Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant DeAndre Seabrooks was convicted of malice murder and related offenses arising out of the shooting death of Sariah Wilcoxson. The jury learned that Seabrooks had a longstanding feud with the victim’s brother and that, on the night of the murder, the victim was dressed in oversized clothing and resembled her brother. On the evening of January 11, 2016, Chasity Brawner and Billy Malcolm, both of whom had known Seabrooks for years, witnessed him fire what was described as a “long gun” or “military-style firearm” into the entrance of a DeKalb County apartment complex where the victim was standing. Brawner made eye contact with Seabrooks immediately after the shooting and observed him mouth the phrase, “They gone quit f*****g with me.” On appeal, Seabrooks claimed only that trial counsel was ineffective. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Seabrooks v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Orsley Walker appealed his convictions for felony murder and a firearm offense in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend, 53-year-old Constance Cox. He contended: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motions for a mistrial after the State introduced evidence of hearsay statements by Cox through the testimony of Cox’s daughters in violation of a trial court order; and (2) he was denied the effective assistance of counsel due to his trial attorneys’ failure to object and move for a mistrial when the State introduced evidence of another hearsay statement by Cox through the testimony of her son-in-law. Appellant also contended the trial court erred in overruling his objections to the State’s line of questioning on redirect examination of the lead detective about the detective’s experiences with suspects in other cases. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Walker v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Travaris Hardy was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2008 shooting death of Marcus Shirley. He appealed, contending the evidence presented at his trial was legally insufficient to support his convictions; his constitutional right to be present was violated because he was absent during a pretrial motions hearing; his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by waiving his presence at that hearing; and the trial court violated his constitutional right to confrontation by permitting certain expert witnesses to testify. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hardy v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In June 2015, Quantravious Antwan Holmes was tried before a jury and was convicted of malice murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the shooting death of Todd Burkes. In November 2017, the trial court granted Holmes’s motion for new trial. The State appealed and Holmes cross-appealed. In an earlier opinion, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed in the cross-appeal, vacated in the State’s direct appeal, and remanded the case to the trial court with direction for further consideration, under a proper legal analysis, of the grounds on which the grant of a new trial was based. After reviewing the law governing new trials on the general grounds, the trial court concluded that, having “considered the conflicts in the evidence, the credibility of witnesses, the demeanor of witnesses during trial, and the weight of evidence in this case,” it “hereby exercises its discretion as the ‘Thirteenth Juror’ in Mr. Holmes’s case, and having done so is satisfied that [he] is entitled to a new trial.” The State appealed the second order granting a new trial, contending that the trial court “manifestly abused its discretion in precipitously granting a new trial as the 13th juror” after remand. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Georgia v. Holmes" on Justia Law

The Georgia Supreme Court determined the Court of Appeals applied the wrong legal analysis in deciding that the four counts of child molestation of which Akeem Scott was found guilty did not merge. The Supreme Court, therefore, granted Scott’s petition for a writ of certiorari to address that issue, vacated the Court of Appeals’ opinion, and remanded for that court to determine and apply the unit of prosecution for the crime of child molestation in deciding how many convictions and sentences for that crime could be imposed on Scott. View "Scott v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Eddie Robinson was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2005 shooting death of Kenyon Beaty. On appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, Robinson claimed he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. After review of his case from the trial court record, however, the Supreme Court affirmed Robinson’s convictions, and found a remand was unwarranted. View "Robinson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Hassan Williams was killed on July 17, 2012. On February 7, 2013, a grand jury jointly indicted Alvin Davis, III, Chaquel Cook, Kimberly Williams, and Kiera Graham for malice murder, felony murder predicated on armed robbery and aggravated assault, armed robbery, aggravated assault, hijacking a motor vehicle, arson in the first degree, and cruelty to children in the first degree for committing the offenses of murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and arson in the presence of a child. Davis appealed the trial court’s denial of his motion for a new trial, arguing the evidence was insufficient to convict him on all charges and because he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. The Georgia Supreme Court determined that the evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational jury to find Davis guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted, and that Davis was not denied the effective assistance of counsel, thus affirming the trial court and Davis’ convictions. View "Davis v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Jacquez Laquan Worthen appealed his 2014 conviction for felony murder in connection with the shooting death of Robert Lee Parrish, Jr. Worthen argued the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction as a party to the shooting and that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting gang evidence over his objection. Finding no reversible errors, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Worthen v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Alvonte Mack appealed after a jury convicted him of malice murder and felony possession of a firearm in connection with the 2014 shooting death of Benjamin Webber. Mack argued on appeal that the trial court erred by admitting a detective’s recorded comments that addressed the ultimate issue in the case and by admitting a third party’s comment to a post on Mack’s Facebook page. He also contended his trial counsel was ineffective: (1) in handling the third party’s comment on the Facebook post; (2) in handling testimony relating to the accidental nature of the shooting; and (3) for failing to object to the State’s closing argument. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed because the trial court did not err in admitting the detective’s testimony, the admission of the third-party comment was harmless, and to the extent that trial counsel’s performance may have been deficient, it was not prejudicial. View "Mack v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant John Blackwell filed a pro se motion for out-of-time appeal approximately four years after the trial court denied a timely motion to withdraw his guilty plea to murder and crimes stemming from the murder. The trial court denied that motion summarily and without holding a hearing. As the Attorney General conceded, the Georgia Supreme Court was compelled to vacate the trial court’s order and remand the case for the trial court to hold a hearing to determine whether Blackwell was entitled to an out-of-time appeal due to the ineffective assistance of his motion-to-withdraw counsel. View "Blackwell v. Georgia" on Justia Law