Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

A jury found Appellant Matthew Colzie guilty of malice murder, attempted armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Appellant moved for a new trial because of alleged evidentiary errors at trial, but that motion was denied by the trial and appellate courts, and he brings this appeal. Finding no reversible errors and that a reasonable trier of fact could find Appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the Supreme Court upheld the trial court's conviction and the denial of a new trial on appeal.

A jury found Appellant Nkosi Gadson guilty in the shooting death of Amady Seydi. Appellant brings this appeal from the denial of his motion for a new trial, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, the court's instructions to the jury, and effectiveness of his trial counsel. Finding no reversible errors, the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's ruling.

A jury found Appellant Antonio Gresham guilty of malice murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, in connection with the shooting death of his wife. Appellant was sentenced to life for malice murder, twenty years consecutive on one of the two aggravated assault counts, and five years consecutive on the weapons possession count. On appeal, among other issues, Appellant contends the trial court erred in sentencing on the aggravated assault count. On this point alone, the Supreme Court agreed, affirming the lower courts' conviction, but vacating Appellant's sentence on aggravated assault. Evidence at trial demonstrated that the aggravated assault on the victim and murder of the victim occurred simultaneously. Evidence used to prove the assault was established by the evidence used to prove murder; under state law, the conviction and sentence for the aggravated assault must be set aside.

Appellant Hughes was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault for killing his wife in March, 2007. On appeal, Appellant contends the trial court erred by not granting him a continuance after he announced he was not ready to proceed with the trial. After review of the record, the Supreme Court found the evidence presented at the lower court was sufficient enough for a jury to find him guilty, and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant a continuance.

A jury found Appellant David Johnson guilty of malice murder, and sentenced him to life in prison. The victim was shot in the head twice, and Appellant was found to have confessed to the shooting while in jail. Appellant moved for a new trial because of alleged evidentiary errors at trial, but that motion was denied by the trial and appellate courts, and he brought this appeal. Finding no reversible errors, the Supreme Court upheld the trial court's conviction and the denial of a new trial on appeal.

Appellant Michael Jones contends he was not afforded his constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel for his conviction of felony murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Appellant cited four instances at trial: counsel's failure to contest the validity of the arrest warrant that lead to Appellant's arrest; counsel's failure to contest the judge's authority to preside over his trial; counsel's failure to appear at arraignment; and counsel's failure to ask the trial court to have a juror disqualified for speaking to a witness. After review of the lower court's records, the Supreme Court found no evidence that counsel performed deficiently, and upheld the lower court's decision.

In January, 2008, the State filed accusations against Appellant Hwa Ja Lee, charging her with three misdemeanor offenses: pimping, prostitution and keeping a house of prostitution. Appellant raised the state statute of limitations as her defense, which required the state to commence proceedings within two years of the filing of the accusation. The trial court found that the statute had not run, and barred Appellant from raising the statute of limitations as a defense to the jury. However, in it its charge to the jury, the trial court included suggested pattern instructions on the statute of limitations. The jury found Appellant guilty on all accusations; the Court of Appeals reversed the pimping conviction because it found the statute had run. The Supreme Court, on review of the courts below, found that the jury was not authorized to find that crimes took place within the applicable statute of limitations, and that the trial court was not authorized to prohibit the Appellant from raising the dates of the accusations in her defense. The Court affirmed the Appellate court on the pimping, but reversed on the house of prostitution accusations.

A jury found Appellant Demarcus McClarin guilty in the shooting death of Mac Mayer. Appellant brings this appeal from the denial of his motion for a new trial, asserting he was denied effective assistance of trial counsel. Finding no reversible errors and that a reasonable trier of fact could find Appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the Supreme Court upheld the trial court's conviction and the denial of a new trial on appeal.