Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

A jury convicted Herman Lewis Bright of malice murder and aggravated assault in connection with the death of Jerome Jenkins. On appeal, Bright contended that the evidence was insufficient to convict him and his trial counsel was ineffective. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Bright v. Georgia" on Justia Law

A jury convicted Jeffrey Bunnell of malice murder and tampering with the evidence in connection with the beating death of 70-year-old Margie Eason. On appeal, Bunnell challenged the trial court's rulings admitting into evidence his videotaped statement to police, the hearsay testimony of three witnesses, testimony about a suspension for driving under the influence, and post-autopsy photographs. Because the trial court did not err in its evidentiary rulings, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Bunnell v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Elkin Clarke appealed his convictions for the malice murder of Michael Toles and the simple assault of Aisha Albritton. He challenged the sufficiency of the evidence and the trial court's refusal to remove a potential juror for cause. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that although "Juror 21" initially expressed some reservation about her impartiality, she ultimately confirmed that she did not want any emotionality to impede her judgment, and that she was a fair person. Under these facts, the Supreme Court concluded there was no manifest abuse of the trial court's discretion in not excusing the juror for cause. View "Clarke v. Georgia" on Justia Law

During his murder trial in March 2011, appellant Corey Dennis withdrew his plea of not guilty and plead guilty to the felony murders of Jerry Lee Lawrence and Harold Reese, Jr., to two counts of kidnaping with bodily injury, to the armed robbery of Reese and to arson of Reese's property, to two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His plea was accepted and the trial court imposed four sentences of life imprisonment, to be served concurrently, followed by sentences totaling thirty years, to be served consecutively to the sentences of life imprisonment. In July 2012, appellant filed an out-of-time appeal which the trial court denied after finding that appellant had not established his entitlement to an out-of-time appeal. Appellant then filed this appeal. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded the trial court's finding that appellant did not establish entitlement to an out-of-time appeal was correct, and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying appellant's motion for out-of-time appeal. View "Dennis v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Phillip Chad Dunn was convicted and sentenced for the malice murder of his wife, Shelley Dyan Dunn, and two counts of child cruelty in the third degree. On appeal, appellant contended the trial court erred in admitting evidence of his 2011 conviction for the aggravated assault and aggravated battery of his wife, and in refusing to admit evidence of the victim's blood alcohol level at the time of her death. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of conviction. View "Dunn v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Jesse Lamar Arnold was tried by jury and convicted of the aggravated stalking and aggravated assault of his estranged wife, Lakeisha, and the murder of Eric Mattox. Arnold appealed, contending that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel because he alleged his lawyer did not adequately investigate his mental health in her preparation for trial. Finding no merit in this contention, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's judgment. View "Arnold v. Georgia" on Justia Law

The State appealed the grant of habeas corpus relief to defendant Michelle Hall, arguing that the trial court erred in applying the presumption of prejudice when reviewing defendant's sole claim that she received ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding that defendant failed to show actual prejudice and that her claim of ineffective assistance of counsel should have been rejected, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court's judgment. View "Seabolt v. Hall" on Justia Law

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia certified a question to the Georgia Supreme Court: "Is it proper for a jury to consider a defendant’s worldly circumstances when deciding the amount of damages that should be imposed under OCGA 51-12-6?" The question arose from a case in which the issue on appeal was whether admission of "worldly circumstances" evidence in a tort action where the only injury to plaintiff was to his peace, happiness or feelings. Steven Caviness was injured in a train accident and retained attorney James Holland, II to pursue an action against the train company. The attorney filed a complaint; the company raised the affirmative defense of the expiration of the statute of limitation. The client was not told of the mistake until twenty days after his attorney learned of the missed statute of limitation. Caviness sued his attorney, and the attorney was granted summary judgment on the legal malpractice claim. A breach of fiduciary duty claim was allowed to proceed, but the district court found that because the only remaining injury to Caviness's peace, happiness or feelings, OCGA 51-12-6 applied. Caviness introduced evidence of Holland's worldly circumstances, including the law firm's income, the attorney's salary, the attorney's real estate holdings and personal property. A jury awarded Caviness $700,000 in damages. Holland's motion for a new trial was denied with leave to renew pending the Supreme Court's answer to the certified question. The Supreme Court responded that OCGA 51-12-6 precludes admission of worldly circumstances when the only injury is to a plaintiff's peace, happiness or feelings. View "Holland v. Caviness" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, appellants Desmond Griffin and Charlie Boyd were found guilty of the felony murder of James Clark based on the underlying felony of aggravated assault. Griffin was also found guilty of separate charges of aggravated assault against Ronald Rosson and the simple battery of Clark. Appellants’ motions for new trial were denied, and they appealed to the Supreme Court. Finding no reversible error in the trial court record, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Boyd v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Defendant Brandon Leonard appealed his convictions and sentences for malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, all in connection with the shooting deaths of Thomas Darr and Jim Cates. Defendant argued that the admission of certain evidence at trial was done in error, and that his trial counsel was ineffective for not objecting to the admission of that evidence, and for his conduct during voir dire. Finding no error or ineffective counsel, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Leonard v. Georgia" on Justia Law