Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant LaForrest Rush was convicted of malice murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He appealed the denial of his motion for new trial contending the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict and trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Rush v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Catherine O'Connell was sentenced to life in prison for the malice murder of her adoptive mother. She appealed, contending the trial court erred by denying her "Batson" challenge and granting a motion in limine to bar hearsay evidence of abuse she allegedly suffered in Guatemala. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "O'Connell v. Georgia" on Justia Law

The issue before the Supreme Court in this case arose from a dispute over title and right of possession of certain real property in Randolph County. The dispute involved the location of the boundary between two adjoining parcels. The case was tried to a jury which returned a verdict in favor of the Clouds with respect to the disputed property. The trial court then entered judgment in favor of the Clouds, declaring the border between the Cloud property and Mathews property to be defined by certain metes and bounds reflected in a survey map entered into evidence and referred to at trial by the surveyor as a status print. Those measurements were based upon the plat referenced in the Cloud deed. The judgment also enjoined the Mathews heirs from trespassing upon the property. The Mathews heirs appealed. After careful review of the facts of this case, the Supreme Court found no reversible error in the trial court's judgment and affirmed. View "Mathews v. Cloud" on Justia Law

Following a joint jury trial regarding two separate crimes committed on the same night, defendant Martavious Jackson was found guilty of armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Defendant appealed those convictions, arguing he should not have been tried for both crimes at the same trial, the jury array was improper, and the trial court failed to appropriately consider the possibility that defendant was incompetent to stand trial. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed defendant's convictions. View "Jackson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Following a jury trial, Dasjwan Foster was found guilty of malice murder and aggravated assault. He appealed, arguing the trial court committed numerous evidentiary errors and handed down an improper sentence. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Foster v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Samantha Latrice Jessie was convicted of killing her newborn son and then concealing his death. Jessie appealed the denial of her motion for new trial, asserting that the evidence was insufficient, her trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance, and her life sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Jessie v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Following the trial court's denial of his motion to set aside a ruling finding him to be in contempt of a divorce decree, Alvah Crutchfield appealed, arguing the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over this case. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that Crutchfield challenged venue, not subject matter jurisdiction, and that he affirmatively waived any objections on the face of the record. View "Crutchfield v. Lawson" on Justia Law

When Jay Kaminsky and Diana Entrekin divorced in 2009, they agreed to a parenting plan by which they would share joint legal custody of their son, but Kaminsky alone would have physical custody of the child. The parenting plan also addressed the possibility that Kaminsky might not survive the minority of the child, expressing that Toby Kaminsky Friedman (paternal aunt of the child) have physical custody in the event Kaminsky died. That parenting plan was approved by the court and made a part of the final decree of divorce. Kaminsky died in 2013. In the days following his death, various members of his family (including Friedman) took custody of the child, and they refused to give the child over to Entrekin. Entrekin filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that she was entitled to custody of the child. Around the same time, Friedman filed her own petition for custody of the child. Following a hearing, the trial court denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, awarded temporary custody of the child to Friedman, and allowed supervised visitation with the child to Entrekin. Entrekin appealed the denial of her petition for habeas corpus. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the denial of that petition. View "Entrekin v. Friedman" on Justia Law

In 2010, the Department of Transportation (DOT) initiated condemnation proceedings for property owned by Brian McMeans. The condemnation petition named as defendants, inter alia, McMeans, and McMeans Leasing, Inc. (MLI), a corporation owned solely by McMeans. McMeans filed an answer acknowledging that he was the "owner of the property loosely described in" the condemnation petition, and alleging damages of at least $1.3 million. MLI filed an amendment to the answer McMeans filed in order "to provide that said Answer was for [MLI], a corporation solely owned by Brian K. McMeans." This pleading stated that McMeans was the owner of the property, that MLI was a leasehold tenant, and that MLI would sustain damages for business losses resulting from its removal from the property. At the same time, McMeans filed a pleading, "Answer of Brian K. McMeans," in which he alleged damages of at least $1.3 million as a result of lost uses of the property, interruption in his business income, loss of business, and damage to his business in addition to the value of the condemned real estate. Following a hearing, the trial court granted DOT’s motion and struck both pleadings. MLI filed a direct appeal, which was dismissed by the Court of Appeals on jurisdictional grounds because it was not an appeal from a final judgment; McMeans filed an application for interlocutory appeal to the Court of Appeals, which was granted, and he appealed the trial court’s order striking his "First Amendment" to his answer. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court, holding that it erred to the extent it ruled that McMeans could not plead a business loss based on his failure to include it earlier and that he could not plead a loss from the business he owns and operates on the condemned property. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to the Court of Appeals to consider whether the appellate court erred in its decision. The Supreme Court concluded the Court of Appeals indeed erred in its decision, and reversed. View "Dept. of Transportation v. McMeans" on Justia Law

Following a jury trial, Reginald Ferguson was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in connection with the shooting death of Robert Walton. On appeal Ferguson contended that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support the verdict and that the trial court erred by refusing to disqualify the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office from participating in his motion for new trial hearing. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed Ferguson's convictions. View "Ferguson v. Georgia" on Justia Law