Patterson v. Faircloth

Marshall, Chief Justice.

The question presented in this case is one of first impression in this state. It is whether a superior court, on its own motion and over defense objection, possesses the authority to order a change in the venue of a murder trial on the ground that a fair and impartial jury cannot be empanelled in the county where the crime was allegedly committed. For reasons which follow, we answer this question in the negative, and we thereby disapprove any dicta to the contrary in Wheeler v. State, 42 Ga. 306 (1871). This case is also significant, because in this case we are…