Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Malik Nunnally was convicted of malice murder and other crimes related to the death of Maya Mitchell. On December 30, 2018, Mitchell left her boyfriend Xavier Lamar's home to meet Nunnally. The next morning, her body was found in Glen Emerald Park with a gunshot wound to the head. Evidence showed that Mitchell had been in contact with a phone number ending in -2170, which was in Nunnally's possession. Text messages indicated that Mitchell was meeting Nunnally to buy marijuana. Nunnally's girlfriend testified that he left her apartment that night with a gun. Cell-site data placed Nunnally's phone near the crime scene. Mitchell's car was later found abandoned, and Nunnally's internet search history showed searches related to the murder.The DeKalb County Superior Court held a jury trial from August 26, 2021, to September 2, 2021. The court granted a directed verdict for Nunnally on the armed robbery charge but the jury found him guilty on the remaining counts. Nunnally was sentenced to life in prison for malice murder, with additional concurrent and consecutive sentences for firearm possession charges. The felony murder count was vacated by operation of law, and the aggravated assault count merged into the malice murder count for sentencing. Nunnally's motion for a new trial was denied by the trial court on December 8, 2023.The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the case and affirmed the convictions. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions under constitutional due process and Georgia statutory law. The court also found no error in the trial court's jury instruction on party to a crime, as there was at least slight evidence supporting the theory that Nunnally was involved in the events leading to Mitchell's murder. The judgment was affirmed, and all justices concurred. View "Nunnally v. State" on Justia Law

In January 2013, Demon Wilson was involved in the shooting death of Desmond Kinnemore in Rockmart, Georgia. Witnesses Cindy and John Bowman saw Kinnemore approach a red sedan, heard a gunshot, and saw Kinnemore fall into a ditch. The red sedan then drove away. Police later found Kinnemore dead with a gunshot wound to the head and a .223 caliber shell casing nearby. Wilson was stopped by police driving a red Cadillac matching the description given by the Bowmans. Further investigation revealed .223 caliber cartridges and a spent shell casing in Wilson’s car, which matched the casing found at the crime scene. Wilson was indicted and convicted of malice murder and related crimes.Wilson was tried in the Superior Court of Polk County, where the jury found him guilty on all counts. The trial court sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for malice murder, merging the other counts for sentencing purposes. Wilson’s motion for a new trial was denied by the trial court.The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the case. Wilson argued that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred by not allowing evidence of other suspects. The Supreme Court held that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction, as it excluded every reasonable hypothesis except Wilson’s guilt. The court also found that any error in excluding evidence of other suspects was harmless, given the strong evidence against Wilson. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the lower court’s judgment, upholding Wilson’s conviction and sentence. View "Wilson v. State" on Justia Law

Rendell Russell was convicted in 2022 for malice murder and related crimes after killing Gregory James with a machete. The incident occurred on October 27, 2020, following Russell's breakup with his girlfriend, Kenisha Shepherd. On the night of the crime, Russell entered Shepherd's apartment uninvited, where James, Shepherd's new boyfriend, was staying. Despite being asked to leave, Russell returned with a machete, confronted James, and ultimately attacked him, resulting in James's death from multiple sharp and blunt force injuries.A Cobb County grand jury indicted Russell on several charges, including malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. The trial court bifurcated the firearm possession count. In March 2022, a jury found Russell guilty on all counts. The trial court sentenced him to life without parole for malice murder and additional concurrent and consecutive terms for other charges. Russell's motion for a new trial was denied by the trial court in December 2023, leading to this appeal.The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the case and affirmed the lower court's decision. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's verdict, rejecting Russell's claim of self-defense. The court found that Russell was the aggressor and that the State had disproved his justification defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Additionally, the court rejected Russell's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, concluding that his trial counsel's decision not to file a pretrial motion for immunity was a reasonable strategic choice. The court determined that there was little chance such a motion would have been successful given the evidence against Russell. View "Russell v. State" on Justia Law

In January 2020, Nelaunte Grant was convicted of felony murder related to the shooting death of Shawntray Grant in June 2018. Nelaunte Grant, along with several co-indictees, was charged in a 108-count indictment for crimes related to Shawntray’s death and other unrelated crimes. However, Nelaunte Grant was only charged with felony murder predicated on armed robbery and armed robbery, not the additional crimes. After a joint trial, she was found guilty of felony murder and armed robbery and sentenced to life in prison. She filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that the evidence presented was insufficient to support her conviction for felony murder.The trial court denied the motion for a new trial. Nelaunte Grant appealed, contending that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction for felony murder, both as a matter of constitutional due process and under Georgia statutory law. She argued that the State failed to prove she was a party to the crimes and that the evidence showed only her mere association with a co-defendant, Osha Dunham, who was directly responsible for Shawntray’s death.The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the lower court's decision. The court found that the evidence, while not overwhelming, was sufficient to support Nelaunte Grant’s conviction. The court noted that the jury could reasonably infer that Nelaunte Grant advised Dunham about Shawntray’s winnings and whereabouts, hatched a plan with Dunham to rob Shawntray, and then attempted to conceal any evidence of her participation in the crimes. The court also rejected Nelaunte Grant’s argument that the State failed to exclude every reasonable hypothesis other than her guilt, finding that the jury was authorized to reject as unreasonable the hypothesis that she "innocently" communicated information about Shawntray’s winnings and whereabouts to Dunham and later made false statements to investigators out of fear. View "GRANT v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

Edward Tavarez was convicted for malice murder and other offenses related to the shooting of Travis Ridley during a supposed drug deal. The indictment charged Tavarez with malice murder, three counts of felony murder, criminal solicitation, two counts of armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Tavarez was found guilty of all charges against him and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for malice murder, among other sentences for the remaining charges.Tavarez appealed his conviction, arguing that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to object to hearsay testimony by a detective that bolstered the account of a key witness. He also argued that the trial court erred by conducting the trial while his legs were shackled, forcing him to choose between not participating in bench conferences or the jury seeing him in these restraints.The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the lower court's decision. The court concluded that Tavarez failed to show that any deficient performance of counsel in failing to object to the detective’s testimony prejudiced his defense. The court also found that Tavarez failed to preserve his claim about the shackling itself, and he has not shown that he was excluded from any particular bench conference at which he had a right to be present. View "TAVAREZ v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

The case involves an appeal from an in rem civil-asset-forfeiture proceeding against over $1 million held in various bank accounts, real property, and other property. The State alleges that the property was used, intended for use, or constituted the proceeds derived from the commission of numerous crimes related to the theft, purchase, and sale of catalytic converters and other regulated metal property. The appellants, Garrett Smith, Stacey Smith, SmithCo Recycling, LLC, and SmithCo Transfer, LLC, claimed to be the owners of the seized property and moved to dismiss the complaint.The appellants argued that the trial court had failed to timely hold a bench trial or order a continuance, in violation of OCGA § 9-16-12 (f), and that the State had failed to allege the essential elements of a crime, in violation of OCGA § 916-12 (a). The trial court denied the motion to dismiss, and the Court of Appeals affirmed.The Supreme Court of Georgia granted certiorari to address three questions. The court concluded that the appellants are estopped from arguing on appeal that the date SmithCo Transfer filed its answer was not equivalent to the date it was served with the complaint. The court affirmed the trial court’s denial of appellants’ motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to timely hold a bench trial or continue the trial under OCGA § 9-16-12 (f). The court also held that the trial court and the Court of Appeals erred in holding that the second amended complaint adequately alleged the essential elements of theft by taking, as required by OCGA § 9-16-12 (a). The court reversed the portion of the Court of Appeals’ opinion holding otherwise. The case was remanded for further proceedings. View "SMITH v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

Dallas McCabe and Akhemu Dunston were convicted for felony murder and criminal attempt to sell marijuana in connection with the shooting death of Joseph Jackson. The crimes occurred on July 16, 2019, and the two were indicted on March 10, 2021, for malice murder, three counts of felony murder, and one count each of criminal attempt to commit robbery by force, criminal attempt to sell marijuana, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. After a jury trial, McCabe and Dunston were found guilty on all counts except malice murder and aggravated assault. They were each sentenced to life in prison for felony murder and a concurrent five-year prison term for criminal attempt to sell marijuana.McCabe and Dunston appealed their convictions, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the jury’s verdicts and that the trial court erred by denying their motion for mistrial based on juror misconduct. McCabe separately contended that the trial court erred by denying his request to strike jurors for misconduct and that trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance. Dunston separately contended that the trial court erred in failing to charge the jury more fully on proximate cause and in failing to sever his trial from McCabe’s. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the convictions. View "DUNSTON v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

The case involves Nicholas Bernard Head, who was convicted for malice murder and other crimes related to the shooting death of Quintavia Wade. Head argued that his rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment were violated when the State read into evidence prior testimony given about the murder weapon by Emily Bagwell, the State’s firearms expert. He also claimed that the trial court committed plain error in allowing another firearms examiner, Kyle Wheelus, to testify as a “verifier” of Bagwell’s analysis about the bullet recovered in Wade’s autopsy.Head was initially indicted for malice murder and other crimes in connection with Wade’s death in 2018. That indictment was nolle prossed. In 2021, a Clarke County grand jury indicted Head for the same crimes. The jury acquitted Head of the counts involving Williams and found him guilty on all remaining counts. The trial court sentenced Head to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole for malice murder and consecutive terms of imprisonment totaling fifteen years for two of the weapons charges. Head filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied by the trial court.In the Supreme Court of Georgia, the court concluded that even if there was error with regard to the admission of Bagwell’s prior testimony about the murder weapon, any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt given the overwhelming evidence against Head, including the testimony of two police officers who witnessed the shooting. The court also found no plain error in allowing Wheelus’s testimony as it was based on his own ballistics analysis. Therefore, the court affirmed the lower court's decision. View "HEAD v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

Shanadore Harmon and Jermaz Lawson had an argument that escalated into a physical fight. During the altercation, Harmon fired a gun into the car Lawson was driving, killing Brittany Trantham, a passenger in the vehicle. Harmon was subsequently charged with malice murder of Trantham, aggravated assault of Lawson, and three firearms offenses. A Richmond County grand jury returned an indictment on all counts, and Harmon was found guilty by a jury trial.Harmon's conviction and sentencing were upheld by the trial court, despite multiple amendments to his motion for a new trial. Harmon appealed, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of Trantham’s murder or the related firearms offenses, that the trial court erred by denying his motion for directed verdict on the aggravated assault and firearm offense related to Lawson, and that he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel did not raise a hearsay objection to the admission of Lawson’s recorded statement to police.The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Harmon's convictions and sentence. The court found that the evidence was sufficient to support each of Harmon’s convictions related to the murder of Trantham and the denial of his motion for directed verdict on the counts related to the assault of Lawson. The court also concluded that Harmon failed to establish that he was prejudiced by counsel’s failure to object to the admission of Lawson’s statement to police. The court noted that even without Lawson’s statement, the evidence against Harmon was still very strong, including testimony from two witnesses who saw Harmon stand behind Trantham’s car and then heard gunshots, as well as evidence that Harmon was found soon after the shooting with the gun that fired both the fatal bullet and all the bullets collected from the crime scene. View "HARMON v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

In July 2019, James Hill, III, was convicted of malice murder for the strangling death of Kelly Marshall. The evidence presented at trial showed that Hill had a history of physically abusing Marshall, threatened to kill her the evening before her death, was the last person to see her alive, attempted to flee law enforcement officers, and lied to law enforcement officers about his whereabouts on the night of Marshall's death. Hill appealed his conviction, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction, that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his motions for mistrial, and that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance.Previously, a Newton County grand jury had indicted Hill for malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. In July 2019, a jury found Hill guilty of all counts and he was sentenced to life in prison for malice murder. Hill filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied by the trial court in February 2023.In the Supreme Court of Georgia, Hill's conviction was affirmed. The court found that the evidence presented at trial was constitutionally sufficient to support the jury’s conclusion that Hill murdered Marshall. The court also found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying Hill’s motions for mistrial. Finally, the court rejected Hill's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, finding that Hill failed to show that a motion to strike certain jurors for cause would have succeeded or that he was prejudiced by his counsel's actions. View "HILL v. THE STATE" on Justia Law