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Venue Named Under Exception Act
To amend chapter 211 of title 18, United States Code, to modify venue for certain offenses.
Summary
This bill would amend federal criminal law to establish new rules for where crimes can be prosecuted when they are committed in the National Capital Region (D.C., parts of Maryland and Virginia) on federal property. Under the new rule, prosecutors could file charges in the district where the defendant last lived, or in the District of Columbia if the defendant's residence is unknown. Defendants could request that their case be transferred to the district where they are domiciled, with priority given to whichever defendant files the transfer request first. Non-U.S. residents cannot request a transfer. The rule applies only to cases that have not yet been scheduled for trial.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3] (R-TX)
1 cosponsor
Actions (2)
- Jan 3, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Jan 3, 2025 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
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Similar bills (6)
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Text versions (1)
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Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2025
Mr. Self (for himself and Mr. Nehls) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend chapter 211 of title 18, United States Code, to modify venue for certain offenses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Venue Named Under Exception Act” or the “VENUE Act”.
SEC. 2. VENUE FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES.
(a) In General.—Chapter 211 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “Sec. 3245. Offenses committed in the National Capital Region
“(a) Offenses in National Capital Region.—In the case of an offense that is committed in the National Capital Region on property under the control of the Federal Government, an indictment or information shall be filed in the district of the last known residence of the offender or of any one of two or more joint offenders, or if no such residence is known, the indictment or information may be filed in the District of Columbia.
“(b) Transfer.—
“(1) Right to transfer.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a district court shall, upon motion of the defendant, grant a transfer of an indictment or information to the district court encompassing the jurisdiction where the defendant is domiciled.
“(2) Multiple defendants.—If multiple defendants file a motion to transfer an indictment or information under paragraph
(1), the district court shall grant the motion of the defendant who filed the motion first.
“(3) Defendants not domiciled in the united states.—A defendant not domiciled in the United States may not file a motion to transfer an indictment or information under paragraph
(1).
“(c) Definition.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘National Capital Region’ means the geographic area located within the boundaries of—
“(A) the District of Columbia;
“(B) Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in the State of Maryland;
“(C) Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties and the Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in the Commonwealth of Virginia; and
“(D) all cities and other units of government within the geographic areas of such District, Counties, and City.
“(2) The term ‘property under the control of the Federal Government’ means property owned or leased by the United States, or any agency thereof, except in the case of the United States Postal Service.
“(d) Pending Cases.—This section shall apply to any offense with respect to which a trial has not been scheduled as of the date of enactment of this section.
“(e) Limitation.—This section shall only apply to an offense not otherwise subject to section 3235, 3236, 3237, 3238, 3239, 3241, 3242, 3243 or 3244.”.
(b) Clerical Amendment.—The table of sections for chapter 211 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“3245. Offenses committed in the National Capital Region.”. <all>
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