Half way through jury trial on sexual assault case it is discovered that the location of the assault was actually in an adjoining county. Judge dismisses case.

Double Jeopardy if case later filed in correct county?

The court probably had no authority to dismiss the case (since it had jurisdiction). But, regardless, jeopardy probably attached and you may well have a plea in bar in the other county. A judgment of dismissal generally does not support a plea in bar.

Believe it or not, I just researched this issue earlier this week. We have a capital case going right now in which venue is pretty sketchy. Body is found on a huge ranch and nobody's exactly sure where the county line is and if the body is within 400 yards of it. The lawyer handling it asked me if, should the jury acquit or she get directed out on venue, could we re-file in the right county.

Anyway, it looks to me like you could. See State v. Blankenship, 170 sw3d 676 (reversal of defendant's conviction based on State's failure to prove venue would not prohibit reprosecution under DJ clause).
Also, Martin v. State, 385 S.W.2d 260 (Where question of failure to prove venue is raised before verdict and venue is not shown to have been proven at trial, reviewing court should reverse AND REMAND FOR ANOTHER TRIAL.)
Also, Bailey v. State, 87 SW3d 122. It's not a venue case, but it states that acquittal b/c of a variance between pleadings and proof doesn't raise a DJ bar to reprosecution on a new charge alleging that version of the offense which the State's evidence proved in the first trial. Thus, I think if you go to trial in County A and during trial the proof shows that it was in County B, you could go back and re-file in County B.
Frankly, these cases surprised the heck out of me when I found them. I expected jeopardy to bar reprosecution. I know none of them cover a dismissal, but I think the analysis is the same, regardless. So I think you can ask your neighboring DA to file the case there.

The issue of venue is not an element of the offense. Furthermore, the State need not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt -- only by a preponderance of the evidence. So, it is not surprising that DJ does not prevent a 2nd trial in a different location.

However, that probably doesn't mean the defendant can't claim that there was insufficient evidence at his first trial. I assume the cases that Lisa cites involved completed trials during which the State otherwise well-proved the defendant committed the crime. Or, the defendant stopped the trial with a claim that he should be tried in a different county.

I can't tell from the description in the opening post whether the defendant demanded he be tried in the county with proper venue.

[This message was edited by John Bradley on 08-11-06 at .]

You might look at Hill v. State, 90 S.W.3d 308, 315 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002)("Manifest necessity exists when the circumstances render it impossible to arrive at a fair verdict, when it is impossible to continue with trial, or when the verdict would be automatically reversed on appeal because of trial error.").

"To show manifest necessity for the mistrial, the State would have to show that there was no less drastic alternative available." Hill, 90 S.W.3d at 314.

I would guess that if your record affirmatively showed that venue was wrong, you'd be looking at an automatic reversal in the first trial. It is presumed that venue is proven in the trial court, unless the record affirmatively shows otherwise or venue is made an issue at trial. See Tex.R.App. P. 44.2(c)(1). Doesn't seem like there was any less drastic alternative to a mistrial.

While failure of proof of venue may be treated as "trial error" where the jury found the evidence sufficient to show guilt upon legally sufficient evidence, I am having a harder time seeing how the State gets a second bite at proving both guilt and venue. This appears to be more like where the court takes it upon itself to abort the proceedings without a manifest necessity. E.g., Torres, 614 S.W.2d 436. But, I wish the second prosecution luck.

This has been VERY helpful!

From the many many hours I spent learning to read maps in the miltary, any location can be broken into a 8-10 diget grid coordinate that can be used to plot a given point on a map. (need a miltary or other specialied grid map and a specilized protactor). That could give you good proof on the location.

Also if you want to cheat you can go the exact spot with a Gobal Positioning System (GPS). Then plot that 8-10 diget location on the map, to get your county.

I've used the county surveyor and had him do measurements from the crime scene.

Or, for fun, try the free Google Earth application.