Houston v. State
Decision Date | 07 May 2004 |
Docket Number | No. A04A0566.,A04A0566. |
Citation | 267 Ga. App. 315,599 S.E.2d 278 |
Parties | HOUSTON v. The STATE. |
Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Jackie G. Patterson, Grange, for appellant.
Joseph J. Drolet, Solicitor-General, for appellee. BLACKBURN, Presiding Judge.
Following his conviction in the City Court of Atlanta for speeding,1 Matthew Houston appeals. Houston contends, and the State agrees, that his conviction must be reversed because he was issued a traffic citation which failed to allege the incident took place within the City of Atlanta. For the reasons set forth below, we reverse.
The record shows that Houston filed a general demurrer to quash the citation as being fatally defective because it failed to establish venue by alleging that the incident took place within the City of Atlanta. The trial court erred when it denied this motion.
Venue is a material element which must be alleged in any indictment or accusation. Brown v. State,2 citing Conley v. State of Ga.3 Here, the uniform traffic citation serves as the accusation, as it does in most traffic cases.4 A failure to allege venue "goes to the merits ... and renders an indictment or accusation subject to a general demurrer." Brown, supra at 866, 354 S.E.2d 169.
(Citations omitted.) State v. Walker.6
Venue, once properly alleged, must also be proven by the State. In the City Court of Atlanta, Walker, supra at 757(1), 585 S.E.2d 77.
Here, Houston's citation failed to allege that his crime took place within the city limits, and as this initial hurdle was not satisfied, we need not consider proof of venue. The citation alleged Houston's crime took place in Fulton County. That allegation is improper and ultimately meaningless. As such, we must reverse his conviction.
As a final note, we commend the State for forthrightly conceding the error in this case which is clear on the face of the record. In so doing, the State fulfills its first duty to ensure that justice is served.
Judgment reversed.
1. OCGA § 40-6-181.
4. OCGA § 40-13-1.
5. "Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the courts of each class...
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...traffic cases, the UTC may serve as the accusation for the offense of which the accused is charged. OCGA § 40-13-1; Houston v. State, 267 Ga.App. 315, 599 S.E.2d 278 (2004). Hence, a traffic case "commences with the filing ... of an accusation or UTC with the clerk of the court." Millan v. ......
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...omitted.) State v. Becker, 240 Ga. App. 267, 267-268, 523 S.E.2d 98 (1999). 4. (Citation and footnote omitted.) Houston v. State, 267 Ga.App. 315, 599 S.E.2d 278 (2004). 5. 71 Ga. 44 6. Id. at 48(3). 7. 252 Ga.App. 385, 556 S.E.2d 480 (2001). 8. Id. at 388(4), 556 S.E.2d 480. 9. In pertinen......
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