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VENUE (derived through the French, fr...

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Originally appearing in Volume V27, Page 1013 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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VENUE (derived through the See also:French, from See also:Lat. venire, to come) , in See also:English See also:law the See also:term denoting the See also:place from which a See also:jury must come for the trial of a See also:case. The word occurs See also:early in constitutional documents, for it was for a See also:long See also:time one of the essentials of trial by jury that the jury should belong to the neighbourhood (vicinetum, visne) in which the cause of See also:action arose or the alleged See also:crime was committed (see JURY). This was founded on the See also:idea that the jurors were in the nature of witnesses for or against the See also:character or innocence of the party. The phrase duodecim legales homines de vicineto, or its See also:equivalent, is found in the Constitutions of See also:Clarendon (1164), the Aspize of the See also:Forest (1184) and in See also:Glanvill. See also:Civil Matters.—Civil actions came to be classified as See also:local and transitory, the former where the cause of action could only arise in a particular See also:county, such as trespass to See also:land, the latter where it might have arisen in any county, such as See also:debt. In the latter case the See also:plaintiff might See also:lay the venue where he pleased, i.e. try the cause in any See also:part of See also:England subject to the See also:power of the See also:court or a See also:judge to See also:change the place of trial. The law on the subject is now only of antiquarian See also:interest, for under the rules of the Supreme Court (Ord. See also:xxxvi. r. 1), " there shall be no local venue for the trial of any action, except where otherwise provided by See also:statute, but in every action in every See also:division the place of trial shall be fixed by the court or a judge." All local venues created by statutes See also:prior to 1875 were superseded by the rules of the Supreme Court and have not been revived by the See also:present rules; and many of such statutes have been expressly or impliedly repealed by the Public Authorities See also:Protection See also:Act 1893. The present practice is to See also:fix the place of trial in the See also:order for directions now made in every civil action in the High Court. The place is selected by reference to the wishes of the parties, the See also:residence of the witnesses, and with a view to reducing the See also:costs of litigation. Criminal Matters.—Proceedings by See also:indictment or criminal in-formation are not affected by the changes of See also:procedure as to civil actions; and it is necessary to ascertain in the case of each offence the venue, i.e. the proper place of trial, which, unless otherwise provided by statute, must be the county or other See also:jurisdiction in which acts constituting the offence have been done. Numerous acts provide for the place of trial of offences committed partly in one county and partly in another, or on the high seas or abroad, and of See also:special offences,` such as those under the See also:Post See also:Office, See also:Merchant See also:Shipping, Slave See also:Trade, and See also:Foreign Enlistment Acts.

The place of trial may be changed by the See also:

king's See also:bench division, where it is probable that a See also:fair trial could not be had in the county of the venue. Until 1825 it was necessary to have as juries in criminal cases jurors from the See also:hundred in which the offence was said to have been committed, and to be very particular to specify the venue as to each act imputed to the accused. This strictness continued to some extent until the passing of the Criminal Procedure Act 1851, which makes it unnecessary to See also:state any venue in the See also:body of an indictment, and no indictment is to be held See also:bad for want of a proper perfect venue. Since this enactment (which applies to See also:Ireland as well as to England) it is sufficient to state the venue in the margin of the indictment in this See also:form, " See also:Middlesex to wit," and it is unnecessary to mention the venue in the body of the indictment or See also:information, though in certain cases such as See also:burglary it is usual, if not essential, to give a " local description." See also:Scotland.—In Scottish law venue is not used as a technical term, but there are statutory provisions for changing the place of trial in both civil and criminal cases. See also:United Slates.—In the United States venue may generally be changed by the courts; but in some states it is provided by their constitutions that See also:provision for change of venue is to be made by the legislature. In other states the passing of local or special See also:laws for change of venue is forbidden. (W. F.

End of Article: VENUE (derived through the French, from Lat. venire, to come)

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