VENUE (OF. venue, arrival, from Lat. venire, to come; confused in meaning with ob'.
from Lat. rieinia, neighborhood, vicinity). In its original and more restricted meaning, the place or locality where the acts or transactions out of which an action arises occur; but the term is neire commonly employed to-day to de note the county o• judicial district in which an action is to be tried and the jurors selected. For the purpose of determining the proper venue, actions are classified as /neat and transitory. A local action is one which, from its nature, could only have arisen in a certain district, as a tres pass on land. Criminal prosecutions and prac tically all actions relating to real property are considered as local actions, and must be tried in the county in which the facts occur or the real estate is situated. Where a cause of action is based upon facts which might easily have hap pened in any jurisdiction, as a contract, it is said to he transitory, and usually may be tried in any county. The English Judicature Acts
practically abolish the above distinction in that country, but it still obtains in many of the "United States. In most .jurisdietions the de fendant may make a motion for a change of venue for the convenience of his witnesses, or because he believes there could not he a fair trial in the jurisdiction in which the action is brought. The matter rests in the diseretion of the court, but the fact that most of the witnesses reside in a distant county, and any other reasonable argu ment. will be considered in deciding the motion. In criminal eases the prejudice of the commu nity against the defendant and the consequent difficulty of obtaining impartial jurors are fre quently made the basis of a motion for change of venue. The whole matter is regulated by statute in most States. Consult the authorities referred to under PLEADING; PRACTICE.