Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant Bobby Jay Cole appealed the trial court’s summary denial of his motion for out-of-time appeal of his murder and armed robbery convictions. Because the trial court did not hold a hearing to determine whether Cole was deprived of his right to appeal due to the constitutionally ineffective assistance of his plea counsel, the Georgia Supreme Court vacated the court’s order and remanded for such a hearing. View "Cole v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Marquerius Dandre Carter was convicted of malice murder and two firearm offenses in connection with the shooting death of Sarferaz Khan. Around 1:00 a.m. on February morning in 2016, Khan was closing the grocery store he owned. Two of his employees, Lynda Rowe and her son Otis, were helping. While the Rowes were outside the store’s doors locking up, Khan picked up trash in the parking lot. Otis saw a person coming around the corner of the store, and both Otis and Lynda heard a man yell, “Don’t move, don’t move,” followed by multiple gunshots. Surveillance video recordings of the parking lot show the man, later identified as Appellant, running into the parking lot with a white t-shirt wrapped around his face and a gun in his hand. Appellant ran toward Khan and fired at least two shots at Khan as Khan ran away, drew his own gun, and fired at least one shot. The Rowes testified that after the two men fell, they struggled on the ground. Appellant had dropped his .380 pistol; he tried to regain control of it, but Lynda, who had run toward the men, grabbed it, pointed it at Appellant, and told him, “Don’t move.” After Otis called 911, Lynda handed him Appellant’s gun, and Otis started repeatedly kicking Appellant. Lynda and Otis also took the t-shirt off Appellant’s face. Appellant told Otis, “I’m sorry Bro. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it.” Meanwhile, Lynda checked on Khan, saw his .40-caliber pistol, picked it up, and kept it until she went to the police department later that morning. Khan was not moving or speaking when Lynda checked on him. Emergency medical personnel found Khan laying face down in the parking lot with no detectable pulse. He took three or four gasping breaths, but then he stopped breathing and could not be revived. Khan had been shot three times: once in the chest, once in the left thigh, and once in the right knee. Appellant disputed the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions, arguing that the Rowes were not credible witnesses and that the State failed to prove that he killed Khan with malicious intent rather than in self-defense. Finding the evidence sufficient to support Appellant's conviction, and that his counsel did not render constitutionally ineffective assistance, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's conviction. View "Carter v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Guy William Heinze, Jr. was convicted by jury for the malice murders of Brenda Flanagan, Guy Heinze, Sr., Russell Toler, Sr., Chrissy Toler, Russell Toler, Jr., Michael Toler, Michelle Toler, and Joseph West; the aggravated assault of B. J., a child; and two drug possession offenses. Heinze lived with his father and several members of the Toler family. In late 2009, Heinze told a coworker about a dispute with his father over money that his father planned to give to other members of his family. Heinze said, “Man, my daddy ain’t never done nothing for me and my brother. Man, I’m going to kill him, I’m gonna kill ‘em all.” Heinze had also gotten into a fight with Russell Toler, Jr., about his car and had told his coworker that he was going to beat Chrissy Toler if she did not arrange a date for him with her friend. According to the medical examiner, the victims had been severely beaten, each sustaining head injuries with a blunt, cylindrical object similar in shape to a gun barrel. On appeal, Heinze argued only that the trial court erred by improperly removing a juror during deliberations and replacing that juror with the first alternate juror. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. View "Heinze v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Detrik Davis appealed pro se a superior court order denying his motion for an out-of-time appeal. The superior court found that Davis failed to carry his burden of showing that the lack of an appeal from the judgment of conviction entered following his guilty plea was the result of counsel’s ineffective assistance. Davis contended he was “forced to improperly proceed pro se on his first appeal from his conviction based on a guilty plea.” He also argued he was entitled to appointed counsel to assist him with his motion for an out-of-time appeal. Finding no merit to these claims of error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Davis v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Malik Golden appealed his conviction for felony murder for the death of Donell Hawkins during an attempted robbery. Golden argued the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. He also challenged the trial court’s admission of his custodial statement on the ground that it was not made freely and voluntarily. And he argued the court erred in admitting hearsay evidence and in denying his motion for a mistrial when his co-indictee testified that Golden had committed a previous robbery. After review of the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court determined the evidence was sufficient to support Golden’s conviction and the trial court committed no reversible error. Judgment was affirmed. View "Golden v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Nicolas Lopez was convicted of malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the shooting death of Robert Moon. After his convictions, Lopez waived his right to the assistance of counsel. Representing himself, Lopez appealed, arguing: (1) his trial counsel labored under a conflict of interest; (2) he otherwise received ineffective assistance of counsel; (3) the trial court erred in failing to ensure an accurate transcription of the trial; (4) the trial judge erred in failing to recuse himself; and (5) the trial court erred in recharging the jury. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Lopez v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Antonio Lanier appealed his convictions for malice murder and other offenses in connection with the shooting deaths of Auda and Gerald Anne Love. Lanier contended the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because it was based on his co-defendants’ uncorroborated testimony, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial, and that the trial court erred by admitting crime scene and autopsy photographs and by improperly excusing certain potential jurors. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the convictions. View "Lanier v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Reggie Gardner was convicted by jury of felony murder in connection with the shooting death of Franklin Wright. Gardner appealed the denial of his motion for a new trial, contending that his trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to request a jury instruction on voluntary manslaughter. The Georgia Supreme Court determined the trial court did not err in finding that counsel’s performance was not constitutionally deficient because counsel chose to present an “all-or-nothing” defense, which was reasonable given that the evidence did not show the irresistible passion resulting from serious provocation required to support a charge on voluntary manslaughter. Therefore, judgment was affirmed. View "Gardner v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Craig Thrift was convicted of felony murder in connection with the death of Terry Rouse. On appeal, Thrift challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction; the denial of his motion for new trial on the general grounds; the denial of five motions for mistrial; the admission of certain evidence presented by the State; the exclusion of certain evidence offered by the defense; and the restriction of his attorney’s cross-examination of one of the State’s witnesses. Additionally, Thrift argued he was entitled to a new trial under a cumulative error analysis. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Thrift's conviction. View "Thrift v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Dallas Beck was convicted of felony murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime in connection with the 2012 shooting death of Corey Liverpool. In Beck’s previous appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, the Court remanded the case for the trial court to review his claim that jurors considered extrajudicial information regarding sentencing. The trial court rejected that claim on remand, and Beck appealed again. In addition to raising the juror issue, Beck argued the trial court erred by refusing to admit carious evidence about the victim, and by failing to charge the jury on voluntary manslaughter. Because the Supreme Court deferred to the trial court’s finding that the testimony about juror misconduct was not credible, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting Beck’s juror misconduct claim. The Supreme Court also concluded the trial court properly refused to give a jury instruction on voluntary manslaughter because no evidence supported it, and that any error by the trial court in limiting evidence about the victim was harmless. View "Beck v. Georgia" on Justia Law