Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In this case, the appellant, Savanna Jennings, was convicted of malice murder and related charges in relation to the shooting death of her grandfather, Otha Perrin Sr. The jury found her guilty on all counts, and she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus fifteen years in confinement. On appeal, Jennings argued that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting other-acts evidence, admitting certain business records, and that her trial counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance.The Supreme Court of Georgia concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of Jennings' financial activities pertaining to her grandfather's bank account, as it formed part of the financial motive for the crime. The court also found no plain error in the admission of Facebook messages between Jennings and another individual, which were arguably hearsay but did not likely affect the outcome of the trial.In terms of ineffective counsel, the court found that Jennings' lawyer did preserve her objections to the admission of the bank records. As for the failure to preserve an objection to the Facebook records and to timely disclose an expert witness, the court concluded that Jennings failed to establish that there was a reasonable probability that these actions affected the outcome of her trial. Therefore, the court affirmed Jennings' convictions. View "JENNINGS v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

In this case, the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled on an appeal by Allison Crary, who challenged three orders from a revocation proceeding. The orders were: denial of a motion to declare a grandparent visitation statute unconstitutional, denial of a motion for a contempt citation against Khristel and Frank Clautice, and denial of a motion for attorney fees and expenses.The case involved a minor child, with Crary having sole legal and physical custody. The Clautices, the child's maternal grandparents, had been granted visitation rights under a consent order. Crary later petitioned to revoke this order and for a contempt citation against the grandparents for non-compliance. She also sought to declare the grandparent visitation statute unconstitutional and asked for attorney fees and expenses.The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed the appeal regarding the constitutionality of the grandparent visitation statute as moot, since the trial court had already revoked the grandparent visitation order on other grounds. The court also affirmed the trial court’s orders denying Crary’s contempt motion and motion for attorney fees and expenses. The court noted that Crary had not provided evidence at the hearing to support a contempt finding, and that the trial court was not required to hold a hearing or take evidence before denying the motion for attorney fees and expenses. View "CRARY v. CLAUTICE" on Justia Law

In this case, a Georgia Supreme Court decision, the defendant, Remond Sinkfield, was convicted of felony murder and other crimes related to the death of Levi Atkinson. Atkinson died after either jumping or being pushed out of a moving vehicle during an altercation with Sinkfield. The vehicle was then struck by another car.Sinkfield appealed the convictions arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for felony murder and theft, that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress a pretrial interview by police, and that the trial court committed plain error in several ways. Moreover, Sinkfield claimed that he was denied effective assistance of counsel due to his trial counsel's deficiencies, including by failing to retain a medical expert to testify as to the cause of Atkinson's death.The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected all of these claims and affirmed the convictions. The court found that the evidence was sufficient to support Sinkfield's convictions, that the trial court did not commit plain error, and that Sinkfield was not denied effective assistance of counsel. The court also found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in various evidentiary rulings. View "SINKFIELD v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

In this case, Willie Williams Palmer appealed his 2023 convictions for malice murder and other crimes related to the shooting deaths of his estranged wife, Brenda Jenkins Palmer, and his 15-year-old stepdaughter, Christine Jenkins. He argued that his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial was violated, that the loss or destruction of potential biological evidence from the crime scene required dismissal for prosecutorial misconduct or an instruction allowing the jury to draw an adverse inference against the state, that the trial court violated his constitutional right to present a defense by excluding evidence of bias against him from local law enforcement and prosecutors, and that he was unfairly targeted as the shooter to the exclusion of other possible suspects. He also claimed that the cumulative effect of the court’s errors deprived him of a fundamentally fair trial.However, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed his convictions. The court found that the delay in bringing Palmer to trial did not violate his right to a speedy trial. Regarding the potential biological evidence, the court found that the State did not act in bad faith in failing to preserve it and that it lacked exculpatory value. It also ruled that the trial court did not err in excluding evidence of historical bias against Palmer as it was tangential to the issues at trial. The court found no basis for Palmer's claim of being unfairly targeted as the shooter to the exclusion of other possible suspects. Lastly, the court ruled that cumulative error analysis was inapplicable as Palmer did not show any error by the trial court. View "PALMER v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

In November 2019, Samuel Earl McCullum was convicted of the 1998 rape and murder of Monica Blackwell and the 1999 rape of another woman identified as C.C. McCullum appealed, asserting that the evidence presented in court was insufficient to support his convictions for the murder and rape of Blackwell. He claimed that there was no evidence showing that he intoxicated Blackwell or was connected to the drugs she took before her death, nor that the sexual encounter with Blackwell was non-consensual. McCullum also argued that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the count of rape against C.C. on constitutional speedy trial grounds and in denying his motion to sever that count from the counts related to Blackwell’s murder and rape.The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the trial court's decision. The court found that the evidence was constitutionally sufficient to convict McCullum of Blackwell’s rape and murder. The medical examiner's testimony established that while Blackwell died of cocaine intoxication, the combination of the cocaine, the head injuries inflicted by McCullum, and the rape materially accelerated her death. The court also found that McCullum's constitutional right to a speedy trial was not violated and it did not abuse its discretion in denying McCullum's motion to sever the counts. View "MCCULLUM v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

This case involves two appeals from rulings in a pretrial order related to the indictment of John Ledbetter for two separate murders. The State appeals the trial court's decision to grant Ledbetter’s motion to suppress evidence provided by Ledbetter’s former attorney, Dennis Scheib, to law enforcement, asserting the information was protected by attorney-client privilege. Ledbetter cross-appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress cell phone records obtained through two search warrants.The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed both orders. The court found that the trial court properly granted Ledbetter's motion to suppress evidence provided by Scheib, holding that Ledbetter’s attorney-client privilege had been violated by Scheib’s disclosures to Detective Leonpacher. The court also held that the trial court order did not suppress physical evidence provided by Scheib or "derivative evidence", but rather prohibited the State from presenting evidence to the jury that Scheib, Ledbetter’s attorney, was the source of the physical evidence given to law enforcement.Regarding Ledbetter's cross-appeal, the court concluded that the trial court correctly denied Ledbetter’s motion to suppress his cell phone records. The court found that the search warrants were supported by probable cause and rejected Ledbetter's various challenges to the warrants. Consequently, the court affirmed the trial court's pretrial order in its entirety. View "THE STATE v. LEDBETTER" on Justia Law

In the Supreme Court of Georgia, the appellant Morgan Baker was convicted of malice murder in connection with the shooting death of Tamarco Head. Baker appealed the conviction, arguing that the trial court erred by admitting into evidence a portion of a rap music video in which he appeared. The State used this video to portray Baker as violent and familiar with guns. The court agreed with Baker that the trial court's admission of the video was an abuse of discretion under OCGA § 24-4-403 (“Rule 403”), as the video's highly prejudicial nature substantially outweighed its minimal probative value.The court found that the video had little probative value in proving Baker's presence at the crime scene or his identity, as these facts were not in dispute. Furthermore, the video's depiction of Baker waving a gun during a music performance did not significantly prove his access to or familiarity with guns at the time of the shooting. Conversely, the video was highly prejudicial as it allowed the State to introduce impermissible propensity evidence, portraying Baker as a threatening gunman.The court concluded that the State had failed to show that the error in admitting the video was harmless, given the video's significant prejudicial effect and the lack of compelling evidence of Baker's guilt. Therefore, the court reversed Baker's conviction. View "BAKER v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

In August 2021, a Fulton County grand jury indicted defendant Jerrion McKinney on various charges relating to his alleged participation in an "armed takeover" of an area in Atlanta, including twelve counts of violating Georgia’s Gang Act. The state sought to introduce evidence of McKinney's previous acts under evidence rule, OCGA § 24-4-418 (“Rule 418”), which allows for the admission of evidence of other acts listed in Georgia’s Gang Act in prosecutions under the same.The trial court ruled that only one of the three acts proffered by the state was admissible. The state appealed, arguing that the trial court incorrectly interpreted Rule 418 as requiring a nexus between the other act and an intent to further gang activity. The Court of Appeals agreed with the state, reversed the trial court's decision in part and remanded the case back to the trial court for reconsideration under OCGA § 24-4-403 (“Rule 403”), which governs the admissibility of relevant evidence.Upon review, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals, concluding that Rule 418 does not require a nexus between the other act and an intent to further gang activity. The Court clarified that while Rule 418 does not impose a nexus requirement, the admissibility of evidence under Rule 418 is still subject to the application of other rules of evidence, including Rule 403. The Court remanded the case back to the trial court to assess whether the other acts at issue should be excluded under Rule 403 or any other related rules. View "MCKINNEY v. THE STATE" on Justia Law

In a dispute between the City of Winder and Barrow County, Georgia, the Supreme Court of Georgia addressed the interpretation of the Services Delivery Strategy (SDS) Act, with regard to the delivery of services to county and city residents and property owners and the funding of these services. The case initially revolved around three main issues: the maintenance of county roads and who benefits from them, the funding of services that primarily benefit the unincorporated area of the county, and whether the County could challenge the water rates charged by the City as an illegal tax.The court concluded that determining whether the maintenance of county roads primarily benefits the unincorporated area of a county cannot be resolved as a matter of law and requires analysis of the totality of the circumstances involved. The court held that services that primarily benefit the unincorporated area of the county should be funded through the mechanisms delineated in the Act, limiting the sources within a special district that can be used for funding.Finally, the court decided that a superior court adjudicating a petition under the SDS Act is not authorized to determine whether the City’s usage rates charged to water customers in unincorporated areas of the County are an illegal tax. The court reversed the rulings of the lower courts and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "CITY OF WINDER v. BARROW COUNTY" on Justia Law

In the Supreme Court of Georgia, the appellant, Belinda Lopez, was convicted of malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in relation to the shooting death of her husband, Noel Lopez. The court presented evidence of a night out involving Belinda, Noel, and Belinda’s friend Angelica Juarez, which culminated in Noel being shot in the head. Belinda called 911 to report the incident. Throughout her interviews with investigators, Belinda maintained that she was defending herself from Noel's attack when the gun accidentally discharged. However, her account of the incident shifted over time.In her appeal, Belinda contended that the evidence presented at her trial was insufficient to support her convictions and that her trial counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance. She claimed that the State failed to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt her theories of self-defense and accident, and alternatively, suggested that Juarez may have shot Noel.The court rejected Belinda's claims, affirming that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support her convictions. The court found that Belinda's shifting accounts of the incident, combined with expert testimony and physical evidence, allowed the jury to conclude that she was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of malice murder and the related firearm possession count.Regarding Belinda's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, the court found that her trial counsel's decision not to pursue requests for certain jury instructions and his failure to object to the prosecutor’s closing argument did not constitute deficient performance. The court concluded that Belinda failed to establish that her trial counsel's performance was deficient or that she suffered prejudice as a result of his actions. Accordingly, the court affirmed the convictions. View "LOPEZ v. THE STATE" on Justia Law