Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant Michael Bennefield appealed a trial court’s denial of his motion for an out-of-time appeal of his 1993 convictions based on his guilty plea to the murder of Erika Darby, the rape and armed robbery of Demetras Turner, and the rape of Judy Bryant. Even assuming Bennefield had a proper excuse for failing to file a timely appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court determined the record revealed he was not entitled to an out-of-time appeal. Therefore, the Court affirmed. View "Bennefield v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Perry Brown was tried and convicted of felony murder for the death of Willie Joe Beasley. Brown appealed, arguing: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction; (2) the trial court erred in admitting statements he made to police because those statements were involuntary and were given after he invoked his right to remain silent; and (3) the court erred in giving a jury charge on conspiracy. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Brown's conviction. View "Brown v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Denzel Atkins was charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of Elijah Wallace in December 2015. The State filed a pretrial notice of its intent to introduce other acts evidence under OCGA 24-4-404(b). After concluding that the other acts evidence met the criteria for admissibility under the Rule 404(b) test, the trial court nevertheless excluded some of the evidence about a 2013 murder; it allowed other evidence that connected Atkins to the 2013 murder victim, including evidence that Atkins was involved in the victim’s kidnapping. The trial court stated that it excluded evidence of the 2013 murder “out of an abundance of caution.” The State appealed that ruling, arguing the trial court lacked a legal basis to exclude the evidence since the Rule 404(b) test was satisfied. The Georgia Supreme Court found the trial court did not confine its analysis to the purposes for which the State sought to introduce the evidence, it applied a standard the Court disapproved for determining whether sufficient proof existed to establish that Atkins committed the 2013 murder, and its reason for excluding the evidence: “an abundance of caution” was not a permissible basis upon which the court may exclude evidence that is otherwise admissible under Rule 404(b). The Court therefore vacated the trial court’s order and remanded for further proceedings. View "Georgia v. Atkins" on Justia Law

In March 2013, a jury found Dantazias Raines guilty of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the killing of Brandy Guined, as well as three counts of misdemeanor obstruction of a police officer. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus 40 years to serve consecutively. His amended motion for new trial was denied, and he appealed, arguing: insufficiency of the evidence with respect to venue; corroboration of accomplice testimony; and the misdemeanor obstruction charges. He also argued the trial court erred in failing to charge on accomplice corroboration; that the jury improperly considered materials not admitted into evidence; and that his sentence of life without parole is void as a matter of law. The Georgia Supreme Court found the evidence sufficient, and found no plain error with respect to the jury instruction or the consideration of evidence by the jury. The Court therefore affirmed in part, but vacated Raines’ sentence and remanded for resentencing in light of the Court's subsequent decision in Veal v. Georgia, 784 SE2d 403 (2016). View "Raines v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Phillip Kennebrew brought an interlocutory appeal of the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress certain physical evidence the State wished to introduce in prosecuting him for murder. The Georgia Supreme Court previously reversed Kennebrew’s convictions for malice murder and other crimes on the ground that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial, including counsel’s failure to pursue suppression of the evidence in question. When new counsel filed a motion to suppress on remand, the trial court denied the motion, finding that the evidence, obtained from two backpacks seized from the dorm room of Kennebrew’s girlfriend when he was arrested there, “would have inevitably been discovered through a lawful inventory search.” Kennebrew argued that the Supreme Court's ruling in his prior appeal was the law of the case precluding denial of his motion to suppress. Alternatively, he argued the trial court was wrong on the merits because the evidence was not admissible under an inevitable discovery theory. Whether or not the Supreme Court's prior opinion precluded the trial court from denying the motion to suppress, the Court determined the trial court’s ruling was wrong on the merits, and reversed. View "Kennebrew v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Philmore Reed, Jr. resided at a property located at 1020 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and operated businesses there and at other contiguous parcels. At trial, evidence was presented to show that commencing in 2009, appellant was involved in a civil dispute with other parties concerning ownership of these parcels. In late 2010, the party who claimed to be the rightful owner of the parcel on which appellant resided, by virtue of a judicial sale of the property, hired a tow company to enter the property to remove old vehicles parked on it. That tow truck operator left after appellant threatened his life if he came back. In February 2011, the owner hired a different company, and employees Travis Fenty and James Donegan went to the property three different times. On February 3, appellant called the police, and when the police arrived, Fenty and Donegan stated they would not return without the proper documentation to show they had authority from the true owner of the property. When they returned weeks later, they saw appellant standing on the roof of the building with a shotgun. Fenty called 911 and asked appellant to come down to talk, telling him they had with them a copy of the deed showing the person who hired them owned the property. Appellant told the men he was through talking and fired two shots at them. Fenty was struck in the chest with the spray of shotgun pellets from the first shot, and died from his wounds. Appellant was charged with murder and other offenses. Following a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter, as well as the count alleging aggravated assault upon Donegan. Appellant was found guilty of all remaining counts, and the trial judge sentenced him to life in prison for malice murder plus five years to serve for the possession of a firearm offense. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Reed's convictions. View "Reed v. Georgia" on Justia Law

John Johnson was convicted of murder but was granted a new trial. The State appealed, and the trial court entered an order denying Johnson’s motion for appeal bond. Johnson appealed that last order, contending that it was directly appealable pursuant to OCGA 5-7-51 and that the denial of bond violated the same statute. The Georgia Supreme Court did not concur with the trial court's reasoning, but affirmed the outcome: "Because the trial court undertook such an evaluation and explained its reasons, and nothing in its order or in the record shows that it manifestly or flagrantly abused its discretion, the denial of Johnson’s motion for appeal bond is affirmed." View "Johnson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Levaughn Sloans was tried by a jury and found guilty of murder, felony murder, criminal damage to property in the first degree, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime related to the death of Antonio President. He appealed, arguing the evidence was insufficient and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. After a review of the record, the Georgia Supreme Court found no reversible error and affirmed Sloans' convictions. View "Sloans v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Arielle Turner was indicted by grand jury for the December 2015 death of her infant child. Turner filed a pre-trial motion to suppress, seeking to prohibit the State from adducing items that were seized from her house during what she says was an unlawful search. Following a hearing, the trial court agreed that the search was unlawful and granted the motion. The State appealed, but after a review of the record, the Georgia Supreme Court found no error and affirmed the trial court's decision. View "Georgia v. Turner" on Justia Law

Following a jury trial, Quantavious Guffie was found guilty of malice murder and various other offenses in connection with the shooting death of Drexel Berry. Guffie appealed, arguing trial court error and ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Guffie v. Georgia" on Justia Law