Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Kevonta Daniels was convicted by jury of felony murder in connection with the shooting death of Kenneth Moore; the aggravated assaults of Jai Williams, Jamal Williams, and James Williams; the theft of vehicles belonging to Jamal Williams, Marcus Jones, and Alvin Walker; and other offenses. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Daniels argued on appeal that the trial court erred by admitting statements he made to the police into evidence at trial. Daniels, who was 14 years old at the time of the crimes and when he was interviewed by the police, specifically argued the State failed to prove that he knowingly and voluntarily waived his constitutional rights before speaking with the police and that his statements should also have been excluded because the police failed to comply with provisions of the Juvenile Code relating to custody of juvenile arrestees. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Daniels v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In September 2018, a grand jury returned an indictment charging James Burns, a police officer with the Atlanta Police Department, with crimes connected to a June 2016 on-duty shooting. Burns filed a “Plea in Abatement/Motion to Quash Indictment” arguing that the State failed to provide him his substantive rights under former OCGA sections 17-7-52 and 45-11-4. The trial court denied the motion. The Georgia Supreme Court granted Burns’s application for an interlocutory appeal to review whether the 2016 amendments to OCGA sections 17-7-52 and 45-11-4 applied when an indictment was sought after the effective date of the amendments with respect to crimes allegedly committed prior to the effective date. While the Supreme Court disagreed with the trial court’s reasoning in denying Burns’s motion, it agreed that the 2016 amendments at issue applied to Burns’s prosecution, so the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. View "Burns v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Lowe Payne appealed his convictions for felony murder and other crimes arising out of the shooting death of Carldrake Finister. On appeal, Payne argued the trial court erred when it admitted evidence of prior difficulties between the parties and that trial counsel was deficient for failing to admit a key piece of exculpatory evidence and for failing to request the trial court to reopen the evidence at the jury’s request. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Payne's convictions. View "Payne v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Tahja Williams was found guilty of malice murder and other crimes arising out of the death of Keaira Palmer and the wounding of Stefon Cook in a drive-by shooting in 2016. He appealed, arguing (1) the evidence was insufficient merely showed Williams’ presence, it supported his claim of justification, and it failed to corroborate accomplice testimony; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion in limine to exclude jail calls to which Williams was a party; (3) the trial court erred in denying his motion for mistrial when a co-defendant refused to answer certain questions; and (4) the trial court improperly instructed the jury that it could find Williams guilty of felony murder and not the underlying aggravated assault. The Georgia Supreme Court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support Williams’ convictions, the jury was authorized to reject Williams’ claim of justification, and the accomplice testimony was corroborated. There was no error in denying Williams’ motion to exclude evidence of a jail telephone call as hearsay because it was an admission of a party opponent. The Court found Williams’ motion for mistrial on the ground that a witness refused to answer questions was properly denied because Williams had the opportunity for a full and complete cross-examination of the witness. Finally, Williams’ contention that the trial court improperly instructed the jury was moot. Therefore, judgment was affirmed. View "Williams v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Jermaine Ware was convicted of malice murder and other crimes, with a final disposition being entered by the Superior Court of Polk County, Georgia in December 2012. Ware appealed, and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Ware’s convictions on direct appeal. In June 2021, Ware filed a pro se motion in arrest of judgment, alleging, among other things, that the indictment was defective. The superior court denied Ware’s motion, stating that Ware was barred from raising issues that could have been raised on direct appeal. Ware appealed, but the Supreme Court did not consider the merits of Ware’s arguments because the superior court should have dismissed the motion as untimely. Therefore, the Court vacated the trial court’s order and remanded the case with direction. View "Ware v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Roney Wilson challenged his 2018 convictions for felony murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend Jimeshia Gordon. Appellant contended on appeal that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel in two respects: trial counsel did not object to alleged hearsay from a non-testifying witness used by the State to prove motive, and trial counsel argued a defense that was allegedly contradicted by expert evidence. Because Appellant did not establish that trial counsel performed deficiently in these respects, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Wilson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Rodricus Ward was convicted of malice murder and firearm offenses in connection with the shooting death of his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Darla Gibbons. He appealed, contending that the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred in allowing six witnesses to testify about hearsay statements that Gibbons made to them. Appellant also argued his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance in three ways: by failing to adequately argue against the State’s motion to introduce the hearsay testimony; by failing to try to suppress all of Appellant’s interview with two police detectives; and by failing to sufficiently prepare for trial. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Ward v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Karonta Morrell was charged with 21 counts in connection with the murders of Rocquan Scarver and Jonathan Lang. Prior to trial, the trial court granted Morrell’s motion to sever the counts related to Scarver’s murder from the counts that were related to Lang’s. Morrell was convicted by jury on all charges related to Scarver’s murder. On appeal, Morrell argued the trial court erred in admitting hearsay evidence under the forfeiture-by-wrongdoing provision of OCGA 24-8-804(b)(5), admitting other-acts evidence of witness intimidation connected to Lang’s murder under OCGA 24-4-404(b), and denying his motion to remove a juror whom Morrell claims was not impartial. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the hearsay evidence; it did not abuse its discretion in admitting the other-acts evidence of witness intimidation; allowing the references to Lang’s murder was error harmless; and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Morrell’s motion to excuse the challenged juror. View "Morrell v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Deunta Grier challenged his 2016 convictions for malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Tiffany Bailey. On appeal, Grier contended: (1) the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court committed plain error in admitting hearsay statements allegedly made by Bailey’s five-year-old daughter, J.F., and the couple’s three-year-old daughter, A.G., under the Child Hearsay Statute and in violation of Appellant’s constitutional right of confrontation; and (3) that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Grier v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Demartre Harris was convicted by jury of felony murder and other crimes for his involvement in two drive-by shootings that injured Laundon Alexander and Patrick Boyd and resulted in the death of Marcus Bowden. Harris argued on appeal: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred by admitting evidence pertaining to the weapons and ammunition that law enforcement officials found at the time of Harris’s arrest; (3) the trial court erred by admitting evidence pertaining to Harris’s Facebook posts; and (4) that Harris received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial lawyer failed to call Dashauna Wilborn as a witness. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Harris v. Georgia" on Justia Law