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Information about Change Of Venue

A change of venue is the legal term for moving a trial to a new location. In high-profile matters, a change of venue may occur to move a jury trial away from a location where a fair and impartial jury may not be possible due to widespread publicity about a crime and/or defendant(s) to another community in order to obtain jurors who can be more objective in their duties. This change may be a few towns away, or across the state.

In law, the word venue designates the location where a trial will be held. It derives from the Latin word for "a place where people gather."

High-profile cases

Examples of high-profile cases with a change of venue include the trials in Virginia of Beltway sniper attacks defendants Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad. The crimes in the fall of 2002, which caused widespread public terror and news media publicity, occurred in Northern Virginia. Defense attorneys petitioned the local courts that their clients could not receive fair trials locally. In granting the "change of venue" requests, communities with similar demographics but more than 100 miles distant in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach in the far southeastern edge of Virginia were selected by the judges.

Among the controversial changes of venue in the 20th century included the 1992 trial of the four Los Angeles police officers (LAPD) in the Rodney King incident; this trial was moved outside Los Angeles County to Simi Valley in neighboring Ventura County. In the trial of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, the court granted a change of venue, and ordered the case transferred from Oklahoma City to the U.S. District Court in Denver, Colorado presided over by U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch. In 1999, similar venue changes occurred in the Amadou Diallo murder case; the (NYPD) defendants' trial was moved to Albany.

A change of venue may be reflected in the formal language used in a trial. For example, when a bailiff or marshal calls the court to order part of the cry will take the form "in and for the County of San Francisco"; When there is a change of venue the cry will be, "in the County of San Francisco for the County of Alameda."
trial is an event in which parties to a dispute present information (in the form of evidence) in a formal setting, usually a court, before a judge, jury, or other designated finder of fact, in order to achieve a resolution to their dispute.
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jury trial to be a fundamental civil liberty or civil right; however most other nations do not recognize it as a fundamental civil liberty, civil right, or human right, because jury trials evolved within common law systems rather than civil law systems.
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worldwide view of the subject.
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For "jury" meaning "makeshift", see jury rig.

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Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people (for example, politicians and performing artists), goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.
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A defendant or defender (Δ in legal shorthand) is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute.
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LAW may refer to:
  • Lightweight Anti-tank Weapon, like the M72 LAW (US Army) and the LAW 80 (British Army)
  • Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights (also known as LAW)
  • League of American Bicyclists, formerly known as the League of American Wheelmen

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Venue is the location where a case is heard. In the United States, the venue is either a county (for cases in state court) or a district or division (for cases in federal court). Each case can only be brought in certain venues.
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jury trial to be a fundamental civil liberty or civil right; however most other nations do not recognize it as a fundamental civil liberty, civil right, or human right, because jury trials evolved within common law systems rather than civil law systems.
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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Commonwealth of Virginia

Flag of Virginia Seal
Nickname(s): Old Dominion, Mother of Presidents
Motto(s): Sic semper tyrannis

Official language(s) English

Capital Richmond
Largest city
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Beltway sniper attacks took place during three weeks of October 2002 in the Mid-Atlantic United States. As ten people were killed and three others critically injured in and around Washington, D.C.
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Lee Boyd Malvo (alias John Lee Malvo or Malik Malvo) (born February 18, 1985), is a Jamaican born American convicted mass murderer. He, along with John Allen Muhammad, was arrested on October 24, 2002 in connection with the Beltway sniper attacks.
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John Allen Muhammad

Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad
Birth name: John Allen Williams
Alias(es): Beltway Sniper
Born: November 31 1960 (1960--)
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Topics in journalism
Professional issues
Ethics & objectivity
Sources & attribution
News & news values
Reporting & writing
Fourth estate • Libel law
Education & books
Other topics

Fields
Advocacy journalism
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Northern Virginia (NoVA) consists of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and the independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
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An attorney is someone who represents someone else in the transaction of business:
  • For attorney-at-law, see attorney at law, advocate, lawyer, solicitor, barrister or civil law notary.
  • For attorney-in-fact, see power of attorney.

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Chesapeake, Virginia

Seal
Location in the State of Virginia
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Virginia
Founded 1963
Government
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Virginia Beach, Virginia

Flag
Seal
Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Virginia
Government
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A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions.
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Los Angeles County is a county in California and is by far the most populous county in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2006 population of 9,948,081 residents, [1] while the California State government's population bureau
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Simi Valley, California
Location in Ventura County and the state of California
Coordinates:
Country United States
State California
County Ventura
Area
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Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California (Southern California). It is located on California's Pacific coast, and forms the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
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Oklahoma City bombing

Damage to the Murrah building before cleanup began.
Location Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

Target(s) Alfred P.
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Timothy James McVeigh (aka Oklahoma City bomber April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001), was a former American soldier who was convicted of eleven federal offenses and ultimately executed as a result of his role on the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City bombing.
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Oklahoma City

Flag
Seal
Nickname: O.K.C., Capital of the New Century, Renaissance City, Loud City
Location in Oklahoma County and the state of Oklahoma.
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The United States District Court for the District of Colorado is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Colorado.

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado
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Amadou Bailo Diallo (September 2, 1975 – February 4, 1999) was a 23-year-old immigrant to the United States from Guinea, who was shot and killed on February 4, 1999, by four New York City Police Department plain-clothed officers; Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward
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New York City Police Department


Fidelis ad Mortem
Established 1845
Jurisdiction Municipal
Sworn 37,838
Stations 98
Police boats 12
Helicopters 25
Commissioner Raymond W.
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City of Albany, New York
Downtown Albany as seen from the Corning Tower.
Motto: Assiduity
Location in Albany County and the State of New York
Coordinates:
Country United States
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Bailiff (from Late Latin bajulivus, adjectival form of bajulus) is a governor or custodian (cf. bail); a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offices and duties vary greatly.
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