Florida Statutes 910.03 – Place of trial generally
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 910.03
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
(1) Except as provided in s. 910.035 or in subsection (2), criminal prosecutions shall be tried in the county where the offense was committed; but if the county is not known, the accused may be charged in two or more counties conjunctively, and before trial the accused may elect the county in which he or she will be tried. By his or her election, the accused waives the right to trial in the county in which the crime was committed. Such election shall have the force and effect of the granting of an application of the accused for change of venue from the county in which the offense was committed to the county in which the case is tried.
(2) After a court orders a change of venue and in order to protect the defendant‘s due process rights, the court, upon a motion of any party, shall give priority to any county which closely resembles the demographic composition of the county wherein the original venue would lie.
(3) If a court finds that a fair and impartial jury cannot be impaneled in the county where the offense was committed, and the court determines that once a jury is selected it shall be sequestered, the court on its own motion, or upon a motion of any party, may elect to select a jury from a county other than where the offense was committed. The selection of the alternative county will be governed by the requirements of subsection (2). Upon completion of jury selection, the jury shall be brought for trial to the county where the offense was committed.