United States v. Salinas

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

Venue in a criminal case is not an arcane technicality. It involves “matters that touch closely the fair administration of criminal justice and public confidence in it.” United States v. Johnson, 323 U.S. 273, 276, 65 S.Ct. 249, 89 L.Ed. 236 (1944). No reported federal court decision has addressed the question of venue in the context of a prosecution for passport fraud. Stepping onto virgin soil, we must decide whether venue for such a case can be laid in the district in which the State Department chooses to process a passport application even though that district has no…