Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Larry Rosser was convicted by jury of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the death of Alexis Vereen. On appeal, Rosser challenged the sufficiency of the evidence presented against him at trial, and argued the trial court erred by not granting his motion for a mistrial, and by allowing the State to introduce a portion of Rosser's custodial statement to law enforcement. In addition, he argued he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Finding no reversible error after reviewing the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed conviction. View "Rosser v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Brandon Carter was convicted by jury of malice murder and two firearm offenses in connection with the shooting death of Terrance Baker. On appeal, Carter contended the trial court erred by admitting certain hearsay statements into evidence and by violating his constitutional right to be present during his trial. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed conviction. View "Carter v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Jimmy Evans was convicted by jury for murder and other crimes relating to the 2006 deaths of Tavoris Calhoun and Dezmon Thomas. On appeal, Evans argued that because he was visibly intoxicated at the time he made statements to law enforcement and consented to a search of his home and person, the statements and consent were involuntarily given and the trial court should have granted his motion for new trial on this ground. Furthermore, Evans argued that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion to suppress at trial on the same basis. Because Evans failed to show error or ineffective assistance of counsel, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. View "Evans v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Kenneth Howard was tried by jury and convicted of the murder of Emily Ann Smith Newbegin. Howard appealed, contending that the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain his conviction. Upon its review of the record and briefs, the Georgia Supreme Court found no merit in Howard's claim of error, and affirmed. View "Howard v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Cuevas Carlos Santana was convicted by jury of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2010 shooting deaths of Israel Espinoza Mendoza, Vincente Soto Chavez, and Renato Soto Valencia. On appeal, Santana argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, that the trial court erred by declining to grant Santana a new trial on the general grounds, and that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Santana’s convictions. View "Santana v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Reuben Valrie was tried by jury and convicted of murder and other crimes in connection with the death of his infant daughter Aliyana. Valrie appealed, claiming that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Aliyana died as a result of closed head trauma, with a blunt-force abdominal injury as a secondary cause of death, which investigators determined was consistent with being shaken or dropped. At trial, Valrie presented the testimony of four expert witnesses who testified that Aliyana died of natural causes and that the injuries to her brain and abdomen were caused by events such as post-mortem CPR and the “rough” handling of her body by first responders. The jury rejected this defense and found Valrie guilty of murder and the other charges. Valrie contended that his trial lawyer should have raised a hearsay objection to the admission of recorded statements that his girlfriend (and Aliyana's mother) made to police investigators (as well as the testimony of one of those investigators about some of those statements). Alternatively, Valrie argued that his lawyer should have sought the redaction of certain portions of the recorded statements that impugned his character. The Georgia Supreme Court concluded Valrie failed to present evidence that his trial counsel was deficient, or that he was prejudiced by any alleged failures. According, the Court affirmed conviction. View "Valrie v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Larmell Heyward was convicted by jury of malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the 2007 shooting death of Ramon Rogers. Heyward argued on appeal of those convictions that the trial court erred in denying his request to charge the jury on voluntary manslaughter. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court determined the trial court’s refusal to give the charge was harmless, since, in the Court's estimation, there was no realistic probability that the jury would have accepted the "slight" evidence of voluntary manslaughter in the light of the strong evidence of malice murder. View "Heyward v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Roger Mills was found guilty by jury of malice murder and aggravated assault in connection with the death of Masuto Garrett. Mills contended that the trial court erred when, during jury deliberations, it excused a holdout juror without sufficient inquiry or good cause. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court concurred with that contention, and reversed Mills’s convictions. The Court also concluded the evidence presented at trial was legally sufficient to support the convictions, so the State could retry Mills if it chose. View "Mills v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Herbert Robinson appealed his convictions for malice murder, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the death of Michael Moore. On appeal, he argued the trial court erred by allowing the State to use two firearms for demonstrative purposes during trial, and by allowing body-camera footage to be shown at trial. He also argued his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to a letter written by Robinson’s cellmate being available to the jury for review during deliberations, and for failing to object to a visual aid used by the State during closing arguments. Because Robinson failed to show ineffective assistance of counsel or reversible error by the trial court, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Robinson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Carzell Moore, proceeding pro se, appealed a trial court’s denial of his motion to set aside a September 2017 order denying his motion for an out-of-time appeal of his 2002 resentencing on his 1977 convictions for murder and rape. Moore contended the trial court abused its discretion by denying his motion to set aside because he was not given proper notice of the September 2017 order. Finding that the record supported the trial court’s ruling, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Moore v. Georgia" on Justia Law