Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant Dakota Swann challenged his 2014 convictions for murder and other crimes in connection with the 2008 shooting death of Shannon Williams. Appellant argued his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to fully investigate an earlier shooting incident involving Appellant or to utilize it at trial and for not discussing the parole implications of the State’s plea offer. The Georgia Supreme Court disagreed with this contention and affirmed the trial court. View "Swann v. Georgia" on Justia Law

George Hughes, a tenant in the Venetian Hills apartment complex, died after a fire broke out in the early morning of March 15, 2017. Police investigated the fire, identified Kamara Wheeler as an arson suspect, and on March 18, 2017, arrested her on an unrelated warrant. When officers interviewed Wheeler about the apartment fire, she admitted that she started it. She was then indicted by grand jury for one count of malice murder, one count of felony murder predicated on arson, and four counts of arson in the first degree. Prior to trial, the State provided Wheeler with a “Notice of Intent to Present Evidence of Other Acts,” and an amended notice on August 13, 2019, indicating that it intended to offer evidence under OCGA 24-4-404(b) of three previous instances in which Wheeler set or attempted to set fires as proof of her motive and intent in this case. The trial court denied the State's 404(b) motion. On appeal, the State argued the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion because it omitted key facts from its analysis and misapplied the three-part test governing the admissibility of “other acts” evidence under Rule 404 (b). The Georgia Supreme Court did not reach the merits of the State's claims, holding that the the timing and certification requirements set forth in OCGA 5-7-1(a)(5) were jurisdictional, and that because the State failed to comply with OCGA 5-7-1(a)(5)(B), the Supreme Court determined it lacked jurisdiction to hear the State’s appeal. Therefore, this appeal was dismissed. View "Georgia v. Wheeler" on Justia Law

The State appealed a trial court’s order partially denying its “Motion to Include Relevant and Probative Evidence,” which sought a pretrial ruling on the admissibility of two photographs for use at Justin Stephens’s second trial for the murder of Christopher Starks. One of those photographs purportedly depicted Stephens with a gun in his hand (“Exhibit 1”). The other photograph depicted Stephens’s girlfriend as she pointed a handgun at the camera and Stephens in the background holding what the State described as a silver gun magazine (“Exhibit 2”). The trial court ruled that Exhibit 2 was inadmissible during Stephens’s first trial, and again found it to be inadmissible in denying the State’s motion to introduce Exhibit 2 at the second trial. Because the Georgia Supreme Court concluded the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining that Exhibit 2 was irrelevant, it affirmed. View "Georgia v. Stephens" on Justia Law

Christopher Glenn’s petition for a writ of certiorari was granted for consideration of whether the Georgia Court of Appeals erred in affirming a trial court’s order revoking Glenn’s probation based on its determination by a preponderance of the evidence that Glenn committed felony interference with government property by kicking and damaging the door of a police car when he was detained inside. Glenn claimed he damaged the door in the court of exercising his common-law right to resist an unlawful arrest and detention; this claim was rejected by both the trial and appellate courts. On appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court addressed: (1) whether a person has a common-law right to attempt to escape from the detention resulting from an unlawful arrest; and (2) if so, whether a person may damage government property in such an attempt. The Court held that the common-law right to resist an unlawful arrest includes the right to use proportionate force against government property to escape an unlawful detention following the arrest. Because the trial court found that Glenn’s arrest was unlawful but did not then consider whether the force he used in attempting to escape the ensuing unlawful detention was proportionate, the Court vacated the Court of Appeals’ decision with direction that the case be remanded to the trial court to make this "essential" determination. View "Glenn v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Brandon Cross was convicted in 2003 of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the death of Debra Hymer. On appeal, he argued the trial court erred: (1) by declining to allow him to impeach the hearsay statements of his co-conspirator Jessica Cates; (2) by failing to charge the jury as to the burden of proof for co-conspirator statements; and (3) by admitting three autopsy photographs and a video recording of the crime scene. He also argued he should have been granted a new trial because the record was insufficiently comple View "Cross v. Georgia" on Justia Law

James Eggleston was tried by jury and convicted of felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with Richard Byrd’s death. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Eggleston appealed, contending only that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions. Because the evidence was sufficient, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Eggleston v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Andre Bridgewater was tried by jury and convicted of murder and other crimes in connection with the fatal shooting of Myron Short. Bridgewater appealed, contending that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions and that the trial court erred when it admitted the prior inconsistent statements of a witness. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Bridgewater v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Todd Welch was convicted by jury of murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Christopher Brown and the aggravated assault of Darrell Agee. Welch contended on appeal that the trial court erred by improperly admitting hearsay evidence under the forfeiture-by-wrongdoing exception to the rule against hearsay, and erred by failing to give his requested jury instruction on grave suspicion. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded the arguments Welch raised were without merit. However, the Court found it had to vacate Welch’s sentences as to Counts 10 and 20 of his indictment in order to correct sentencing errors that harmed him. View "Welch v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Donald Griffin was convicted by jury of felony murder in connection with the stabbing death of Truitt Cheeley. Griffin appealed the denial of his motion for a new trial, contending that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence witness testimony about Griffin’s racism and Griffin’s custodial statement. Griffin also claimed his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective. Furthermore, Griffin contended the trial court erred in denying his request to cross-examine a witness who testified as to Cheeley’s reputation for peacefulness with evidence that Cheeley had been convicted of a crime of violence. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Griffin v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Darien Meheux appealed his 2014 conviction for the malice murder of Jasmine Benjamin, claiming the trial court erred in admitting a handwritten statement and that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective. Because Meheux, acting pro se, filed a motion for new trial while he was still represented by trial counsel and his amended motion for new trial filed by counsel was untimely, the Georgia Supreme Court determined the trial court should have dismissed the motion rather than deciding it on the merits, and therefore vacated the judgment and remanded the case with direction to the trial court to dismiss the motion. View "Meheux v. Georgia" on Justia Law