23 results for 'judge:"Pinson"'.
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and a firearm offense. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions for shooting the victim 16 times, including evidence that defendant told his coworkers he hated the victim and fantasized about killing him. The trial court correctly refused to give defendant's requested jury instruction on voluntary manslaughter. The victim's actions in yelling, cursing and threatening to get a gun were not enough to provoke a sudden, irresistible passion in a reasonable person to warrant the injury instruction. Defendant's trial counsel was not deficient for failing to object to testimony from defendant's coworkers. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: S24A0405, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder, Jury Instructions
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. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of rape and murder. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including evidence that one victim was found beaten by the side of a road with defendant's sperm in her vagina and that defendant's conduct accelerated her death from cocaine intoxication. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion to dismiss the rape charge with respect to the second victim on speedy trial grounds. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by the delay of more than a decade between his indictment and trial for the second victim's rape. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S23A0927, Categories: Murder, Sex Offender, Speedy Trial
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and aggravated assault following his guilty plea. Defendant's plea was made voluntarily even though he was not informed of his right against self-incrimination. The Georgia Supreme Court switches course on its prior precedent with respect to overturning guilty pleas and rules that a guilty plea is valid so long as the record shows that it is voluntary and intelligent under the totality of the circumstances. A plea may be valid even if a defendant is not expressly advised on the record of his rights to a jury trial, to confront witnesses against him and his right against self-incrimination. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: S23A0840, Categories: Murder, Plea
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J. Pinson finds that the appeals court improperly overturned the trial court's rejection of the corporation's motion to dismiss the company's appeal of the ruling in the corporation's favor in an action for the right to inspect the company's business records. The appeals court correctly found that the trial court's order was subject to review for abuse of discretion. However, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to dismiss and in finding that the company's delay in filing a hearing transcript was not inexcusable. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: S23G0263, Categories: Civil Procedure
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction, including evidence that defendant threatened to kill the victim in the months before the murders. The trial court correctly admitted testimony about defendant's possession of a gun similar to the murder weapon. 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: Pinson, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: S23A1034, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Pinson finds that the appeals court improperly overturned the trial court's ruling which reversed a final agency decision that held the hospital would have to obtain a new certificate of need to change from a long-term care hospital to a short-term care hospital. The decision arose out of an action brought by the hospital against the university and department. The appeals court incorrectly found that certificates of need confer only public rights and that the hospital's grandfathered right to operate as short-term hospital was not a vested right. A certificate of need's authorization to operate as a general acute care hospital confers private rights on the recipient. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: S22G1282, Categories: Property
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon during a crime. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to allow the jury to reject defendant's claim that he was framed by a police officer. The trial court correctly admitted into evidence entries from the victim's journal, which was found in a closet at the crime scene. The victim, defendant's wife, wrote in the days before the crime about her volatile relationship with defendant and about her fear of what might happen between them. There was no evidence that the victim had a motive to fabricate her statements. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: S23A1089, Categories: Evidence, Murder
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and firearm offenses. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's request to present a witness's testimony via videoconference. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: S23A1179, Categories: Firearms, Murder
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder. The victim, defendant's mother, was discovered dead in a barren room with signs of severe neglect including necrosis and evidence that the skin of the victim's knees fused together from lack of movement. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction and to allow the jury to find that defendant acted with malice. Defendant was the victim's sole caregiver and the victim's need for medical attention was obvious in light of her rotting muscle and exposed bones from bed sores. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: S23A0905, Categories: Murder
[Consolidated.] J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendants of murder, armed robbery and other offenses. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendants' convictions, including evidence that a witness identified one defendant as the shooter. The trial court did not commit any error in instructing the jury on conspiracy over the objection of one defendant because there was ample evidence supporting the jury charge. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: S23A0881, Categories: Murder, Robbery, Conspiracy
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to allow the jury to reject defendant's theory of self-defense. The trial court correctly instructed the jury on simple assault and defendant failed to show that the trial court committed any error in failing to charge the jury on the lesser offenses of felony or misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: S23A0802, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder, Jury Instructions
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder. Defendant's conviction arose from her partner's developmentally disabled sister's death due to heroin toxicity after defendant spilled heroin in their house. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction, including evidence that it was foreseeable to defendant that keeping a large amount of heroin in a house where a vulnerable person lived and doing drug deals in an area that person could access could lead to that person being fatally exposed to the drug. Defendant's possession of heroin with intent to distribute therefore created a foreseeable risk of death. The trial court correctly instructed the jury and any error the trial court committed in admitting the victim's hearsay statement alleging that defendant was "mean" to her was harmless. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: S23A0519, Categories: Murder
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and other offenses. The trial court correctly instructed the jury on party to a crime and conspiracy because there was at least slight evidence to support the theories. The trial court also did not commit any error by instructing the jury that provocation by words alone was not a defense to murder. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: S23A0682, Categories: Murder, Jury Instructions
J. Pinson finds that the appeals court improperly overturned the trial court's ruling accepting the parties' choice of Florida law to govern employment contracts at issue in a breach of contract action brought by motorcycle dealerships against a former employee. The action arose after the employee allegedly violated restrictive covenants in the agreements by going to work for a competitor. The case is remanded to allow the trial court to apply the framework laid out by the Georgia Supreme Court to determine whether the restrictive covenants comply with the Georgia Restrictive Covenants Act. If the covenants do not comply with the Act, enforcement of them would violate Georgia public policy and Florida law cannot be applied to enforce them. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: S22G0854, Categories: Choice Of Law, Contract
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, aggravated assault and other offenses. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by his trial counsel's allegedly deficient performance. Defendant's counsel was not deficient for failing to request a limiting instruction allowing the jury to consider defendant's stipulations to prior convictions only for the purposes of proving his status as a convicted felon or for impeachment purposes. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: S23A0454, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and other offenses. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's malice murder conviction, including evidence that defendant stabbed the victim 50 times and was not acting in self-defense. The trial court did not commit any error by failing to instruct the jury that defendant had no duty to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense. The state did not argue that defendant should have retreated. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by his counsel's allegedly deficient performance. Although defendant's felony murder conviction should have been vacated by operation of law rather than merged, the error has no actual effect on defendant's sentence. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: S23A0613, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder
[Consolidated.] J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendants of murder and other offenses. The trial court's admission of an edited version of defendant's and co-defendant's recorded out-of-court statement to police did not violate defendant's Confrontation Clause rights. The statement was not directly inculpatory of defendant. Although the trial court incorrectly failed to give the jury a limiting instruction, defendant failed to show that the trial outcome was likely impacted by the error. Sufficient evidence was presented to support co-defendant's convictions, including his text messages bragging about the murders and his admission that he was at the scene of the shootings. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: S23A0559, Categories: Confrontation, Murder
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and cruelty to children. The trial court did not commit any error in admitting photos taken before and during the victim's autopsy into evidence. The photos were relevant as to the timing and manner of the victim's injuries and their probative value outweighed any unfair prejudice to defendant. It is unlikely that the pre-autopsy photo contributed to the trial outcome. The trial court did not violate defendant's right to confrontation when it limited cross-examination of the victim's mother on topics including her postpartum depression and her purported dishonesty about the paternity of a child. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: June 21, 2023, Case #: S23A0338, Categories: Murder, Child Victims
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and firearm offenses. Defendant has not shown that his trial counsel was deficient for failing to correct the medical examiner's testimony about the range the fatal gunshot was fired from. Defendant's counsel thoroughly cross-examined the medical examiner about the range-of-fire estimate and elicited testimony from him that the gun could have been fired closer than the estimated two to three feet. Defendant failed to show that the trial outcome was impacted by a passing comment the trial court made characterizing the range-of-fire evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: June 21, 2023, Case #: S23A0228, Categories: Firearms, Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Pinson finds that the appeals court improperly upheld the trial court's ruling in favor of the individuals in an action against the extended-stay motel alleging that they could not be evicted from the motel without dispossessory proceedings. Neither court correctly determined whether the parties were in a landlord-tenant relationship or an innkeeper-guest relationship. The case is remanded to allow the trial court to apply the legal framework laid out in the instant opinion. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: June 21, 2023, Case #: S22G0838, Categories: Landlord Tenant
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and firearm offenses. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by his trial counsel's reliance on outdated precedent in seeking the admission of evidence about the victim's past criminal convictions. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to reject defendant's claim that he killed the victim in self-defense. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: S23A0281, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Murder