Opinion ID: 1752644
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Court Erred in Failing to Grant Appellant's Motion for a Change of Venue and in Failing to Permit Testimony in Behalf of Said Motion.

Text: Wash filed a motion for change of venue, but did not call the motion to the trial court's attention and did not request a hearing on the motion until after completion of voir dire, after selection of the jury, and after both sides had announced ready for trial. The trial judge declined to consider the motion because Wash didn't give the court and state an opportunity to pursue that in its voir dire. He did allow Wash to make a proffer of the testimony of five people who would testify as to public sentiment against Wash due to a newspaper article which appeared in the Newton Record, a local paper with a circulation of 3800-4000. Wash also wished to offer the article into evidence. Wash's motion contained affidavits of two people stating that because of the newspaper article, Wash could not receive a fair trial in Newton County. In Johnson v. State, 476 So.2d 1195, 1210 (Miss. 1985), this Court stated [t]he accused's right to a change of venue is clearly not self-executing; the defendant must file a motion supported by the affidavits of two witnesses with knowledge. Wash has complied with the initial requirement of filing his motion with two affidavits. Johnson continues that the filing of the motion with its two affidavits raises a presumption that such sentiment exists; and, the state then bears the burden of rebutting that presumption. It is evident that this presumption may be rebutted during voir dire, as is indicated in the Fifth Circuit case of United States v. Harrelson, 754 F.2d 1153 (5th Cir.1985).... We reiterate today what we said in Johnson  the right to a change of venue is not self-executing. Here, Wash took the initial step of filing his motion with two affidavits; however, it was too late to urge a change of venue after the jury has been selected. By participating in the jury selection without bringing on for hearing his motion for change of venue, Wash may have waived his right to request the state to rebut the presumption. Waiting until after the jury is selected to request a hearing further suggests a waiver of the state's necessity to comply with Johnson to rebut the presumption. Once a motion is filed in compliance with the requirements set out in Johnson, a hearing on the motion should be held, if timely requested, before the jury is selected. We note, also, that the trial judge, in overruling Wash's request for a hearing, did consider Wash's proffered testimony. Taking that testimony as being true, the trial court found that Wash did not meet the criteria for a change of venue as set out in Johnson. We agree. Under the Johnson guidelines, first, a heightened state of review is required when defendant's life is at stake. Wash's is not a death penalty case. Second, there is no evidence of hostile crowds threatening violence toward Wash. Third, the media coverage does not appear to be extensive, since only one article appeared in the local paper. Fourth, while this is a serious crime, there is no evidence that it was against members of a prominent community family or public official; neither is this crime part of a series of crimes or mass crime. In short, Wash has not met the Johnson criteria. The lower court did not err in declining to hear the motion for a change of venue after the jury had been selected. The lower court likewise did not err in finding, based on Wash's proffered testimony, that Wash failed to meet the criteria for a change of venue. Therefore, this assignment of error is without merit.