Summary
The Supreme Court of Georgia held that retrial was not barred by double jeopardy after the defendants' convictions were set aside because the State failed to prove venue. The court concluded that venue is a jurisdictional fact rather than an element of the offense, and that the trial court's lack of jurisdiction permitted retrial under OCGA § 16-1-8(d)(1).
Holdings
- Failure to prove venue does not bar retrial under the constitutional prohibitions against double jeopardy. Venue is a jurisdictional fact, not an element of the offense, and reversal based on failure to establish venue is not a reversal for insufficient evidence within the rule of Burks v. United States.
- OCGA § 16-1-8(d)(1) permits retrial because the former prosecution was before a court that lacked jurisdiction over the crimes when venue was not established. The statutory retrial bar in subsection (d)(2) did not prevent retrial because subsection (d) permits retrial if either listed circumstance exists.
Questions Presented
- Whether retrial after the defendants' convictions were set aside for the State's failure to prove venue violated the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States and Georgia Constitutions.
- Whether OCGA § 16-1-8(d)(2), or the statutory protections against retrial in OCGA § 16-1-8, barred retrial when the State failed to prove venue.
Disposition
affirmed
Cases Cited (7)
- Jones v. State, 272 Ga. 900, 537 S.E.2d 80 (2000)(followed)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)(distinguished)
- Burks v. United States, 437 U.S. 1, 98 S.Ct. 2141, 57 L.Ed.2d 1 (1978)(distinguished)
- Bradley v. State, 272 Ga. 740, 533 S.E.2d 727 (2000)(followed)
- Kimmel v. State, 261 Ga. 332, 404 S.E.2d 436 (1991)(followed)
- State v. Estevez, 232 Ga. 316, 206 S.E.2d 475 (1974)(followed)
- Trogdon v. State, 176 Ga. App. 246, 335 S.E.2d 481 (1985)(followed)
Cited In (0)
No citing cases on record yet.
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