Stockard v. State
327 Ga. App. 184
Ga. Ct. App.2014Background
- Carlos Alan Stockard was convicted by a jury of making a false statement (OCGA § 16-10-20) and appealed the denial of his motion for new trial on the sole ground that the State failed to prove venue.
- Investigators from the DeKalb County DA’s office interviewed Stockard at the DeKalb County jail sally port and thereafter in their police vehicle; an audio recording of the interview was played to the jury.
- On the recording Stockard made an initial false statement about his whereabouts roughly 8–10 minutes after the recording began and later admitted the truth between about 16 and 37 minutes after the start.
- The State introduced no testimony or other evidence identifying the county location of the sally port, the jail, or the vehicle at the times the statements were made.
- The trial court denied the new-trial motion; the Court of Appeals held the evidence was insufficient to prove venue beyond a reasonable doubt and reversed. The court noted retrial is not barred by double jeopardy if venue is proved on retrial.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the State proved venue beyond a reasonable doubt for the false-statement offense | State: venue may be inferred from the interview beginning at the DeKalb jail sally port and use of DeKalb County investigators | Stockard: no proof the sally port/jail/vehicle were in DeKalb when the false statement was made; vehicle may have been traveling in another county | Reversed: State failed to meet burden to prove venue beyond a reasonable doubt because it produced no evidence establishing the county where the statements occurred or that the location could not be determined |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes standard for sufficiency review in criminal cases)
- State v. Prescott, 290 Ga. 528 (2012) (circumstantial evidence can support venue inference where location reasonably deduced)
- Bulloch v. State, 293 Ga. 179 (2013) (venue is a jurisdictional element the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt)
- Bundren v. State, 247 Ga. 180 (1981) (OCGA § 17-2-2 provides mechanism when county of offense cannot be determined)
- Rogers v. State, 298 Ga. App. 895 (2009) (retrial permissible where reversal is solely for insufficient proof of venue)