Court Opinion

ID: 9846234
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:37:33.755781+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:16:35.934369
License: Public Domain

Deen, Judge,
dissenting. "In a criminal case the venue of the crime must be established clearly and beyond a reasonable doubt.” Murphy v. State, 121 Ga. 142 (1) (48 SE 909); Willis v. State, 43 Ga. App. 394 (159 SE 141). Slight evidence of venue, uncontradicted, is sufficient, and ordinarily the jury decides questions of evidence consistency. "But the rule is not applicable where a witness testified to stated facts on direct examination and admits on cross examination that he had no means or opportunity of knowing the facts to which he testified.” Consolidated Telephone Co. v. Kincaid, 94 Ga. App. 823, 827 (96 SE2d 322). If I could construe the evidence on venue here, as the majority does, to mean that the witnesses knew from common reputation, in the community road signs, or whatever, that the place where the altercation took place was in Polk County, it would not matter that such knowledge was based on hearsay. But it is obvious to me that neither of the witnesses who attempted to testify to venue knew the location. One of them admitted on cross examination that he didn’t know "whether it was in Polk County, Cleburne County, Alabama, or Cherokee County, Alabama.” The other one stated that he was going to Shiloh Church, he didn’t know whether Shiloh Church was in Polk County, Ga., or not, and that "if Shiloh Church is in Cleburne, Alabama, that’s where we was at.” In my opinion, this is not adequate proof of venue.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge Hall and Judge Eberhardt join in this dissent.