Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant Isaiah Blackmon challenges his convictions for felony murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Edward Cobb and the aggravated assault of Stanton Gilliam. The charges arose from an arrangement to purchase marijuana that did not go as planned. Appellant contended the evidence was legally insufficient to support his convictions and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed appellant’s convictions. View "Blackmon v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Dennis Hampton was found guilty of malice murder and other related crimes in connection with the shooting death of Takilam Terrell. The charges arose from an altercation outside a Cobb County bar in 2013. On appeal, he contended, among other things, that the trial court gave an impermissibly coercive jury charge and erred in sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for malice murder. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the convictions. View "Hampton v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Following the denial of his motion for new trial, as amended, Darius Davis appealed his convictions and sentences for malice murder, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the fatal shooting of Anton Johnson and the wounding of Jamal Makanjoula. The charges stemmed from the attempted fencing of a stolen television, and the attempted robbery of a drug dealer. Davis challenged the trial court’s permitting cross-examination of alibi witnesses about prior altercations with him, the failure of the trial court to give a limiting instruction regarding the evidence of prior altercations, the admission into evidence of certain other testimony at trial, and the effectiveness of his trial counsel. Finding the challenges to be without merit, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the convictions. View "Davis v. Georgia" on Justia Law

The State appealed a trial court’s order granting Nathaniel Wilkins’ pretrial motion in limine to exclude incriminating statements made by his co-defendant Michael Jones with regard to a 2013 double murder. Wilkins and Jones were indicted by grand jury for malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault arising from the execution-style shootings of Forrest Ison and Alice Stevens at their home in Thunderbolt, Georgia. Jones’ case was severed from that of Wilkins, and he was tried in April 2016 and found guilty on all counts. Most of the statements complained of here were admitted into evidence at Jones’ trial. The State expected the evidence to show that Wilkins, Jones, and Tracy Burgess, the driver of the getaway car, attempted to avoid arrest after the murders by hiding in the homes of friends and family members in Georgia and South Carolina. During that time, Jones allegedly made a number of incriminating statements to witnesses. The trial court held that some of the statements, while made by a co-conspirator, were not made “in furtherance of the conspiracy” and thus did not fall within the exception to the hearsay rule provided by OCGA 24-8-801 (d) (2) (E). Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in so doing, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Georgia v. Wilkins" on Justia Law

Derrick Williams appealed the denial of his motion for a new trial following his conviction for malice murder for the death of his wife, Finesse Dawson. Williams argued the trial court erred by: (1) excluding evidence regarding drugs found in Dawson’s blood; (2) admitting evidence of prior bad acts by Williams; and (3) allowing an irrelevant and prejudicial demonstration. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded there was no reversible error in excluding the toxicology evidence, and that any error in the trial court’s decisions to admit the prior bad acts and allow the State’s demonstration was harmless. View "Williams v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In 2001 Appellant Danny Deloney pled guilty to the felony murder of his six-year-old daughter, Porsha, and numerous other crimes. For this, he received the death penalty. Fourteen years later, Deloney filed a motion for out-of-time appeal, which the trial court denied. He appealed pro se, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion and in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on the motion. Pretermitting whether Appellant alleged a proper excuse for not filing a timely appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court determined the record shows that he is not entitled to an out-of-time appeal and thus that the trial court was not required to hold an evidentiary hearing on his motion. Accordingly, we affirm. View "Deloney v. Georgia" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, appellant Mellecia Spencer was convicted of one count of driving under the influence of alcohol (less safe) and one count of possession of an open container. She appealed the judgment of conviction and sentence only as to the conviction for DUI. The Court of Appeals affirmed her conviction. The Georgia Supreme Court granted Spencer’s petition for certiorari to consider whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that the trial court properly admitted a police officer’s testimony correlating the results of a horizontal gaze nystagmus (“HGN”) test with a numeric blood alcohol content or “BAC”. Because the Court found this testimony was admitted without a sufficient foundation having been laid under Harper v. State, 292 SE2d 389 (1982), it reversed the judgment of conviction and sentence with respect to the DUI. View "Spencer v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Al Neeley was convicted by jury of malice murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, all relating to the shooting death of Shelton Brooks. His amended motion for a new trial was denied, and he appealed, arguing the evidence presented against him at trial was insufficient to support his convictions, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no reversible error after a review of the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Neely v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Michael Miller was tried by jury and convicted of murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Shawnita. Miller appealed, arguing that an error in the poll of the jury required his convictions be set aside, and asserting that his prosecution for the crimes of which he was convicted other than murder was barred by the statute of limitations. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Miller v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Joseph Arnold was convicted by jury of the murder of Gerald Osborne and the unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Arnold appealed, contending: (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court erred when it denied his motion for pretrial immunity; and (3) that it erred when it limited his voir dire of prospective jurors. Upon review of the record and briefs, the Georgia Supreme Court found no reversible error and affirmed. View "Arnold v. Georgia" on Justia Law