Legal Definitions - vicinage

Vicinage refers to the specific geographical area from which a jury is selected for a trial, particularly in criminal cases. It ensures that the jurors come from the community where the alleged crime occurred, reflecting the local perspective and understanding of the events. This concept is distinct from "venue," which refers to the specific court location where the trial takes place.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of vicinage:

• Imagine a case where a local business owner is accused of fraud within a small, tight-knit county. The defense attorney might argue that the jury should be drawn exclusively from residents of that county, rather than from a much larger, more diverse metropolitan area several counties away. This argument invokes the principle of vicinage, asserting the defendant's right to be judged by peers from the immediate community directly affected by or familiar with the circumstances of the alleged crime.

• Consider a high-profile case involving a dispute over land use in a rural township. The plaintiffs, who are long-time residents, insist that the jury pool be drawn from within that township or its immediate surrounding areas. They believe that local residents would have a better understanding of the historical land use, community norms, and the specific impact of the dispute. This preference for a jury from the immediate locality demonstrates the importance of vicinage in ensuring a jury with relevant local knowledge and perspective.

• A defendant is accused of a federal crime, such as bank robbery, that occurred in a specific federal judicial district. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a trial by an "impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed." If the jury selection process were to draw potential jurors from an adjacent federal district, the defense could challenge this on the grounds of violating the defendant's right to a jury from the proper vicinage, meaning the geographical area where the crime took place.