Suspects are stopped on County A (right near the county line). Driver has no DL and no insurance. Passenger is arrested fail to ID. Trooper takes both to County B jail. At jail both are found to be in possession of controlled substance.

Where does venue lie, county A or county B?

If you are within 400 yards of the county line, either county may have venue (CCP Art. 13.04). As for the possession, it was obviously on their person at the time of the stop even though it was found at the jail, so I would argue that jurisdiction lies in either county for that as well, although your stronger case is in County B.

I have tried a venue question case such as this many years ago. It was a possession case as well. I used our county surveyor to go to the scene of the stop and make measurements to prove that the stop was within 400 yards of our county.

Venue would be a non-issue in County A.

By the way, if you end up trying the case in County B, Gordon, I think I still have some law on that issue. Lemme know.

I've inherited this case from Gordon. The stop was most likely not within 400 yards of our county (but we are checking that to be sure). It was by highway around half a mile. The city where the stop occurred straddles county line. Defendant was traveling to our county. Trooper who made stop is based out of our county, so when he takes defendant in for no DL, he brings him to our county jail. As Gordon mentioned, in search at jail, drugs found in defendant's crotch. In pat down at scene, trooper felt the contraband, but did not know for sure that it was drugs.

We picked a jury on Monday. Trial is to begin in the morning. This question of venue is the only thing the defense has to work with. Case law? Suggestions?

If the defendant is charged with prohibited substance in a correctional facility and the substance was found on him in the county jail of the same county where he is being prosecuted, why is there a venue issue?

It was indicted as just vanilla possession. The defense attorney is arguing that since defendant was arrested in another county, officially on traffic violations, defendant should have been taken to that county's jail, where the drugs would have been found, thus where venue should lie.

Basically, I'm looking for verification, and cases if possible, that a trooper can take a defendant to the county jail in the county he is stationed out of, even if the traffic stop occurred just outside the 400 yard area of the adjoining county.

Was the jail he transported to closer?

Art. 14.06. [217] [264] [252] MUST TAKE OFFENDER BEFORE
MAGISTRATE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), in each case
enumerated in this Code, the person making the arrest or the person
having custody of the person arrested shall take the person
arrested or have him taken without unnecessary delay, but not later
than 48 hours after the person is arrested, before the magistrate
who may have ordered the arrest, before some magistrate of the
county where the arrest was made without an order, or, to provide
more expeditiously to the person arrested the warnings described by
Article 15.17 of this Code, before a magistrate in any other county
of this state. The magistrate shall immediately perform the duties
described in Article 15.17 of this Code.

No. But the trial was yesterday, and the jury came back guilty. Venue wasn't really an issue.