Q: Can a prosecutor charge someone in a completely different district, than which the crime was originally reported in?
Does a prosecutor have the legal authority to charge someone in a different district, at a different court, and issue an arrest warrant at a different jail than which the crime was originally reported in? I was charged with a misdemeanor crime, the person reported me in one district at a certain police station. The investigation was done at this police station. However, the prosecutor for some reason charged me in a completely different district at a court that isn’t in the district that the crime was reported in or investigated in. The police were confused when I turned my self in as to why there was a warrant for my arrest at their police station when they never did any investigation there, and the crime was not reported there.
A: Venue is what's considered here. And that's mostly dependent on where the crime actually occurred; not where it was reported. Prosecutor, though, has the burden of showing venue is proper. I have seen cases simply transferred when venue is an issue. If everything is in the same county, however, then it's just a matter of which district court hears the preliminary examination. I'd look into it, but I wouldn't waste a great deal of time or energy thinking that's what will turn the case; focus on the facts.
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