213 results for 'court:"Georgia Supreme Court"'.
J. Peterson finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the couple in a declaratory judgment action claiming that the Cobb County Board of Commissioners unconstitutionally passed an amendment changing commission district boundaries enacted by the Georgia legislature in 2022. Although the couple are county residents and community stakeholders with standing to challenge the constitutionality of the amendment, their uncertainty about which district they reside in and their claim that they are represented by a commissioner they did not vote for are not enough to show uncertainty as to their future conduct and to warrant declaratory relief. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: S24A0599, Categories: Civil Rights
[Consolidated.] J. LaGrua finds that the trial court improperly denied defendants' general demurrers to the indictment charging them with violating their oaths of office as police officers by failing to conduct investigations of other officers. One defendant is the former police chief of Glynn County and the other is the ex-police chief's chief of staff. The facts alleged in the indictments do not support the charge. Defendants' alleged failures to investigate are not violations of the law. Defendants could admit to the facts alleged in the indictment and still be innocent of the crimes alleged by the state. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: LaGrua, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0239, Categories: Due Process
J. Peterson finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault for hitting the victim with his car after the two argued over whether the victim threw a golf ball at the vehicle. The trial court incorrectly denied defendant's request to instruct the jury on the defense of accident. There was at least some evidence to support the theory that there was no criminal scheme, including evidence that defendant did not intend to hit the victim and rendered immediate aid. The refusal to give the jury instruction could have contributed to the verdict. Defendant may be retried because the evidence was legally sufficient to support his convictions. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0036, Categories: Murder, Jury Instructions
J. Ellington finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and cruelty to children. The trial court did not commit any error by allowing the state to repeatedly introduce evidence of the victim's previous head injuries without instructing the jury that the parties had agreed that defendant did not cause those injuries. The trial court correctly instructed the jury on prior difficulties between defendant and the 23-month-old victim. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Ellington, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0139, Categories: Murder, Child Victims, Jury Instructions
J. LaGrua finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, aggravated assault and firearm offenses. The trial court correctly refused to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter because the evidence did not support the charge. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's aggravated assault and firearm possession convictions and to allow the jury to find that defendant was involved in a second shooting. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: LaGrua, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0352, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder, Assault
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J. Peterson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, armed robbery, burglary and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motions for mistrial. The state's failure to timely disclose the inconclusive results of a test comparing another suspect's hair to hair recovered from a stocking cap did not significantly impact defendant's defense. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by the state's failure to tell him that his first custodial interview was recorded. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0399, Categories: Burglary, Murder, Robbery
J. McMillian finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder predicated on aggravated assault. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction and to show that he was a party to the crimes, including defendant's admission that he helped the accomplice during his fight with the victim and evidence that defendant's clothes were covered with the victim's blood. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient or that he was prejudiced by the alleged deficiencies. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: McMillian, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0170, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Boggs finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and arson and correctly denied defendant's motion to disqualify the district attorney. Although the district attorney previously served as defendant's public defender, the prior representations were totally unrelated to the murder prosecution. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to show that skeletal remains belonged to the victim. The trial court correctly refused to allow defendant to question witnesses about other fires that occurred at a co-indictee's and a defense witness's homes while defendant was incarcerated since the evidence was not relevant. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Boggs, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0013, Categories: Murder, Arson
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including evidence that the victim gave defendant's nickname multiple times when asked who shot him. A shell casing matching the bullet in the shooting was found next to the building where defendant was staying. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0037, Categories: Murder
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court correctly refused to allow defendant to testify that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because the hearsay exception does not apply to medical diagnoses. Any error the trial court committed in allowing the state to ask about defendant's prior military charge for impersonating another was harmless and unlikely to have impacted the jury's verdict. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0236, Categories: Murder
J. Warren finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, armed robbery and burglary. Sufficient evidence was presented to show that defendant was a party to the crimes. The trial court correctly instructed the jury and did not commit any error in admitting into evidence a short recording of a jail phone call between defendant and his mother. None of the statements made by defendant during the call implied that defendant wanted to negotiate a plea deal with the state. Although the jury was not aware that one witness had an incentive to testify against defendant, the testimony was mostly cumulative of other evidence and defendant failed to show that the witness's alleged deal with the state would have impacted the verdict. The trial court incorrectly convicted defendant of possession of a firearm during the commission of aggravated assault. That count should have merged into defendant's conviction for firearm-possession based on murder. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Warren, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: S24A0011, Categories: Burglary, Murder, Robbery
J. Ellington finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, cruelty to children and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony for the stabbing death of his sister. The trial court correctly admitted evidence that defendant had attacked another sister two months before the murder. The evidence was relevant to show that defendant had committed a similar intentional act and to counter defendant's claim that he stabbed the victim while in a "trance." The trial court correctly refused to charge the jury on voluntary manslaughter because the evidence did not support the instruction. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Ellington, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: S24A0092, Categories: Murder, Child Victims
Per curiam, the Georgia Supreme Court rejects attorney Paul Jason York's petition for voluntary discipline following his admission to violating the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. The attorney forged the signatures of a judge and an assistant district attorney on a court order purportedly authorizing the removal of his client's ankle monitor. The special master's recommendation that the attorney receive a three-year suspension is not appropriate. The attorney's criminal forgery charges remain pending and his pre-trial diversion agreement does not expire until at least August 2025.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: S24Y0285, Categories: Judiciary, Attorney Discipline
J. McMillian finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to show that defendant was a party to the crimes. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: McMillian, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: S24A0068, Categories: Firearms, Murder
J. Colvin finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, aggravated battery, violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act and other offenses. Any error the trial court committed in barring defendant from making a closing argument about the sentences his co-defendants avoided by pleading guilty was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of defendant's guilt. Defendant admitted to stabbing the victim and another witness testified that defendant told her he shot the victim. The trial court correctly overruled defendant's objection that the prosecutor personally attacked his counsel during closing arguments in saying that the defense's theory of the case insulted the victim's memory. However, the trial court incorrectly failed to merge some of the counts against defendant for sentencing. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Colvin, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: S24A0125, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, Gangs
J. McMillian finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to allow the jury to find that he was a party to the crimes. Defendant was involved in a fight with the victim before the shooting. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: McMillian, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: S24A0069, Categories: Firearms, Murder
J. Colvin finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and correctly denied defendant's motion for a new trial. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including evidence that three eyewitnesses identified defendant as one of the inmates who stabbed the victim. Defendant's counsel failed to object to statements made by the prosecutor in closing arguments telling the jury that it needed to assess the guilt of defendant's co-indictees and saying there is no evidence exonerating defendant. Defendant's claims based on the alleged error are therefore not preserved for appellate review. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by his trial counsel's allegedly deficient performance. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Colvin, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: S24A0117, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. LaGrua finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and other offenses. The trial court correctly admitted a detective's testimony about out-of-court statements made by two witnesses. The testimony did not directly comment on the witnesses' credibility but instead focused on what their demeanors were. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel was deficient for failing to object to the testimony. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: LaGrua, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: S24A0179, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Bethel finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and firearm offenses. Any error the trial court committed in giving an incorrect jury instruction on an exception to the justification defense was harmless in light of the evidence showing that defendant more than likely did not act in self-defense when he shot the unarmed victim. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel performed deficiently. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Bethel, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: S24A0396, Categories: Murder, Jury Instructions
J. McMillian finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, armed robbery and a firearm offense. Any error the trial court committed in allowing the detective's identification testimony was unlikely to have affected the trial outcome because the testimony was cumulative of the accomplices' identification of defendant from the same surveillance footage. The trial court's failure to give a jury charge on accomplice corroboration also probably did not affect the trial outcome. However, the trial court incorrectly sentenced defendant separately on the armed robbery conviction since defendant's felony murder conviction was predicated on armed robbery. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: McMillian, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: S24A0270, Categories: Murder
Per curiam, the Georgia Supreme Court grants attorney Joel David Myers's application for certification of fitness to practice law and orders that he may be readmitted as an attorney licensed to practice law. The attorney was previously disbarred for violations of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. The attorney was suffering from undiagnosed severe depression, has taken responsibility for his actions and has demonstrated rehabilitation.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: S24Z0598, Categories: Judiciary, Attorney Discipline
J. Ellington finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, participation in street gang activity, aggravated assault and firearm offenses. An assistant district attorney's testimony that he was familiar with the investigation into another gang murder and a detective's testimony that the victim in that murder was a gang member who was shot in a drive-by were both admissible. Neither witness expressly repeated out-of-court statements by another person and the testimony was not clearly hearsay. The trial court correctly instructed the jury. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Ellington, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: S24A0026, Categories: Murder, Gangs
J. Peterson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction. Defendant failed to show that the trial court improperly excused a juror for cause since he does not argue that the selected jury was biased or incompetent. Defendant also failed to show that his trial counsel was deficient for failing to move to suppress evidence of a photo identification of him by a witness. Defendant did not show that there was a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification because the witness had many opportunities to view defendant and expressed certainty in identifying defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: S24A0105, Categories: Murder
J. Bethel finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence found pursuant to a search warrant for his phone records. The warrant affidavit established probable cause to support the issuance of the warrant based on defendant's behavior, his interactions with police and his connections to the victim, his wife, and the home where the murder occurred. Defendant was using his phone around the time of the murder and the magistrate judge could reasonably infer that his phone records would contain information related to his involvement in the crime. Defendant's trial counsel was not deficient for failing to challenge the warrant based on the claim that it was insufficiently particularized. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Bethel, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: S23A1063, Categories: Murder, Search
[Consolidated.] J. Warren finds that the trial court properly granted defendant's motion to suppress evidence related to one victim's shooting death provided to a detective by defendant's previous attorney. Defendant was indicted for murder and other offenses. The attorney's disclosures violated attorney-client privilege. The state cannot mention the attorney as the source of any physical evidence given to the detective. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion to suppress cell phone records related to both shootings. Both search warrants were supported by probable cause and the affidavits allowed the judges to reasonably infer that one of the target phone numbers belonged to defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Warren, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S23A0900, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Search
Per curiam, the Georgia Supreme Court accepts attorney Shaquandra A. Woods's petition for voluntary interim suspension of her license pending the outcome of an appeal of her conspiracy to commit wire fraud conviction. The conviction violates the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S24Y0566, Categories: Judiciary, Attorney Discipline
J. LaGrua finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, concealing the death of another and a firearm offense. The trial court correctly admitted evidence of Facebook messages and evidence of the victim's bank records which implied that defendant stole from him. The bank records evidence was intrinsic evidence necessary to explain defendant's financial motive and was not unfairly prejudicial. Defendant cannot show that the evidence of the Facebook messages between defendant and a co-conspirator probably impacted the trial outcome. Defendant failed to show that her trial counsel's performance was deficient or that she was prejudiced by the alleged deficiencies. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: LaGrua, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S24A0095, Categories: Evidence, Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Bethel finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and correctly denied his motion for a new trial. In light of the strong evidence of his guilt, defendant failed to show that the trial outcome was likely impacted by the admission of police body camera footage showing the wounded victim into evidence. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient or that the admission of a witness's videotaped statement to investigators was improper. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Bethel, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S24A0148, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. McMillian finds that the appeals court improperly upheld the trial court's order denying the city's motion to dismiss the county's claim alleging that the city's water service charges for residents in unincorporated areas of the county or another municipality amounted to an illegal tax. The county's action under the Services Delivery Strategy Act arose from a dispute with the city over delivery and funding of services for residents. The appeals court also incorrectly upheld the trial court's ruling partially in favor of the county with respect to who should bear the costs of county road maintenance in the unincorporated area. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: McMillian, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S23G0341, Categories: Municipal Law
J. Colvin finds that the trial court properly denied a mother's motions for attorney fees and a contempt citation against the grandparents. The trial court granted the mother's petition to set aside and revoke a final consent order granting grandparent visitation rights. There was no evidence presented to support a contempt finding. The mother's challenge to the constitutionality of the grandparent visitation statute is moot. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Colvin, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S24A0004, Categories: Contempt, Family Law, Attorney Fees