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Jones v. State

The slight evidence exception to the rule requiring the state to prove venue beyond a reasonable doubt does not apply to criminal defendants who plead not guilty.

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Appellant Gary Jones appeals his conviction for felony murder,1 arguing, among other things, that because the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that venue for his trial was properly laid in Fulton County, he was denied his constitutional right to be tried in the county in which his crimes allegedly occurred.2 We hold that, without exception, the State is required in all criminal trials to introduce evidence establishing that venue is properly laid beyond a reasonable doubt. We disapprove of the exception to this requirement set forth in Minter v. The State3 and its successors that mere ‘slight evidence’ of venue will suffice in certain situations. By its own definition, this ‘slight evidence exception’ is inapplicable when a defendant has challenged venue. Despite this definition, the slight evidence exception has been misapplied to situations where a defendant has pled not guilty to an indictment’s charges, and thus has challenged all the allegations set forth therein, including those regarding venue. As explained more fully below, we now hold that the ‘slight evidence exception’ can have no application once a plea of not guilty is entered and a defendant is put on trial.

In this matter, the record reveals that the State failed to establish venue beyond a reasonable doubt at appellant’s trial. Therefore, we must reverse appellant’s convictions. However, for the reasons explained below, we conclude that the Double Jeopardy Clause does not preclude the State from retrying appellant, so long as it does so in a forum in which venue is properly established.

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