Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Georgia Supreme Court granted Markell Rawles' application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal the denial of his petition for habeas corpus. The issue presented was whether the habeas court erred in finding that Rawles waived his right to file the petition in exchange for a reduced sentence. Rawles was convicted on six counts each of aggravated assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment and weapons possession in the commission of a crime. On appeal of his sentence, new counsel amended his motion for a new trial, arguing the evidence was insufficient to support the kidnapping charge, that there were multiple errors in the trial court's instructing the jury, and that there were irregularities in the verdict form. The State conceded that these issues had arguable merit; as a result, Rawles and the State discussed Rawles waiving his right to appeal for resentencing to a lesser sentence. The Supreme Court found, after review of the record, that the State did not meet its burden of showing Rawles' waiver, and therefore reversed the trial court's ruling and remanded this case for further proceedings. View "Rawles v. Holt" on Justia Law

Jeneral Walter appealed his convictions for felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Both convictions stemmed from the 2010 shooting death of T’Shanerka Smith. Walter argued the trial court erred in denying his motion to sever his trial from that of his co-defendants, and that the trial court erred by instructing the jury it could consider a witness' "level of certainty" in assessing the reliability of the witness' identification, and by failing to instruct the jury that accomplice testimony had to be corroborated. The Georgia Supreme Court determined the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to sever, because Walter did not show a clear prejudice and denial of due process resulting from the joint trial. The Court also determined Walter did not show plain error in the jury instructions, since any error in the level-of-certainty instruction did not likely affect the outcome, and no accomplice-corroboration instruction was required on this record. View "Walter v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In 2006, Terrence Johnson was tried jury and convicted of armed robbery, aggravated assault with intent to rob, and unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Johnson appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions, but it found that the trial judge failed to exercise his sentencing discretion and remanded the case for resentencing. Johnson was sentenced to concurrent terms of 20 years (13 years of imprisonment, followed by seven years on probation) for armed robbery and aggravated assault with intent to rob, and a consecutive term of five years on probation for unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. In 2011, Johnson sought habeas relief, alleging that the aggravated assault with intent to rob merged with the armed robbery of which he was convicted, and he should not have been separately convicted of the aggravated assault. The habeas court denied his petition, and Johnson appealed. The State conceded that the aggravated assault and armed robbery merged; the Georgia Supreme Court agreed and reversed the denial of the writ of habeas corpus. The case was remanded for the habeas court to issue a writ setting aside the separate conviction and sentence for aggravated assault. View "Johnson v. Williams" on Justia Law

Appellant Alejandro Rivera was tried and convicted of malice murder and related offenses in connection with the February 2008 shooting death of Mark Martin. Rivera appealed, alleging the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court committed reversible error. Finding no such errors, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Rivera v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant James Hightower was convicted of malice murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of aggravated battery, a firearm offense, and misdemeanor obstruction in connection with the shooting death of Anthony Bowers, the aggravated assaults of Demetrius Cosby and Myeisha Brown, and the aggravated battery of Cosby. Appellant argued on appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court that the trial court erred by making a comment that improperly bolstered an expert witness’ credibility and that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to object to the comment. Appellant also argued his conviction for aggravated assault of Cosby should have been merged into his conviction for aggravated battery of Cosby. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hightower v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Jonathan Smith appealed his convictions for murder and related offenses arising out of the beating death of sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Hair and her unborn child. On appeal, Appellant argued only that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for false imprisonment. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Smith v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant R’Shon Chauncey Blake challenged the trial court’s denial of his plea in bar, based on double jeopardy, after the court declared a mistrial over Blake’s objection of his murder trial during jury deliberations. The Georgia Supreme Court found the trial court determined that “jury-wide discussion of improper information about legal terminology compromised the integrity of a verdict and manifestly necessitated a mistrial.” Having reviewed the record, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declaring a mistrial. View "Blake v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In 2015, a grand jury charged Dantevoise Doleman with a series of offenses including murder, armed robbery and possession of a firearm. He was convicted in a jury trial and appealed that conviction, arguing the trial court made certain evidentiary errors, and that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Doleman's convictions. View "Doleman v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Frank Henderson was convicted of felony murder and related offenses in connection with the beating death of Monica Davis. On appeal, Appellant contended that the Georgia Supreme Court should grant him a new trial, that trial counsel was ineffective, and that the trial court erred in admitting certain testimony. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed Henderson's conviction. View "Henderson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In this case's first appearance before the Georgia Supreme Court in 2014, Wayne Welbon was found guilty of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2013 shooting death of Taurean Reeves. After the trial court sentenced Welborn and denied his motion for. Anew trial, Weldon appealed, contending he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel by failing to move to strike a certain prospective juror for cause, and that the trial court erred by allowing the State to present testimony regarding statements Welbon allegedly made to the police involuntarily. The Court found the evidence sufficient to support the conviction. Nevertheless, the Court vacated the trial court's order denying a new trial and remanded the case for the trial court to consider Welbon's involuntariness claim under the proper legal standard, and to make appropriate factual findings. The trial court did so on remand, and denied the motion for a new trial a second time, concluding the State carried its burden of demonstrating the voluntariness of Welbon's statements by a preponderance of the evidence. Finding no error, the Supreme Court again affirmed, finding the evidence sufficient to sustain Welbon's convictions. View "Welbon v. Georgia" on Justia Law