Steven Rouse was convicted of felony murder and robbery after participating in the beating death and robbery of Scott Gillens. During preliminary instructions to the venire, the trial judge said that jurors would hear about a murder case that “happened in Muscogee County.” Rouse did not object, but raised the issue in his motion for new trial, arguing that the statement improperly expressed an opinion that venue had been proved. The Supreme Court of Georgia held that venue is a jurisdictional element the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt and that the judge’s statement clearly suggested venue was established. OCGA § 17-8-57 makes such a judicial comment error and mandates reversal and a new trial regardless of an objection or a showing of actual prejudice. The Court rejected the State’s characterization of the remark as an inadvertent orientation statement and held that later instructions assigning fact-finding to the jury could not cure the violation. It reversed Rouse’s judgment and required a new trial, even though the record showed venue was not disputed. Justices Hines, Nahmias, and Blackwell dissented, arguing that the remark, read in context, did not express an opinion on proof and that automatic reversal was unwarranted.