Change of Venue in a Los Angeles Criminal Case
People always come to me and say, I wouldn't say I like the courthouse where my case is. The people need to be more fair there. The judge isn't fair there. The prosecutor is not fair, and they first want to change the venue of their case.
What you have to realize, though, is that there are only limited circumstances where you can change the venue, and they really center around you being able to mount an argument or prove that the jurisdiction or location where your case is pending may have some sort of bias towards you—maybe the media covered your case, and everybody knows about it—and that may somehow negatively impact your case.
Beyond that, they won't change the venue or the location. All cases are prosecuted – at least for the most part – in the jurisdiction where they occurred.
There are exceptions in Los Angeles County. Suppose it's a big publicity case, a sex crime case, or a case that involves a law enforcement officer and several other exceptions. In that case, they'll probably try the case downtown because that's where the main prosecutor's office is, and they often like to do it that way.
Real Case Example of Changing Venue
Examples of cases where the jurisdiction had to be changed, for example – there was a case years ago where an attorney's dog had attacked and killed somebody in San Francisco.
There were all kinds of publicity about it. Everybody knew about it. There was activism; there were protests. At that point, you can't get a fair trial because everybody in San Francisco knows about the case and has an opinion about it.
So, they moved the case to Los Angeles and tried it there. That made sense, and that's why they changed the case's venue or jurisdiction—because of some bias.
So, unless you can mount an argument like that, there are cases where publicity is garnered, but that doesn't necessarily mean the case gets to change venues.
You have to get something that makes sense. I saw another case where a big Superior Court judge who was the main judge – the presiding judge in downtown Los Angeles for many years – was arrested for serious charges.
Because everybody knew him in Los Angeles—the judges, the prosecutors, the public defenders, everybody—they moved the case to Orange County, and it was prosecuted and dealt with there.
Peremptory Challenges to a Judge in California
So, it depends on what's going on with the case and the circumstances. Just because you don't like a judge is not a reason to change the courthouse or location. If your attorney feels that a judge is prejudiced against you after you discuss it with them, they can file a 170.6 Motion to recuse that particular judge.
You can do that one time in a criminal case. Each side can do that, but that has nothing to do with a venue change. If you don't like the prosecutor's office, your attorney can file a motion if you can mount an argument.
It can't be that you don't like them. You actually have to have facts that they've done something wrong or are biased or prejudiced against you for some reason. Then, your attorney can file a motion to have them recused, and they'll probably appoint a Deputy Attorney General from the Attorney General's Office.
Again, if you have an issue where you think the venue is a problem, consider some of what I'm saying. If you still think the venue is problematic, sit with a seasoned criminal defense attorney.
You give them the facts of your case. If they're local to the courthouse, they'll know the court and have a feel for what it will take to change the venue if that's something you want to do. I have you come in, and we go everything.
Filing Motion to Recuse Judge or Prosecutor
Obviously, I listen to you, and if you have a good venue argument, then we can try to file a motion to recuse the judge or the prosecutor or use some other vehicle that makes sense, given the facts and circumstances surrounding your case.
But a lot of times, when we talk about the whole issue, we realize this whole venue issue is really a non-issue, and you have more pressing matters in your case, like defending the case or negotiating a plea bargain if that's applicable.
So, I think it's a matter of getting a defense attorney who knows what they're doing and can help you resolve your criminal case and get you out of the criminal justice system as quickly as possible.
