State v. Osborn

45 S.W.3d 373, 345 Ark. 196, 2001 Ark. LEXIS 373
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJune 7, 2001
DocketCR 01-21
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 45 S.W.3d 373 (State v. Osborn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Osborn, 45 S.W.3d 373, 345 Ark. 196, 2001 Ark. LEXIS 373 (Ark. 2001).

Opinion

Donald L. Corbin, Justice.

The State of Arkansas appeals the order of the Franklin County Circuit Court dismissing the charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution against Appellee Dean Marion Osborn. The State argues that the trial court erred in finding that Franklin County lacked jurisdiction over Osborn’s charge. The State asserts that under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-88-108(c) (1987), jurisdiction was proper in either Crawford County, where the act was committed, or Franklin County, where the effects of the offense were felt. This court has not heretofore interpreted the “effects” clause of section 16-88-108(c) as it applies to the charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution. We thus have jurisdiction of the State’s appeal, as our holding will establish important precedent and is necessary for the correct and uniform administration of justice. See Ark. R. App. P. — Crim. 3(c); State v. Earl, 333 Ark. 489, 970 S.W.2d 789, cert. denied, 525 U.S. 971 (1998); State v. Rice, 329 Ark. 219, 947 S.W.2d 3 (1997). For the reasons set out below, we conclude that the State’s argument has merit, and we reverse.

The facts of this case are not in dispute. Don Meador was shot to death in his home in Franklin County on or about January 14, 1998. On February 5, 1998, Investigator Richard Hoffman, of the Arkansas State Police, interviewed Osborn about the homicide at his home in Crawford County. Osborn told Hoffman that he had not seen the victim for a year and a half, and that he was at home in Van Burén on the date in question. About nine months later, in November 1998, Osborn contacted the victim’s son, Steve Meador, and told him that he had information about his father’s murder. Osborn later met with Steve and told him that he had been present in Meador’s home when three individuals, Jeremy Richison, Marshall White, and Gary Harvel, came to the house and attacked Meador at the door leading into the garage. Osborn stated that he fled the house through the back door, but then stopped and watched through the kitchen window, as a struggle ensued between Meador and the three assailants. Osborn then heard five shots and ran toward the front of the house, where he heard one of the assailants call out “Jeremy, let’s go!” Osborn stated that one of the assailants had a small-caliber revolver.

Steve Meador reported Osborn’s story to the police, who, in turn, arrested Osborn for hindering apprehension or prosecution, pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 5-54-105 (Repl. 1997). The charge was based on the State’s theory that Osborn had provided false information to the police in his February interview. Osborn was charged in Franklin County, where the murder occurred and where the investigation was ongoing. Osborn subsequently challenged Franklin County’s authority to charge and try him. He contended that the proper venue for the charge was Crawford County, where he gave the interview. The State countered that Franklin County had jurisdiction because the effects of his actions were felt there. The State relied on section 16-88-108(c).

The trial court agreed with Osborn and dismissed the charge. Viewing the issue as one of venue, rather than jurisdiction, the trial court found that venue was in Crawford County. It is evident from the trial court’s bench ruling and the subsequent written order that the trial court focused almost entirely on the situs of Osborn’s allegedly unlawful acts, with little regard for where the effects of his acts occurred. Moreover, the order of dismissal evinces the trial court’s conclusion that Crawford County was the only county in which Osborn could be charged and tried. In other words, the trial court did not interpret section 16-88-108(c) as providing concurrent jurisdiction over Osborn’s offense. We conclude that the trial court’s interpretation of the law was erroneous.

Before reaching the merits of this appeal, however, we first address the State’s contention that this issue is one of jurisdiction, not venue. The terms “venue” and “jurisdiction” are often used interchangeably. See Meny v. Norris, 340 Ark. 418, 13 S.W.3d 143 (2000) (per curiam); Davis v. Reed, 316 Ark. 575, 873 S.W.2d 524 (1994). Ordinarily, venue refers to the geographic area, like a county, where an action is brought to trial. In contrast, jurisdiction is generally thought of as the power of a court to decide cases, and it presupposes control over the subject matter and the parties. Id. One type of jurisdiction is known as local jurisdiction. According to Professor LaFave, local jurisdiction “deals only with where the offense is to be tried, not with whether the state lacks the basic authority to apply its criminal law to the events in question.” Wayne R. LaFave, Criminal Procedure § 16.1(a), at 461 (2d ed. 1999). In Arkansas, local jurisdiction is statutorily provided for in Ark. Code Ann. § 16-88-105 (1987). Subsection (b) of that statute provides that the local jurisdiction of circuit courts “shall be of offenses committed within the respective counties in which they are held.” Section 16-88-108(c) provides for local jurisdiction over those offenses that occur in more than one county. In this respect, section 16-88-108(c) is an extension of the local jurisdiction provided for in section 16-88-105. We thus agree with the State that this appeal is properly viewed as presenting an issue of local jurisdiction, not venue. That being said, we turn now to the substance of the State’s appeal.

The State contends that the trial court erred in its interpretation of section 16-88-108(c), which provides: “Where the offense is committed partly in one county and partly in another, or the acts, or effects thereof, requisite to the consummation of the offense occur in two (2) or more counties, the jurisdiction is in either county.” (Emphasis added.) This statute is remedial in nature, intended to prevent miscarriages of justice by extending the lines of jurisdiction beyond the limits prescribed by the common law, and is to be liberally construed. Hill v. State, 253 Ark. 512, 487 S.W.2d 624 (1972). It is presumed that an offense charged was committed within the jurisdiction of the court where the charge was filed, unless the evidence affirmatively shows otherwise. Id. See also Ark. Code Ann. § 16-88-104 (1987). The State argues that all of the evidence in this case supports jurisdiction in either Crawford County, where Osborn acted, or Franklin County, where the effects of Osborn’s actions manifested themselves and hindered the murder investigation.

The State relies on this court’s holdings in Hill and Blackwell v. State, 338 Ark. 671, 1 S.W.3d 399 (1999). In Blackwell, this court held that jurisdiction over a charge of Medicaid fraud was proper in Pulaski County, where the effects of the defendant’s acts were felt. Blackwell argued that there was an insufficient nexus to bring charges against him in Pulaski County. This court disagreed:

While Blackwell’s dental practice was located in Pine Bluff and he treated patients there, his offense was consummated by submitting fraudulent billings to Arkansas’s State Medicaid Agency (Department of Human Services) located in Little Rock.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

MARK WILLIAMS v. STATE OF ARKANSAS
2020 Ark. 199 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2020)
Watkins v. State
2014 Ark. 283 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2014)
Wagner v. State
2010 Ark. 389 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2010)
Opinion No.
Arkansas Attorney General Reports, 2009
Avery v. State
217 S.W.3d 162 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2005)
Smith v. State
118 S.W.3d 542 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2003)
Cloird v. State
99 S.W.3d 419 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2003)
Thomas v. State
79 S.W.3d 347 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
45 S.W.3d 373, 345 Ark. 196, 2001 Ark. LEXIS 373, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-osborn-ark-2001.