§ 4-201. Venue

   (a) In District Court. -- In the District Court, a prosecution for a crime shall be brought in the district that includes the county where the crime was committed, and the trial shall be held in that county unless the case is lawfully removed.

(b) Person stricken or poisoned in one county and dying in another county. -- If a person is feloniously stricken or poisoned in a county and dies in another county of the same stroke or poison, a prosecution for the felony shall be brought in the county where the stroke or poison was given.

(c) Crimes committed on Chesapeake Bay. -- A prosecution may be brought in the county in which the defendant is arrested or first brought if the prosecution is for:

   (1) a crime committed on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and not in a county;

   (2) aiding, abetting, or comforting the perpetrator of such a crime; or

   (3) being an accessory to such a crime.

(d) Person stricken or poisoned on Chesapeake Bay and dying in county. -- If a person is feloniously stricken or poisoned on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and not in a county, and dies of the same stroke or poison in a county, a prosecution for the felony, or for being an accessory to the felony, shall be brought in the county where the person died.

(e) Person stricken or poisoned in county and dying on Chesapeake Bay. -- If a person is feloniously stricken or poisoned in a county, and dies of the same stroke or poison on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and not in a county, a prosecution for the felony, or for being an accessory to the felony, shall be brought in the county where the stroke or poison was given.

(f) Crimes committed on common carriers. --

   (1) In this subsection, "common carrier" means a steamboat, railroad train, motor bus, airplane, or other means of intercity or interstate public transportation.

   (2) Subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, a prosecution for an indictable crime committed on a common carrier may be brought, and a District Court commissioner may hold the defendant to bail if the crime is bailable, in any county from, to, or through which the common carrier runs.

   (3) If the accused is held to bail under this subsection by a District Court commissioner, prosecution for the crime shall be in the county where the defendant is held.

(g) Crimes committed on or near boundary lines of counties. --

   (1) A prosecution for a crime may be brought in the county in which process for the arrest and prosecution of the defendant is first issued if:

      (i) the crime was committed at the boundary between counties; or

      (ii) the boundary is so uncertain or the site of the crime is so near to the boundary that it is doubtful in which county the crime was committed.

   (2) To establish the venue alleged in the charging document, the State need only prove that a set of facts in paragraph (1)(i) or (ii) of this subsection is true.

(h) Accessory after the fact to murder or felony. -- Except as otherwise provided by law, a prosecution of a person for being an accessory after the fact to murder or other felony shall be brought in the county in which the person became an accessory.

(i) Commission of murder or manslaughter -- County where crime occurred or where body or parts of body found. -- Except as otherwise provided in this section, a prosecution of a person for a violation of § 2-201, § 2-204, or § 2-207 of the Criminal Law Article may be brought in the county in which the crime occurred or, if the location of the crime cannot be determined, in the county in which the body or parts of the body were found.

HISTORY: An. Code 1957, art. 27, § 586, 586A, 587, 588, 589, 590; 2001, ch. 10, § 2; 2013, ch. 650.