Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Million Bedford and Yaheed Brooks were tried together and convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2017 shooting death of Johnny Jackson. Each contended on appeal that there was insufficient evidence to sustain their convictions and that the trial court erred in denying a mistrial due to the State’s improper comment about courtroom spectators during its closing argument. Separately, Bedford claimed the trial court erred by denying his motion for directed verdict of acquittal and by admitting his pretrial statements. Brooks argued that a detective witness improperly bolstered other witnesses’ testimony and that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to allow him to supplement his motion for new trial with new claims and by not setting an evidentiary hearing on the supplemental motion. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Bedford v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Eder Acosta appealed his convictions for malice murder and first-degree cruelty to children in connection with the death of Bryan Guzman. Acosta argued on appeal that the trial court erred in admitting the statements he made during his first interview with law enforcement investigators, and in denying his request to charge the jury on the lesser offense of misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Acosta v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Christopher Truett was convicted of malice murder and related crimes arising out of the beating death of his girlfriend’s two-year-old son, Wyatt Pruitt. He appealed, arguing only that the trial court erred in excluding certain character evidence. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Truett v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In 2016, Michael Gobert was convicted by jury of felony murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Johnny Montgomery and the aggravated assaults of Edrius Putnam and Deisman Harrison. On appeal, Gobert argued the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions; the trial court erred by excluding Gobert from bench conferences; the trial court erred by failing to require the court reporter to transcribe jury selection and the charge conference; and the trial court erred by failing to rebuke the prosecutor for allegedly improper statements made during closing argument or grant a mistrial. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Gobert v. Georgia" on Justia Law

James Vann was convicted by jury of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Tiesha Davis. On appeal, Vann contended that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to request a jury instruction on the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. Because Vann failed to show that his trial counsel was constitutionally deficient in not requesting the instruction, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Vann v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Terrone Anthony was convicted of malice murder, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the shooting death of Kavader McKibben. On appeal, Anthony contended his trial counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance in four ways. After review of the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court disagreed and affirmed Anthony’s convictions. View "Anthony v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Nakotah Smith challenged his 2019 convictions for malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Crystal Vega. Smith did not dispute that the evidence presented at trial was legally sufficient to support his convictions. Instead, he claimed the trial court erred by admitting hearsay evidence under the residual exception without first explicitly making the determinations required by OCGA 24-8-807 (1) to (3), and that the court improperly relied on cases decided under the old Evidence Code. "Although the better practice is for trial courts to state on the record that each requirement of OCGA 24-8-807 has been met and why," the Georgia Supreme Court concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in failing to do so here. Furthermore, the Court found the record did not show the trial court improperly relied on cases interpreting the old Evidence Code in admitting the challenged hearsay evidence. Accordingly, judgment was affirmed. View "Smith v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Courtney Thomas was convicted by jury of malice murder and other offenses in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Shevonta Hardwick. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Thomas appealed, arguing that his trial counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance by withdrawing a motion to suppress evidence obtained by the police during a search of Thomas’s vehicle. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Thomas v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Derrick Thurman challenged his convictions for malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Timothy Hobbs. In his sole enumeration of error, Thurman contended his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to investigate and call Appellant’s grandmother, Bernice Thurman, as an alibi witness. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Thurman v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Fernando Lopez appealed his conviction for malice murder for the stabbing death of Corey Williams. On appeal, Lopez argued that the trial court admitted improper hearsay evidence against him: Williams’s dying statements describing the stabbing and his assailant and Williams’s statements describing his previous and intended future drug sales with Lopez. The Georgia Supreme Court determined the statements about the attack were admissible under the excited utterance hearsay exception, most of the statements about drug sales were admissible under the residual hearsay exception, and the admission of the remaining statement about drug sales was harmless. Accordingly, the Court affirmed. View "Lopez v. Georgia" on Justia Law