Overcash v. State, 41231
| Decision Date | 12 April 1965 |
| Docket Number | No. 2,No. 41231,41231,2 |
| Citation | 111 Ga.App. 549,142 S.E.2d 306 |
| Parties | Edward OVERCASH v. The STATE |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Syllabus by the Court
1. To sustain a conviction for any criminal offense it is necessary that the venue be proven.
2. Where the defendant stands charged with the use of vulgar or opprobrious words in a telephone conversation with a female, in violation of Code Ann. § 26-6303 (Ga.L.1963, pp. 455, 456), the place
where the call is received by the female fixes the venue of the crime.
Edward Overcash was convicted for the use of indecent, vulgar and opprobrious words in a telephone conversation with Mrs. Elmer F. Etheridge. The evidence disclosed that Overcash was at the American Legion Club in Duluth where a dance was in progress, and that he and some friends spent the evening in a booth drinking beer. Mrs. Etheridge testified that she lived at Norcross, Ga., Route 1, and that she received a telephone call at her home from Overcash about 10:30 that evening suggesting to her that her husband was running around with some other women having a good time and that she should permit him (Overcash) to come over and have sexual relations with her. While he gave the name of 'Charlie Brown' as the person making the call, Mrs. Etheridge pecognized the voice as being that of Overcash and immediately got in touch with the Chief of Police of Duluth who met her at the Legion Club where Overcash was called out and admitted to Mrs. Etheridge, in the presence of the Chief and her husband, that he had made the call. In his amended motion for new trial error is assigned upon the failure of the State to prove the venue of the offense.
Hancock & Wilbanks, W. P. Wilbanks, Jr., Duluth, for plaintiff in error.
William B. Huff, Sol., Lawrenceville, for defendant in error.
1. The general grouns are without merit. The evidence amply establishes the commission of the offense charged in the accusation.
2. The one special ground of the motion urges that there was failure on the part of the State to prove the venue of the offense. It is elementary, requiring no citation of authority, that venue is an essential element to be proven in any criminal case and that the burden is upon the State to prove it in order to sustain a conviction.
This brings up the question of where venue is properly laid in this particular offense. We think the matter is settled by Rose v. State, 4 Ga.App. 588, 598, 62 S.E. 117, 122, where it was held that the venue of an offense committed by the use of the mails is determined by the place where the letter is received. In that case it was observed that if the nessage had been 'communicated by telephone, the solicitation would only...
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Jones v. State
...is an essential element in proving guilt in a criminal case.' Bush v. Chappell, 225 Ga. 659, 660, 171 S.E.2d 128, 129; Overcash v. State, 111 Ga.App. 549, 142 S.E.2d 306. And 'like every other material allegation in the indictment it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt (cit.).' Royster......
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Thayer v. State
...he is amenable to its jurisdiction because of his "act by procuration." Both of these cases were cited in Overcash v. State, 111 Ga.App. 549, 550(2), 142 S.E.2d 306 (1965), when this court declared that venue lay in the county where an obscene telephone call was received. They were also rel......
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Reeves v. State
...not be prosecuted in Rockdale County because no evidence showed the call originated from Rockdale County). Overcash v. State , 111 Ga. App. 549, 550-551 (2), 142 S.E.2d 306 (1965) (holding that venue for the crime of using vulgar words in a telephone conversation with a female is the county......
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Bowler v. State
...770. However, the reasoning of the Court of Appeals decision, as applied to intrastate dealings, is still viable. In Overcash v. State, 111 Ga.App. 549, 142 S.E.2d 306, citing this court's opinion in Rose v. State, supra, it was held that venue in a case involving the use of vulgar words in......