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Rethinking Venue In Light Of The Rodney King Case: An Interest Analysis, Marvin Zalman, Maurisa Gates

Cleveland State Law Review

This article analyzes the California Court of Appeals decision in Powell v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County that issued a writ of mandate on pretrial appeal directing the trial judge to order a defense motion for change of venue. The premise of the article is that the decision was inadequate in significant ways and concludes that the court of appeals improperly exercised its discretion. The venue in the "Rodney King" case properly belonged in Los Angeles County. Two broad lines of reasoning supporting this conclusion are offered. First, as discussed in Part II, the reasoning of Powell was wanting. …