Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia certified questions to the Georgia Supreme Court about the constitutionality of OCGA 20-2-73, which enumerates the circumstances for the suspension and removal of members of local boards of education. Georgia law does not require that local school systems be accredited, but it permits school systems to seek accreditation from certain private accrediting agencies. The DeKalb County School District was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools ("SACS"), a private accrediting agency. In December 2012, SACS placed the DeKalb School District on "accredited probation" for reasons related to the governance of the DeKalb County Board of Education, which endangered the DeKalb School District's accreditation. After hearings, members of the DeKalb Board who were serving at the time SACS put the DeKalb School District on probation were suspended, and six replacements were appointed. In the meantime, Dr. Eugene Walker, the chair of the DeKalb Board and one of the suspended members, filed suit in the federal district court, alleging OCGA 20-2-73 violated both the United States and Georgia Constitutions, and sought declaratory and injunctive relief. The District Court denied preliminary injunctive relief to Walker, finding that Walker had failed to show a substantial likelihood that he would prevail on his claim that the statute violated the United States Constitution. As to the Georgia Constitution, the District Court certified the question to the Georgia Supreme Court. The Georgia Court concluded that OCGA 20-2-73 did not violate the Georgia Constitution. Accordingly, the Court answered the District Court's questions in the negative. View "Dekalb Cty. Sch. Dist. v. Georgia State Bd. of Education" on Justia Law

Appellant Corey Wallace was found guilty of felony murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Willie Merritt. On appeal, he argued that the trial court's charge prevented the jury from properly considering a voluntary manslaughter verdict on the felony murder counts of his indictment and that his trial counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Wallace v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Monica and Martin Strunk were married in 1996 and had three children before divorcing in 2008. Martin sought a downward modification of child support in 2009, which the trial court granted in late 2012. In her direct appeal to the Supreme Court, Monica challenged five of the trial court's rulings related to child support. After review, the Supreme Court upheld the trial court's decision granting the downward modification, but reversed the part of the order specifying how the husband was to satisfy $96,000 he owed in back child support. View "Strunk v. Strunk" on Justia Law

Appellant Shabuoy Pitchford was convicted of murder, burglary, armed robbery, and related offenses in connection with the September 2006 shooting death of Rickey Greene. Appellant appealed the denial of his motion for new trial, contending certain evidence should have been suppressed, other evidence was improperly admitted, the evidence on the armed robbery count was insufficient, and the jury instructions were erroneous in certain respects. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Pitchford v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Tommy Tyrone Griffin was convicted of felony murder and conspiracy to commit trafficking in cocaine in connection with a fatal shooting in 2010. Griffin appealed the denial of his motion for new trial, challenged the sufficiency of the evidence and the trial court's instructions to the jury. After review, the Supreme Court found that the State failed to adduce any evidence on an essential element of the drug conspiracy charge and therefore conviction for conspiracy to commit trafficking in cocaine was reversed. Because the felony murder conviction was predicated on the drug conspiracy offense, that conviction was also reversed. View "Griffin v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Timothy Parody was granted habeas relief premised on a finding that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The acting warden of Augusta State Medical Prison appealed. Finding that the habeas court's conclusion was factually and legally incorrect in granting relief, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Brown v. Parody" on Justia Law

Appellant Lincoln Quantavious Boykins was convicted of murder and other offenses in connection with the June 2008 shooting death of Quinton Denley. On appeal, Boykins challenged the sufficiency of the evidence presented against him at trial. Finding the evidence sufficient to support his conviction, the Supreme Court affirmed Boykins' conviction. View "Boykins v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Dennis Allaben was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with intent to murder, battery, simple battery, and reckless conduct in connection with the strangulation death of his wife, Maureen. The felony murder verdict was vacated by operation of law, and the trial court entered a judgment of conviction only for malice murder, merging the remaining verdicts into that conviction. On appeal, Allaben contended that, among other things, the jury returned mutually exclusive verdicts. After its review, the Supreme Court concluded that the guilty verdict on reckless conduct was mutually exclusive of the remaining verdicts, therefore the Court reversed Allaben's conviction for malice murder, set aside all the guilty verdicts, and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Allaben v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Lonnie L. Michael died in 2010. He had executed a will in 2002. The original of that will could not be found. Nevertheless, Michael King Fitzgerald, who was named executor in the 2002 will, offered a copy of the will for probate in solemn form, requesting that it be admitted to probate upon proper proof. Danny Johnson, Michael Gwirtz, and Patricia Gwirtz, the Testator's heirs at law, filed a caveat, asserting that the 2002 will had been revoked by the Testator's subsequent destruction of it. After hearing evidence and argument, the probate court admitted the will to probate. Caveators appealed to the superior court, and the case was tried before a jury, which found in favor of the propounded will, which the trial court then admitted to probate in solemn form. After the denial of their motion for new trial, Caveators appealed to the Supreme Court. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Johnson v. Fitzgerald" on Justia Law

In May 2009, Hubert H. Johnson made a new will, in which he devised his most substantial asset (a 350-acre pecan farm) to Donna Ellis Burrell. He died a few weeks later, and Donna promptly filed a petition to probate the will. Two of his kin filed caveats, alleging that Donna had exerted undue influence upon Hubert with respect to the making of that will, and alleging that Donna had made false statements to Hubert, upon which he relied in making the will. The probate court awarded summary judgment to Donna, and the caveators appealed. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Johnson v. Burrell" on Justia Law