Guzman v. District Court

In this original petition for a writ of mandamus challenging the order of the district court denying Petitioner's motion to dismiss counts of an indictment, the Supreme Court held that the district court manifestly abused its discretion in denying Petitioner's motion to dismiss Douglas County charges for lack of venue.

Petitioner was charged with committing three burglaries in two murders in Washoe County and two burglaries and two murders in Douglas County. A Washoe County grand jury indicted Petitioner for all of the above offenses. Petitioner filed a motion to dismiss the Douglas County charges for lack of territorial jurisdiction. The district court denied the motion, concluding that venue was proper in Washoe County for each charge. The Supreme Court granted Petitioner's petition for a writ of mandamus, holding that the State's theories supporting venue in Washoe County were too speculative and unsupported by the evidence to make venue proper for the Douglas County charges.