Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant James Hampton was tried with Dwayne Abney and convicted of three counts of malice murder and several other crimes in connection with the shooting deaths of Kiana Marshall, Isaiah Martin, and Alexis Kitchens. Marshall's former roommate, Diamond Butler, asked Appellant to help her move out of Marshall's home. Butler could not fit all of her belongings into Appellant's car; appellant asked Butler whether she wanted him to shoot up the house. Appellant told Butler he had "killed all three of them." Abney was arrested following a traffic stop; appellant was found and arrested the next day. On appeal, Appellant contended the trial court erred by admitting the hearsay testimony of a jailhouse informant and by excluding the testimony of Appellant’s proposed alibi witness. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hampton v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant, Warden Glen Johnson, challenged a habeas court’s order setting aside Larry Williams’ convictions for four counts of armed robbery, one count of terroristic threats, and one count of using a hoax device. In its order granting habeas relief, the court determined that Williams received ineffective assistance when his appellate counsel failed to allege ineffective assistance of trial counsel (1) during the plea bargaining process and (2) in failing to object to improper character evidence. The habeas court determined that because the evidence presented against Williams at trial was not strong, and the only witness identifying Williams was an officer who did not see Williams commit the robbery; the officer's testimony insinuated that Williams was a repeat offender and was harmful. The habeas court went on to find that had the issue been raised on appeal, there was a reasonable probability that Williams would have been granted a new trial, asserting that, under former OCGA 24-9-20 (b), bad character evidence was disallowed against a defendant unless the defendant testified, and Williams did not do so. For these reasons, the habeas court granted Williams’ petition for a writ of habeas corpus on the basis of both claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. Having reviewed the record, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded the habeas court erred. The Supreme Court concluded Williams could not show the outcome of the plea process would have been more favorable to him had he received different legal advice from his trial counsel. And contrary to the habeas court's conclusions, the Supreme Court determined Williams could not show as a threshold matter that his trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to object to the officer’s testimony on the basis that it included harmful character evidence or that such objection would have been sustained. The Supreme Court therefore reversed the habeas court's judgment. View "Johnson v. Williams" on Justia Law

Antione Hood was convicted by jury of felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the shooting death of Candace McGriff. Hood appealed, contending that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to consult a certain expert on gunshot and gunpowder residue. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court disagreed and affirmed Hood's convictions. View "Hood v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Monique Sullivan was convicted by jury of felony murder predicated on aggravated assault in connection with the death of Amelia Hiltz; the aggravated assaults of Maureen Floyd and Kevin Mollenhauer; reckless conduct in regard to Grayson Tucker and Olden Ganus; cruelty to children in the second degree in regard to Sullivan’s son, J.S.; and three traffic offenses. Sullivan’s Suburban sped up and continued traveling the wrong way in the left eastbound lane of Riverwatch Parkway. The path taken by the Suburban forced four drivers, including Grayson Tucker and Olden Ganus, to swerve from the left lane into the right lane in order to avoid a head-on collision. Those drivers testified that the Suburban did not slow down, swerve, switch lanes, or engage in any other evasive maneuvers to warn or avoid colliding with other vehicles. After passing those four vehicles, Sullivan’s Suburban entered a sharp curve near Eisenhower Park. At the time, three other vehicles were entering the curve heading eastbound. The Suburban collided head-on with a van being driven by Amelia Hiltz and was then propelled about five to six feet into the air above the guardrail to the right. The Suburban landed on the guardrail and started bouncing, before flipping back over into the eastbound lanes of Riverwatch Parkway. Hiltz’s vehicle suffered significant damage and was pushed into the right shoulder of the eastbound side of the road. As the Suburban lay flipped over, vehicles driven by Kevin Mollenhauer and Maureen Floyd collided with it. No information was given as to why Sullivan was driving on Riverwatch Parkway. Sullivan appealed her conviction, arguing: the evidence introduced at trial was insufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdicts with regard to the felony murder of Hiltz and the aggravated assaults of Floyd and Mollenhauer; the trial court erred by not instructing the jury on accident; the court erred in preventing Sullivan from presenting evidence that she did not suffer from any mental illness; and erred in permitting the State to introduce inadmissible hearsay. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Sullivan v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Anderson Carson was tried by jury and convicted of the malice murder of Lee Solkol, and the robbery by force of Fred Hickson. On appeal, Carson argued the trial court erred by: (1) denying his motion to sever; (2) appearing to assist the State in its prosecution by recommending that the State procure material witness warrants; (3) permitting the introduction into evidence of Carson’s prior conviction for aggravated assault; (4) allowing the State to introduce into evidence a booking photograph without providing the photograph to the defense in accordance with the State’s discovery obligations; (5) denying his motion to exclude his statements to a police detective; (6) denying his motion to suppress; and (7) failing to strike a prospective juror for cause. Carson also argued the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdicts. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Carson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Vashon Walker challenged his 2016 conviction for felony murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Jessica Osborne. He contended that the evidence was legally insufficient, that the trial court erred in admitting a shell casing and related photographs in violation of his constitutional right to confront his accusers, and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Finding no merit to these contentions, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed judgment of conviction. View "Walker v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In 2014, Appellant Charles Mahaffey entered negotiated guilty pleas to felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with the stabbing death of Christopher Reynolds. Appellant later challenged the trial court’s order denying his timely motion to withdraw his pleas, contending that he did not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily plead guilty. The Georgia Supreme Court determined that the trial court record as a whole supported the conclusion that Appellant was advised of his pertinent constitutional rights, that he understood those rights and the consequences of waiving them, and that he then knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered his guilty pleas. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying Appellant’s motion to withdraw his pleas. View "Mahaffey v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Christopher Spencer was convicted by jury of murder and other crimes in connection with the fatal shootings of Sylvia Watson and Samuel White. Spencer appealed, claiming only that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. Finding no reversible error after reviewing the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed conviction. View "Spencer v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Jacquan Oliver entered a negotiated plea of guilty to felony murder in connection with the shooting death of Alexander Mixon. He appealed his conviction and sentence, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion in finding a factual basis for his plea, and in determining the plea was voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently made. Finding no merit to these contentions, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed conviction. View "Oliver v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In 1992, Douglas Burley pled guilty to malice murder. He moved for an out-of-time appeal in 2019, claiming that his right to appeal was frustrated by his plea counsel’s erroneous advice that he could not appeal his conviction because it was the product of a guilty plea. The trial court denied Burley’s motion. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court vacated the trial court’s judgment and remanded the case with direction to hold a hearing to determine whether ineffective assistance of counsel frustrated Burley’s right to appeal. View "Burley v. Georgia" on Justia Law