Legal Definitions - change of venue

Definition: Change of venue refers to the transfer of a legal case from one court to another within the same judicial system. This is done to fix a problem with the original location of the trial, either to reduce the impact of local bias or to find a more suitable location for the proceedings.

Example: If a high-profile case is being held in a small town where the defendant is well-known, the defense team may request a change of venue to a larger city where the jury pool is less likely to be influenced by local sentiment.

Another example could be if a case is filed in a court that does not have jurisdiction over the matter. In this case, the case may be transferred to a court that has the proper jurisdiction to hear the case.

These examples illustrate how a change of venue can be used to ensure a fair and impartial trial, and to make sure that the case is heard in the appropriate court.