Venue victory comes from showing failure to establish territorial jurisdiction in the court, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Venue victory (VV) is not common, but your Virginia attorney nonetheless needs to be ready to determine whether to pursue a victory out of the matter. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that a Virginia court has to have territorial jurisdiction over a prosecution in order to enable a conviction. “The Commonwealth bears the burden of proving venue… To do so, it must produce evidence sufficient to give rise to “a ‘strong presumption’ that the offense was committed within the territorial jurisdiction of the court.” Kilby v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Record No. Record No. 1451-23-4 (Va. App. 2025) (unpublished) (citation omitted). Venue may not be established “through a single reference in a document introduced in evidence” at trial. Id. Due to the prosecutor’s failure to establish venue, the Virginia Court of Appeals reversed his conviction. Id. 

What does Virginia’s venue statute say?

In pursuing venue victory, consider that Virginia’s venue statute provides: “A. Except as otherwise provided by law, the prosecution of a criminal case shall be had in the county or city in which the offense was committed. Except as to motions for a change of venue, all other questions of venue must be raised before verdict in cases tried by a jury and before the finding of guilty in cases tried by the court without a jury. B. If an offense has been committed within the Commonwealth and it cannot readily be determined within which county or city the offense was committed, venue for the prosecution of the offense may be had in the county or city (i) in which the defendant resides; (ii) if the defendant is not a resident of the Commonwealth, in which the defendant is apprehended; or (iii) if the defendant is not a resident of the Commonwealth and is not apprehended in the Commonwealth, in which any related offense was committed. C. The courts of a locality shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the courts of any other locality adjoining such locality over criminal offenses committed in or upon the premises, buildings, rooms, or offices owned or occupied by such locality or any officer, agency, or department thereof that are located in the adjoining locality.” Virginia Code § 19.2-244. 

Venue victory can come even when you are caught red handed in criminal activity

Police stopped “Kilby’s car at the side of Robinson’s Grocery after turning from Happy Creek Road. Working with Master Deputy Griffith of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, a trained police dog sniffed the outside of Kilby’s car and indicated the presence of narcotics.” Despite the discovery of suspected unlawful drugs / controlled substances in Kilby’s car, and despite the drug certificate of analysis (admitted into evidence) stating Warren as the jurisdiction of offense (involving the Warren County Sheriff’s Office), the Virginia Court of Appeals concluded that such evidence as insufficient to establish venue in the Warren County Circuit Court. That is venue victory.

Should I bet my house on a VV?

Rarely should you bet your house on a venue victory. Instead, as a Fairfax criminal lawyer I know that an attorney should never proceed to settlement negotiations nor trial without aggressively preparing possible VV arguments.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz relentlessly pursues your best defense against Virginia felony, misdemeanor and DUI prosecutions. Your free initial in-person confidential consultation about your court-pending prosecution with Jon Katz is yours for the asking, at 703-383-1100, Info@KatzJustice.com and (text) 571-406-7268.