Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant Husband is a native of Pakistan and has dual Pakistani and American citizenship. Appellee Wife is a natural born American of Pakistani descent. The parties' two minor male children are American born. The trial court designated Wife as the primary physical custodian of the children and gave Husband visitation rights. In the divorce decree, restrictions regarding the children’s international travel were made. In addition, the decree required Husband to reimburse Wife up to $250 a month for work-related childcare expenses. Husband disagreed with the terms of the decree and raised multiple errors in the superior court's order. But finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Sahibzada v. Sahibzada" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider whether the Court of Appeals properly applied the principle of "priority jurisdiction" when it held that the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction to terminate Emmanuel Alizota's parental rights and erred in granting Ryan and Melissa Stanfield's petition for the adoption of S.K. The Court of Appeals determined that because the juvenile court had previously exercised jurisdiction over a deprivation proceeding involving Alizota and S.K. and had entered a temporary long-term custody agreement, the doctrine of priority jurisdiction deprived the superior court of jurisdiction over the termination proceeding. Based on that, the Court of Appeals vacated the superior court’s order and declined to consider Alizota's appeal on the merits. The Supreme Court found that the Court of Appeals erred in holding the superior court lacked jurisdiction over the termination proceeding. View "Standfield v. Alizota" on Justia Law

Anthony Hargis was tried by jury and convicted of several crimes relating to the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Hargis appealed, asserting seven claims of error, among which: the trial judge was disqualified by her receipt of an ex parte communication and, therefore, should have recused; and that the trial court erred when it denied a motion to suppress evidence of a similar transaction. The Court of Appeals agreed that the trial judge should have recused, and that the motion to suppress should have been granted. The appellate court reversed the judgment of conviction on those grounds without reaching the other claims of error. On the petition of the State, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to review the decision of the Court of Appeals. The Court concluded that the Court of Appeals erred with respect to both recusal and the motion to suppress. View "Georgia v. Hargis" on Justia Law

Appellant Tyrone Wright was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the 2009 shooting death of Cedric Finley. The victim allegedly stole crack cocaine and cash from appellant the night before the shooting. Appellant appealed the denial of his motion for new trial and his conviction and sentence, arguing insufficiency of the evidence, improper denial of his motion to suppress, and ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Wright v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Monroe and Bibb Counties have fought over the true boundary line separating the two. At some time during the fight, the Superior Court attempted to resolve the dispute by ordering the Secretary of State to accept a line identified by a State-appointed land surveyor as the true boundary. The Supreme Court granted applications for discretionary appeal (filed separately by Bibb County and the Secretary of State) to address the Superior Court's order. Upon review of the matter, the Supreme Court concluded that the Superior Court lacked the authority to require the Secretary of State to accept a particular line as the true boundary. "Specifically, while mandamus is authorized to compel the Secretary to consider the relevant law and evidence, to determine the true boundary line between the counties, and to record the survey and plat reflecting that boundary line, mandamus is not authorized to dictate where the boundary line is to be located. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings." View "Bibb County v. Monroe County" on Justia Law

Donna Austin sued to recover for personal injuries she allegedly sustained when she fell on a sidewalk as she was leaving a graduation ceremony at Peach County High School. She filed the suit against Susan Clark, the Superintendent of Peach County Schools; C.B. Mathis, the Assistant Superintendent of Facilities of Peach County Schools; Bruce Mackey, the Principal of Peach County High School; and Chad Sanders, the Director of Maintenance of Peach County Schools. Austin alleged that the individual defendants negligently performed the ministerial duties of inspecting, maintaining and repairing the sidewalk and road where she fell. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, asserting that the claims against them were barred by the doctrine of official immunity. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. After its review, however, the Supreme Court concluded the trial court erred in granting defendants immunity from suit. The Supreme Court found that discovery in this case had been extremely limited, and it could not be said that the allegations of the complaint disclosed with certainty that Austin would not be entitled to relief under any state of provable facts asserted in support. According to the Court, it did not matter that "'Austin has pointed to no specific and clear procedures or methods for dealing with the purported hazard created by the drainage opening on the curb.' This is factual evidence which may or may not be developed during discovery and can be considered on a subsequent motion for summary judgment." View "Austin v. Clark" on Justia Law

Appellant Karmbi Young was convicted of malice murder and other related crimes relating to the shooting death of Rickey Gibson. He appealed the denial of his motion for new trial in which he claimed the trial court erred by admitting evidence pertaining to a witness' identification of him shortly after the crimes and the same witness' in-court identification. Finding no error in the trial court's denial of the motion for new trial, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Young v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Joshua Walker appealed his convictions and sentences for felony murder while in the commission of attempted armed robbery, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, all in connection with slaying of Michael Algreen and the armed robbery of Julie Looper. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed Walker's convictions and sentences. View "Walker v. Georgia" on Justia Law

The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court was one of first impression. Appellee David Newton was convicted by jury of burglary, theft by taking, and first degree forgery for taking jewelry while touring a home that he claimed he was interested in purchasing while using a fictitious name on a brokerage agreement. The indictment in this case charged Newton with "enter[ing] the dwelling house of another without authority and with the intent to commit a theft therein, to wit: Said accused did enter a room within the dwelling house of Cynthia Murphy without authority in order to commit a theft therein." Despite the fact that appellee engaged in subterfuge to gain permission to enter Murphy's home, the Court of Appeals reversed appellee's burglary conviction, concluding the evidence was insufficient to show that appellee was "without authority" to be in the victim's house. The Supreme Court granted the State's petition for certiorari, asking "whether a person enters a home 'without authority' when he enters with the consent of the owner, but when that consent was obtained by fraud, deceit, or false pretense." Because the Court determined the answer to its question was "yes," the Court of Appeals' decision was reversed and appellee's conviction reinstated. View "Georgia v. Newton" on Justia Law

Landowners appealed the Superior Court of Monroe County's denial and dismissal of their petition for a writ of mandamus and related adverse rulings involving their real property tax appeals. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court. View "Newton Timber Co., L.L.L.P. v. Monroe County Bd. of Tax Assessors" on Justia Law