Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant Gregory Pearson was convicted by jury on: five counts of armed robbery; two counts of burglary; one count of aggravated assault; and six counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with robberies in two motel rooms in Valdosta, Georgia. He appealed, arguing: (1) his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to object to evidence of three witnesses’ identification of Appellant at a roadside “showup;” (2) the trial court erred and his counsel was ineffective relating to the admission into evidence a surveillance video, because the video was authenticated by his accomplice, LaQuita Frazier, and Frazier identified him on the video; and (3) the lack of a transcript of voir dire, opening statements, and closing arguments violated his constitutional right to due process. Finding no merit to any of these claims, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed his convictions. View "Pearson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Jesse Strickland was convicted by jury of malice murder and armed robbery in connection with the death of Arthur Westberry. On appeal, Strickland contended: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdicts; and (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion for a new trial because a juror lied during voir dire about her knowledge of the parties, facts, and witnesses to the case. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Strickland's convictions. View "Strickland v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Benjamin Finney was convicted of felony murder and two firearm crimes based on the 2008 fatal shooting Gwendolyn Cole, the mother of one of Appellant’s rivals. On appeal, Appellant argued, among other things, that the trial court erred: (1) by admitting hearsay from an accomplice; (2) by failing to give a jury instruction on the accomplice-corroboration requirement; and (3) by admitting evidence of Appellant’s involvement in two prior shootings. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court agreed the trial court erred in these ways, and because the cumulative effect of the errors likely affected the outcome of Appellant’s trial, his convictions were reversed. View "Finney v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Demarco Butler and Antonio Avery were tried jointly by jury and convicted of murder and other crimes in connection with a shooting incident that killed Jordan Collins and wounded his brother, Chad. Butler appealed, contending the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, and that the trial court erred when it admitted expert testimony about gang activity and about Butler’s participation in a gang. In his separate appeal, Avery contended the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions, and that the trial court erred when it admitted a certain part of a recorded police interview. Finding no error in any of these enumerations, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's judgments in both cases. View "Butler v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Delaljujuan Jones was tried by jury and convicted of murder and other crimes in connection with a shooting that killed Stanley Hill and wounded three others. Jones appealed, contending: (1) the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to sustain three of his convictions; (2) the trial court erred when it denied his request to charge the jury on the defense of justification; and (3) that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel when his trial counsel failed to present evidence that Hill and others at the scene of the shooting were members of a gang. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Jones' convictions. View "Jones v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Robert Gialenios was convicted by jury in 2019 of malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony arising out of the shooting death of Bryan Overseth, the husband of Gialenios’ mistress. His amended motion for new trial was denied, and he appealed, asserting seven enumerations of error. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Gialenios' convictions. View "Gialenios v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Kevin Harrison was convicted by jury of murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of his wife, Heather Harrison. In the months leading up to the shooting, Heather had confided in multiple friends and family members that she was unhappy in her marriage; that Harrison was jealous, possessive, and controlling; and that she intended to move out of the couple’s home and seek a divorce. During that time, Harrison, who was aware of Heather’s intentions, contacted many of these same people to ask for advice on how to prevent Heather from leaving him. These witnesses described Harrison as being “broken-hearted” and “in a panic” about the prospect of Heather’s leaving; one witness testified that Harrison would call or text him for advice up to 30 times a day. Several witnesses testified that, on February 27, Heather planned to tell Harrison she was ending the relationship. In the early morning hours between February 27 and February 28, a concerned friend who spoke to Heather on the phone, arrived at the Harrison home to find police had cordoned off the Harrison home; Heather died at the hospital. On appeal, Harrison contended the State failed to carry its burden to disprove that the shooting was accidental, and that the trial court erred in refusing to give a requested jury instruction and in admitting certain other-acts evidence. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Harrison's convictions. View "Harrison v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Nathan Mims was convicted by jury for murder and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime for stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Naty Ortiz-Ramos, to death. His sole enumeration of error was that the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions because the evidence showed that he could not control himself and thus was not responsible for the killing. The Georgia Supreme Court found the jury was not required to believe his explanation of Ortiz-Ramos’s killing; the evidence was sufficient to convict him, so his convictions were affirmed. View "Mims v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Dekito Champ was convicted of malice murder and a firearm offense in connection with the shooting death of his former girlfriend, Jana Watson. Appellant’s sole claim on appeal was that the trial court erred by violating his Georgia constitutional right to be present at numerous bench conferences that occurred during jury selection. After review of the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded the evidence presented at Appellant’s trial was sufficient to support his convictions, so that part of the trial court’s judgment was affirmed. However, because Appellant’s right-to-be-present claim was raised for the first time on appeal, there was no opportunity for the State to develop the record, and there were no findings or rulings by the trial court as to that claim, particularly as to whether Appellant acquiesced to his absences from the bench conferences. The Supreme Court therefore vacated the trial court’s judgment in part and remanded the case for the trial court to hold a hearing and rule in the first instance on Appellant’s constitutional claim. View "Champ v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Kelvin Hurston and his co-defendant Dextreion Shealey were convicted of felony murder and other crimes in connection with the gang-related shooting death of Daven Tucker. Appellant contended the trial court violated his constitutional right to be present during his trial and that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to request a ruling on his motion to sever his trial from Shealey’s, failing to request a ruling on his motion to suppress evidence derived from a search warrant, failing to request a jury instruction on accomplice corroboration, and failing to request a proper limiting instruction on other-act evidence. Finding no merit to any of these claims, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's convictions. View "Hurston v. Georgia" on Justia Law