Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

William Moore, Jr. and Todd Jones, Jr. were tried by jury and convicted of murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and the unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, all in connection with the fatal stabbing and beating of Kevin Harmon. Moore and Jones appealed, contending the State presented insufficient evidence to sustain their convictions. In addition, Moore argued he was improperly sentenced, and Jones claimed the trial court improperly admitted two knives into evidence. Upon review of the record and briefs, the Georgia Supreme Court found no merit in either appellant’s claims of error and affirmed their respective convictions. View "Moore v.Georgia" on Justia Law

Justin Graves was tried by jury and convicted of murder, aggravated assault, and the unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, all in connection with the robbery and fatal shooting of Michael Bemus. Graves appealed, contending the State presented insufficient evidence to sustain his convictions. Graves also claimed he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial. Upon review of the record and briefs, the Georgia Supreme Court found no merit in these claims of error, and affirmed. View "Graves v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Brent Shubert appealed his convictions for malice murder and concealing the death of another in connection with the 2013 death of Bonny Cooner. Shubert argued on appeal that the grand jury that indicted him was not a fair cross-section of the community in violation of the Sixth Amendment. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded Shubert has failed to carry his burden to succeed on such a claim: he presented insufficient evidence to determine the racial composition of the grand jury master list. The Supreme Court found racial identification was supplied for only 29 percent of those people on the list. Although Shubert presented analysis of the data had, “it is simply not possible to prove a disparity between the racial composition of the master jury list and that of the population of Franklin County when the race of 71 percent of those on the list has not been identified.” View "Shubert v. Georgia" on Justia Law

David Jackson was convicted by jury of malice murder, aggravated assault, and various other offenses in connection with the stabbing death of John Thomas. On appeal, Jackson argued: the trial court committed plain error by giving an incorrect jury instruction on self-defense; the trial court erred in its re-charge to the jury on voluntary manslaughter; and his trial counsel was ineffective. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Jackson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Lawrence Chapman was convicted of malice murder, aggravated battery, and other crimes in connection with the June 25, 2015 shooting of Rosalyn Chapman and Odetta Hampton. He argued his convictions should have been reversed because the trial court plainly erred in providing an incomplete instruction on how the jury was to consider evidence of his good character. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Chapman v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In October 2012, a jury found Dennis Welch guilty of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Jamie Wright. Welch appealed, contending the trial court erred by failing to give a jury instruction on involuntary manslaughter and that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for malice murder. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Welch v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Casey Collins was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the strangling death of his 78-yearold grandfather, Edward Smith. On appeal, he argued his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to investigate and present evidence that he was sexually abused by Smith and by failing to withdraw as counsel after Appellant filed a bar complaint alleging ethical violations. The Georgia Supreme Court concluded these contentions were meritless, and affirmed. View "Collins v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Dwayne Abney appealed his convictions for multiple counts of malice murder and other crimes related to the 2015 shooting deaths of Kiana Marshall, Isaiah Martin, and Alexis Kitchens. Abney argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. He also argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial when the State elicited testimony that violated the court’s ruling on a motion in limine and in overruling his objections to improper bolstering. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Abney v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Freddie Lewis was convicted of malice murder, rape, and burglary in connection with the 1991 death of Evelyn Wise. Lewis argued the trial court erred: (1) by denying his motion for a directed verdict; (2) by denying his motion in limine to exclude DNA evidence based on inadequate chain of custody; (3) by failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine the admissibility of DNA evidence; (4) in admitting the statements of a deceased witness; and (5) by sentencing him on the aggravated assault, burglary, and rape counts because the statutes of limitations for those counts had expired prior to trial. The Georgia Supreme Court determined the trial court committed no error, because the evidence was sufficient to support convictions on the crimes charged, and the DNA evidence, as well as the out-of-court statements by the deceased witness, were properly admitted. Finally, the statute of limitations period was tolled while Lewis’s identity was unknown, and so the trial court properly sentenced Lewis. View "Lewis v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Jerome Victoria appealed after a jury convicted him of felony murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He argued he received ineffective assistance of counsel regarding a potential plea deal offer. The Georgia Supreme Court found that although the 20-year plea deal offered by the State was less severe than the life sentence imposed after trial, and Victoria testified that he would have taken that deal, Victoria made no showing that “the prosecution would not have withdrawn it in light of intervening circumstances [and] . . . that the court would have accepted its terms.” Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. View "Victoria v. Georgia" on Justia Law