Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Brian Brookins was convicted by jury of the murders of Sandra Suzanne Brookins and Samantha Rae Giles and of related crimes. The jury declined in its guilt/innocence phase verdict to find Brookins “mentally retarded” or “mentally ill.” At the conclusion of the sentencing phase, the jury found multiple statutory aggravating circumstances and sentenced Brookins to death for each of the two murders. Finding no reversible error in the trial court judgment, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Brookins’s convictions and sentences. View "Brookins v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Walter Lowe was convicted by jury of felony murder and other offenses in connection with the July 2017 shooting death of his wife, Erica Powell. The jury also found Lowe guilty of family violence aggravated assault and cruelty to children in the third degree, crimes that occurred in 2015. Lowe raised two claims of error, both of which were related to the joinder in one indictment of the 2015 acts of domestic violence against Powell and her 2017 murder: (1) the trial court erred in denying Lowe’s motion to sever; and (2) trial counsel’s deficient argument in support of Lowe’s motion to sever constituted ineffective assistance. The Georgia Supreme Court found that because Lowe’s 2015 criminal acts involving Powell would have been admissible in the trial of Powell’s 2017 murder pursuant to OCGA § 24-4-404 (b), Lowe did not show the trial court abused its discretion by denying the motion to sever. The Court found Lowe's second enumeration of error lacked merit because severance was properly denied based upon the relevant and controlling Georgia law counsel cited in his severance motion and supporting brief. Consequently, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s order denying Lowe’s motion for a new trial. However, the Court vacated Lowe’s felony murder sentences and remand for resentencing on those counts because the trial court erred in sentencing Lowe on two counts of felony murder when there was a single victim. View "Lowe v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Rashad Barber appealed his convictions for malice murder and other crimes arising out of the 2014 shooting death of Darius Bottoms. On appeal, Barber contended: (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for murder because the only evidence inculpating him in this crime was presented through the testimony of an alleged accomplice; (2) the trial judge erred by failing to recuse himself after making statements revealing a personal bias; and (3) that the trial court erred when it resentenced him on the charges of participation in criminal street gang activity and possession of a firearm. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Barber v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Douglas Pritchett appealed his conviction for malice murder in connection with the 2017 death of Richard Danley. On appeal, Pritchett argued the trial court erred in denying his amended motion for new trial because: (1) his conviction was based upon insufficient evidence; (2) the trial court improperly admitted the State’s evidence proffered under OCGA § 24-4-404 (b); and (3) he received ineffective assistance of counsel. He also claimed he was entitled to a new trial based on the cumulative and collective prejudice resulting from trial court error and the deficient performance of his trial counsel. After review of the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court disagreed and affirmed Pritchett's conviction. View "Pritchett v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Ronregus Watts challenged his 2008 convictions for felony murder and other crimes in connection with the 2006 shooting death of Thomas Vinson. Watts contended: (1) the evidence presented at trial was legally insufficient to support his convictions; and (2) that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement to the police and physical and testimonial evidence obtained as a result of his statement. The Georgia Supreme Court found, when properly viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdicts, the evidence was sufficient to support Watts' convictions, and the trial court did not err in denying his motion to suppress. Accordingly, the convictions were affirmed. View "Watts v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Curtis Jackson was convicted by jury of malice murder in connection with the 2015 shooting death of Vernard Mays. On appeal, Jackson argued the trial court erred: (1) in failing to instruct the jury that it must find corroboration for an accomplice’s testimony; and (2) in failing to excuse Juror Number 22 for cause. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Jackson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Harvey Lee was convicted by jury of malice murder in connection with the 2017 shooting death of George Young. On appeal, Lee claimed his trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance by failing to object to (1) evidence of George’s good character, (2) a photograph of George in life with his children, and (3) the presentation of and comments on Lee’s silence after he was advised of his Miranda rights. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Lee v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Dongsoo Park was convicted of malice murder in connection with the stabbing death of Kwang Ko (“Ko”) in a parking lot after a confrontation between two groups of people. On appeal, he contended: (1) the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on justification as part of the former suggested pattern jury instruction on mutual combat; (2) his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel; and (3) the trial court erred in merging the aggravated assault count into the felony murder count. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Park v. Georgia" on Justia Law

This case was a dispute over who could run for Chief Magistrate Judge of Douglas County, Georgia in the November 2022 election. After the incumbent successfully challenged the qualifications of the only person who qualified to run for the Democratic nomination, the Douglas County Democratic Party Executive Committee purported to name a replacement. That led to another challenge, this one by the incumbent’s husband (a registered voter eligible to vote in the election), contending that the substitution was improper. The superior court agreed that the Douglas County Board of Elections and Registration (the “Board”) was not legally authorized to allow the substitution, but ruled that the statutory vehicle through which the challenge was asserted — OCGA § 21-2-6 — covered only challenges to a candidate’s qualifications to hold office, not whether the candidate fulfilled the necessary prerequisites to seek office. The Georgia Supreme Court granted an application for expedited consideration in the light of the rapidly approaching election, and reversed. "Code section 21-2-6 allows the challenge here because 'qualifications,' as that term is used in the statute, includes all of the prerequisites for seeking and holding office. The substitute candidate did not properly qualify to seek office, so the Board lacked authority to put him on the ballot. And because electors have an interest in having the community’s government offices filled by duly qualified officials, the Board’s decision allowing an unqualified candidate on the ballot violated a substantial right of an elector." View "Camp v. Williams, et al." on Justia Law

Joseph Jones, III appealed his convictions for felony murder in connection with the shooting deaths of Quatez Strong and Jalen Walker. In his sole enumeration of error, Jones argued that, because “unrebutted” testimony showed that he was provoked to shoot, the trial evidence at most established voluntary manslaughter and was insufficient to support his felony-murder convictions. To this, the Georgia Supreme Court disagreed: because a rational jury could have rejected the testimony that Jones claimed established provocation, and the evidence was more than sufficient to support Jones’s felony-murder convictions, the judgment was affirmed. View "Jones v. Georgia" on Justia Law