Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In this case, the defendant lived in an apartment with her son, another woman (Hughes), and the victim, Justice Jackson. The arrangement began when Hughes and Jackson, who had been homeless, were allowed to stay for a fee. On the night of the incident, after returning home late with others, the defendant accused someone of stealing from her. An argument ensued, culminating in the defendant ordering everyone out. As Hughes and Jackson were leaving, Hughes saw the defendant with a gun. After Hughes re-entered the apartment to look for her phone, a series of gunshots occurred outside. A witness, O’Cain, testified that he saw the defendant shoot Jackson. Physical evidence at the scene included firearms and shell casings, with expert testimony indicating that the bullet that killed Jackson could have come from a type of gun the defendant owned.A DeKalb County grand jury indicted the defendant on charges including malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. At trial in March 2022, the jury found her guilty on all counts. The Superior Court of DeKalb County sentenced her to life plus five years. The court vacated the felony murder count by operation of law and merged the aggravated assault count. The defendant filed a motion and an amended motion for a new trial, both of which were denied. She appealed to the Court of Appeals of Georgia, which transferred the case to the Supreme Court of Georgia.The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the conviction. It held that OCGA § 24-14-6, which requires circumstantial evidence to exclude every other reasonable hypothesis, did not apply because the State presented direct evidence of guilt. The Court also found that the defendant abandoned her claim regarding juror misconduct by failing to support it with argument or authority on appeal. View "MONTGOMERY v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

After an argument over a missing dog between Arlontae Marks and Calje Jordan, Jordan’s brother, Xaiver Frison, became involved. The dispute began after Jordan had unsuccessfully tried to evict Marks and his girlfriend from her apartment, leading to confrontations about the missing dog and personal belongings. On the day of the shooting, Marks attempted to force entry into Jordan’s apartment and made verbal threats. Later, as tensions escalated, Frison shot Marks multiple times in the lobby of the apartment building, resulting in Marks’s death. Frison claimed he acted in self-defense, asserting that Marks had brandished a gun during the altercation.A Fulton County grand jury indicted Frison on charges including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. After a jury trial in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Frison was found guilty of malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The court sentenced him to life in prison plus five years. Frison’s motion for a new trial was denied.On appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia, Frison argued that the State failed to disprove his self-defense claim beyond a reasonable doubt. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the evidence under the Jackson v. Virginia standard, which requires viewing evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. The Court held that the jury was authorized to reject Frison’s self-defense claim, particularly in light of surveillance footage and witness testimony showing that Marks never brandished his weapon during the incident. The Supreme Court of Georgia found the evidence sufficient to support the convictions and affirmed the judgment. View "FRISON v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

The case involves George Michael Lewis, who was convicted of malice murder and related offenses after fatally shooting Kendra Weathers. Lewis and Weathers had been in a romantic relationship and lived together with Weathers’s children. In April 2015, Lewis was charged with battery against Weathers, resulting in a no-contact order. Despite this, Lewis was present at Weathers’s apartment on May 5, 2015, where an argument ensued, witnessed and audio-recorded by Shenique Griffith. During the altercation, Lewis shot Weathers as she fled the apartment. He then fled the scene, leading police on a lengthy car chase before being apprehended. At trial, Lewis claimed the shooting was accidental, asserting that Weathers produced a gun first and it discharged during a struggle.Following indictment in the Superior Court of Cobb County, a jury found Lewis guilty on all counts except one. The trial court sentenced him to life without parole for malice murder and imposed additional sentences for other offenses. Lewis’s motion for new trial was denied after a hearing, and he appealed.The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the case. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions for malice murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and aggravated stalking, emphasizing the strength of the evidence and the jury’s role in weighing credibility. The court also held that cross-examination about Lewis’s prior fraudulent conduct, underlying a discharged First Offender plea, was proper under evidentiary rules regarding character for truthfulness, and was not unfairly prejudicial. Finally, the court rejected Lewis’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel related to the Jackson-Denno hearing, finding no prejudice or deficient performance. The convictions and sentences were affirmed. View "LEWIS v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

On December 8–9, 2018, a confrontation occurred outside a nightclub involving Jalon Dante Edwards, Colton Sims, Monte Glover, Jr., and others. During the scuffle, Edwards displayed a gun, and shots were fired by multiple individuals, including Edwards and Glover. The victim, DeCoby Barlow, was struck and killed by a bullet determined through ballistics evidence to have been fired from Edwards’s Glock handgun. Surveillance footage and witness testimony corroborated Edwards’s involvement in the shooting. Security guards also reported gunfire from several directions, and the incident resulted in charges against Edwards and his co-defendants.The Henry County Superior Court indicted Edwards and his co-defendants on charges including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and firearm possession. After a joint jury trial, Edwards was convicted on all counts. He was sentenced to life for malice murder, with additional concurrent and consecutive sentences for other offenses; certain counts were merged or vacated. Edwards filed a timely motion for a new trial, which was denied after a hearing. The denial was later vacated and re-entered to preserve appellate rights. Edwards then appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia.The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed Edwards’s arguments regarding sufficiency of the evidence, jury instructions, severance, juror removal, and ineffective assistance of counsel. The Court held that challenges to merged or vacated counts were moot, found no plain error in the jury instructions, ruled that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying severance, and determined that Edwards waived appellate review concerning juror removal. The Court also found no deficient or prejudicial performance by trial counsel. The Court affirmed Edwards’s convictions and sentences. View "EDWARDS v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

On January 29, 2018, James Jones was found shot to death outside his pickup truck in the driveway of a house on Freedman Grove Road in Liberty County, Georgia. Witnesses reported seeing a man in a red sweater or hoodie fleeing the scene, and evidence showed multiple calls between Jones and Eptwarnd Saunders around the time of the murder. Investigators found Saunders's DNA on the passenger-side door handle of Jones’s truck, and Saunders’s cell phone records placed him near the scene at the relevant time. Surveillance and witness testimony established Saunders’s whereabouts earlier in the day, and a co-worker testified that Saunders burned a red sweatshirt after the incident and confessed to killing Jones. Saunders was arrested about a week later, and while he admitted to calling Jones, he denied being at the scene. At trial, Saunders testified to being in the area but denied any involvement.A Liberty County grand jury indicted Saunders for malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. Following a jury trial in the Superior Court of Liberty County, Saunders was convicted on all counts, and the court sentenced him to life without parole for malice murder, with the other counts merging or vacated. Saunders filed a timely motion for new trial, later amended, asserting ineffective assistance of counsel and challenging the verdict as against the weight of the evidence. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the motion, concluding the evidence was sufficient and exercising its discretion as the "thirteenth juror" to uphold the verdict.On appeal, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the conviction and sentence. The Court held that Saunders failed to show his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective, finding the decisions regarding an alibi instruction and mentioning Saunders’s criminal history were reasonable strategic choices. The Court also concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for new trial on general grounds, and such a denial was not subject to appellate review. View "SAUNDERS v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

A man was convicted for the shooting death of his grandfather, whose body was found in a burning house. On the morning in question, emergency responders discovered the victim dead from a gunshot wound, with evidence of three separate fires in the house and gasoline present in several locations. Investigators found the murder weapon and linked it to the shooting. GPS and cell-site data showed that the accused, who had unexpectedly arrived at the victim’s home days before, was present at the house shortly before the fire. Surveillance video corroborated these movements. After the fire, the accused traveled out of state and was later found with a gasoline-stained glove containing his DNA. The accused did not testify but argued that he was merely present at the scene and that someone else could have committed the crime.Following indictment by a Hall County grand jury, the case proceeded to trial in the Superior Court, where a jury found the accused guilty on all counts, including malice murder and arson. The trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment plus additional consecutive terms. He filed a motion for new trial, arguing insufficient evidence and improper admission of certain text messages, which the trial court denied.The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the appeal. It held that the circumstantial evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, was constitutionally sufficient for a reasonable juror to find the accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court also determined that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting two text messages sent by the victim: one was properly admitted as a present sense impression, while the other was not hearsay. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the convictions and sentences. View "MOSS v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

On the night in question, Sherrod Montgomery, Ricky Cox, and others were playing cards at a residence in Carroll County, Georgia. Cox became intoxicated and accused Montgomery of cheating, leading to a physical altercation in which Montgomery struck and repeatedly hit and kicked Cox, who sustained severe injuries. Cox was found unresponsive and later died at the hospital from blunt force trauma. Witnesses provided varying accounts regarding whether Cox was armed, but the medical examiner confirmed extensive injuries resulting from the beating.A Carroll County grand jury indicted Montgomery on charges of malice murder, felony murder predicated on aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery. Following a January 2023 trial in Carroll County Superior Court, the jury found Montgomery not guilty of malice murder but guilty on the remaining counts, including felony murder. The trial court merged the lesser counts into the felony murder conviction and sentenced Montgomery to life with the possibility of parole. Montgomery filed a motion for new trial, which was denied after a hearing.The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed Montgomery’s appeal, addressing two main arguments: first, that the jury’s verdicts were repugnant because a not guilty verdict for malice murder allegedly contradicted a guilty verdict for felony murder predicated on aggravated battery; and second, that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that felony murder did not require proof of malice. The Supreme Court held that the verdicts were not repugnant, because the legal definitions of “malice” differ between malice murder and aggravated battery, and the jury could logically find intent to cause bodily harm without intent to kill. The Court also found no clear or obvious error in the jury instructions when evaluated as a whole. The conviction and sentence were affirmed. View "MONTGOMERY v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

Fernando Rodriguez died following a confrontation with law enforcement officers from the Hampton Police Department and the Henry County Police Department, who responded to a disturbance call. Rodriguez, found nude on a roadway, resisted officers’ attempts to restrain and handcuff him. The officers subdued him by holding him in a prone position and applying pressure to his body while waiting for emergency medical services. When EMS arrived, Rodriguez was not breathing sufficiently and later died at the hospital.The officers were indicted in Henry County on several charges, including malice murder, felony murder predicated on aggravated assault, felony murder predicated on violation of oath by public officer, aggravated assault, and individual counts of violation of oath by public officer. The trial court, Superior Court of Henry County, granted the officers’ general demurrer to the felony murder count predicated on violation of oath by public officer (Count 3). The trial court ruled that violation of oath by public officer was not an inherently dangerous felony and could not serve as a predicate for felony murder, referencing Wilson v. State and distinguishing Eubanks v. State.The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the trial court’s ruling de novo. The Supreme Court held that although violation of oath by public officer is not inherently dangerous per se, it may be considered inherently dangerous depending on the circumstances of its commission, specifically if those circumstances create a foreseeable risk of death. The indictment alleged facts that could allow a jury to find such risk. Therefore, the Supreme Court vacated the trial court’s order granting the general demurrer to Count 3 and remanded the case for the trial court to consider other grounds for demurrer that had not yet been ruled upon. View "THE STATE v. PHILLIPS" on Justia Law

The case involved the disappearance of Ann Berry in 1991, whose remains were not discovered until 2011 near the home she shared with her husband, Kevin James Lee. On the night she vanished, Berry was attempting to leave Lee with their children, as heard during a worried phone call to her sister. Lee later moved with the children to Kansas and gave inconsistent explanations for Berry’s absence. Berry was not officially listed as missing until 1997. In 2011, her remains were found and identified, with the cause of death ruled a homicide. Lee was indicted in 2012 for malice murder and concealing a death, with the case placed on the dead docket until his 2018 arrest in California.After his arrest, the case was returned to active status in the Coweta County Superior Court. A jury trial in 2022 resulted in Lee’s conviction for malice murder and concealing the death of another. The trial court sentenced him to life plus twelve months. Following a motion for new trial, the court set aside the conviction for concealing a death due to a statute of limitations issue but denied other grounds for a new trial.On appeal to the Supreme Court of Georgia, Lee challenged the sufficiency of the evidence for malice murder, the admission of certain hearsay evidence, the excusal of a juror, and the effectiveness of his counsel regarding speedy trial claims and plea negotiations. The Supreme Court of Georgia held that the evidence was sufficient for the malice murder conviction, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in evidentiary and juror decisions, and Lee’s counsel was not constitutionally ineffective. The judgment of conviction for malice murder was affirmed. View "LEE v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

Jody Greathouse was on probation when he was alleged to have violated its terms by leaving an inpatient drug treatment program before completion. He entered into a Consent Order that revoked his probation but suspended the remainder of his sentence on the condition that he successfully complete the program. The Consent Order included a provision in which Greathouse prospectively waived his right to a probation revocation hearing for any future violations related to the treatment program.After Greathouse left the treatment facility, a community supervision officer submitted an affidavit to the trial court, which then issued an arrest order for Greathouse to serve the remainder of his sentence. Greathouse moved to vacate the arrest order and modify the sentence, arguing that he had entered into the Consent Order without counsel and that the waiver of a future hearing was invalid. At a hearing on the motion, the State did not present evidence of the alleged violation, and the trial court denied Greathouse’s motion.The Court of Appeals of Georgia vacated the trial court’s order, holding that under OCGA § 42-8-34.1(b), a court may not revoke probation unless the defendant admits the violation or a hearing is held at which the violation is established by a preponderance of the evidence. The appellate court found that the statute does not allow for a prospective waiver of the right to a future revocation hearing.The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the Court of Appeals’ decision. The Court held that OCGA § 42-8-34.1(b) limits a trial court’s authority to revoke probation to two circumstances: the probationer admits the violation, or a hearing is held and the violation is proven. A defendant’s purported waiver of a future hearing does not relieve the court of its statutory obligation to hold such a hearing if there is no admission. View "THE STATE v. GREATHOUSE" on Justia Law