• Home
  • About
    ▼
    • About
    • Ben Sessions
    • Locations
      ▼
      • Atlanta, GA Office Location
      • Macon, GA Office Location
      • Columbus, GA Office Location
    • Areas We Serve
      ▼
      • Albany
      • Americus
      • Atlanta
      • Bartow County
      • Bibb County
      • Brookhaven
      • Centerville
      • Chatham County
      • Chattanooga
      • Clayton County
      • Cobb County
      • Columbia County
      • Columbus
      • Coweta County
      • DeKalb County
      • Doraville
      • Douglas County
      • Dublin
      • Fayette County
      • Gray
      • Griffin
      • Gwinnett County
      • Hall County
      • Hawkinsville
      • Henry County
      • Hinesville
      • Houston County
      • Jackson County
      • LaGrange
      • Lowndes County
      • Macon
      • McDonough
      • Milledgeville
      • Muscogee County
      • Newton County
      • Paulding County
      • Perry
      • Pooler
      • Richmond Hill
      • Roberta
      • Rockdale County
      • Savannah
      • Walker County
      • Walton County
      • Whitfield County
  • Practice Areas
    ▼
    • Practice Areas
    • Personal Injury
      ▼
      • Car Accidents
      • Motorcycle Accidents
      • Truck Accidents
      • Slip-And-Fall & Premises Liability
      • Pedestrian Accidents
      • Bicycle Accidents
      • Elder Abuse
      • Product Failure Injury
      • Defective Product Injuries
      • Negligent Security
      • Wrong Prescriptions
      • Wrongful Death
    • DUI Defense
      ▼
      • 1st DUI Offense
      • 2nd DUI Offense
      • DUI Drug Offense
      • Child Endangerment DUI
      • License Suspension
    • Criminal Defense
      ▼
      • Bond in Georgia Criminal Cases
      • Drug Charge Defense
      • Sex Crime Defense
      • Domestic Violence
      • Probation Violation
      • Vehicular Homicide
    • Workers’ Comp
      ▼
      • Calculating Workers’ Comp Payments
      • Fall at Work
  • Testimonials
    ▼
    • Case Results
  • Resources
    ▼
    • Resources
    • Preparing for Our Meeting
    • Personal Injury Resources
      ▼
      • Personal Injury Blog
      • Back Injuries
      • Spinal Cord Injuries
      • Nerve Damage
      • Broken Bones
      • Brain Injury
      • Scarring
    • Car Accident Resources
      ▼
      • Distracted Driving Accident Lawyer
      • Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
      • Following Too Closely Accident
      • Common Causes of Car Accidents
      • Do I Need a Lawyer for My Car Accident Case?
      • Car Accident Blog
      • Step-By-Step Car Accident Guide
    • DUI Defense Resources
      ▼
      • DUI Defense Blog
      • Georgia DUI Process
      • The “Walk and Turn” Test in DUI Cases
      • The Eye Test
      • Your Driver’s License After a DUI Arrest
      • License Suspension in A DUI Case
      • Ignition Interlock Permit
      • Importance of Your Driving in Your DUI Case
  • Contact Us Now
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Sessions Law Firm, LLC

FREE CONSULTATION

470.225.7710

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Ben Sessions
    • Locations
      • Atlanta, GA Office Location
      • Macon, GA Office Location
      • Columbus, GA Office Location
    • Areas We Serve
      • Albany
      • Americus
      • Atlanta
      • Bartow County
      • Bibb County
      • Brookhaven
      • Centerville
      • Chatham County
      • Chattanooga
      • Clayton County
      • Cobb County
      • Columbia County
      • Columbus
      • Coweta County
      • DeKalb County
      • Doraville
      • Douglas County
      • Dublin
      • Fayette County
      • Gray
      • Griffin
      • Gwinnett County
      • Hall County
      • Hawkinsville
      • Henry County
      • Hinesville
      • Houston County
      • Jackson County
      • LaGrange
      • Lowndes County
      • Macon
      • McDonough
      • Milledgeville
      • Muscogee County
      • Newton County
      • Paulding County
      • Perry
      • Pooler
      • Richmond Hill
      • Roberta
      • Rockdale County
      • Savannah
      • Walker County
      • Walton County
      • Whitfield County
  • Practice Areas
    • Practice Areas
    • Personal Injury
      • Car Accidents
      • Motorcycle Accidents
      • Truck Accidents
      • Slip-And-Fall & Premises Liability
      • Pedestrian Accidents
      • Bicycle Accidents
      • Elder Abuse
      • Product Failure Injury
      • Defective Product Injuries
      • Negligent Security
      • Wrong Prescriptions
      • Wrongful Death
    • DUI Defense
      • 1st DUI Offense
      • 2nd DUI Offense
      • DUI Drug Offense
      • Child Endangerment DUI
      • License Suspension
    • Criminal Defense
      • Bond in Georgia Criminal Cases
      • Drug Charge Defense
      • Sex Crime Defense
      • Domestic Violence
      • Probation Violation
      • Vehicular Homicide
    • Workers’ Comp
      • Calculating Workers’ Comp Payments
      • Fall at Work
  • Testimonials
    • Case Results
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Preparing for Our Meeting
    • Personal Injury Resources
      • Personal Injury Blog
      • Back Injuries
      • Spinal Cord Injuries
      • Nerve Damage
      • Broken Bones
      • Brain Injury
      • Scarring
    • Car Accident Resources
      • Distracted Driving Accident Lawyer
      • Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
      • Following Too Closely Accident
      • Common Causes of Car Accidents
      • Do I Need a Lawyer for My Car Accident Case?
      • Car Accident Blog
      • Step-By-Step Car Accident Guide
    • DUI Defense Resources
      • DUI Defense Blog
      • Georgia DUI Process
      • The “Walk and Turn” Test in DUI Cases
      • The Eye Test
      • Your Driver’s License After a DUI Arrest
      • License Suspension in A DUI Case
      • Ignition Interlock Permit
      • Importance of Your Driving in Your DUI Case
  • Contact Us Now

VENUE IN A GEORGIA CRIMINAL DEFENSE CASE

By Ben Sessions on September 16th, 2015 in Criminal Defense

Despite the repeated efforts of the Georgia appellate courts, prosecutors in Georgia criminal casescontinue to have issues with proving venue. Venue is an element of every criminal prosecution in Georgia, and the State is required to prove venue beyond a reasonable doubt in every criminal case. “[V]enue is a jurisdictional fact the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in every criminal case, ‘the determination of whether venue has been established is an issue soundly within the province of the jury.’” Rouse v. State, 296 Ga. 213, 215, 765 S.E.2d 879 (2014).Venue is, generally speaking, the county in which the crime is alleged to have occurred.

VENUE FOR HOMICIDE CASES IN GEORGIA

The rule for determining venue and what must be proven in a Georgia criminal case involving homicide allegations is:

Criminal homicide shall be considered as having been committed in the county in which the cause of death was inflicted. If it cannot be determined in which county the cause of death was inflicted, it shall be considered that it was inflicted in the county in which the death occurred. If a dead body is discovered in this state and it cannot be readily determined in what county the cause of death was inflicted, it shall be considered that the cause of death was inflicted in the county in which the dead body was discovered.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT CANNOT BE DETERMINED WHERE VENUE PROPERLY LIES IN GEORGIA

OCGA § 17–2–2(c). Subsection (h) of this statute further provides:

If in any case it cannot be determined in what county a crime was committed, it shall be considered to have been committed in any county in which the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that it might have been committed.

The State may prove venue both direct and circumstantial evidence. See Jones v. State, 272 Ga. 900, 902–903, 537 S.E.2d 80 (2000).

For recent consideration of venue in a Georgia homicide case, see Crawford v. State, No. S15A0895, 2015 WL 5316792, at *2 (Ga. Sept. 14, 2015).


Blog Post Provided By:

The Sessions Law Firm, LLC

3155 Roswell Rd., Ste. 220
Atlanta, GA 30305
Phone: 470-225-7710

Primary Sidebar

Get Your Free Consultation

  • Hidden
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

Atlanta Office:
3155 Roswell Road, Ste 220
Atlanta, GA 30305

Macon Office: 544 Mulberry Street, Ste 319 Macon, GA 31201
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2022 The Sessions Law Firm, LLC
Disclaimer Privacy Policy