legislature had convened early in January. A measure was introduced in both Senate and Assembly under the terms of which a defendant in a criminal action was permitted to secure a transfer of his case from one court to another by merely filing affidavit of his belief that he could not get fair trial in the court in which his case was pending.[139] The measure was known as the "Change of Venue Bill." Its chief supporter in the Legislature was George B. Keane. Keane was not only clerk of the Board of Supervisors, but he was a member of the State Senate representing a San Francisco district. Keane championed the "Change of Venue Bill."[140] The measure passed the Assembly, but failed of passage in the Senate. Ruef in his efforts to escape trial before Judge Dunne had lost again.