City of Helena v. Frankforter

The Supreme Court clarified in this case its jurisprudence regarding jurisdiction and venue in criminal cases, holding (1) a defendant waives his or her right to object to the county in which a charge is filed if he or she fails to object before the first witness is sworn at trial; and (2) the prosecution must prove proper jurisdiction at trial.The Supreme Court reversed one of Defendant’s convictions for partner or family member assault (PFMA) and affirmed his second PFMA conviction, holding (1) Defendant waived his venue objection because he did not object before his trial began to the county in which the PFMA charges were filed; but (2) the prosecution failed to present any evidence regarding where the second PFMA charge occurred and therefore did not meet its burden of proving jurisdiction. View "City of Helena v. Frankforter" on Justia Law