People v. Jendrzejewski

In People v. Jendrzejewski, 455 Mich 495, 500; 566 NW2d 530 (1997), the Court noted that federal precedent has used two approaches to determine whether the failure to grant a change of venue is an abuse of discretion. "Community prejudice amounting to actual bias has been found where there was extensive highly inflammatory pretrial publicity that saturated the community to such an extent that the entire jury pool was tainted, and, much more infrequently, community bias has been implied from a high percentage of the venire who admit to a disqualifying prejudice." Jendrzejewski, supra at 500-501. Generally, defendants must be tried in the county where the crime is committed. Jendrzejewski, supra at 499. See also MCL 600.8312; MSA 27A.8312. However, a court may, in special circumstances where justice demands or statute provides, change venue to another county. Jendrzejewski, supra at 499-500. See also MCL 762.7; MSA 28.850. In Jendrzejewski, the Court found that even where twenty-five percent of the venire admits to a disqualifying prejudice, that does not constitute a community so prejudiced against the defendant as to impeach "the indifference of jurors who displayed no animus of their own." Id. at 514.