Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellee Bobby Schroeder received a traffic ticket in DeKalb County in 2013. He alleged he appeared in recorder’s court and was ordered to pay a fine and that he timely paid the fine, but the staff of the recorder’s court failed to close his case. He asserted the court staff falsely informed the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) that he failed to appear for his hearing or pay his fine, leading to the suspension of his driving privilege. In August, an officer with the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office arrested appellee for driving on a suspended license and took him into custody. Appellee claimed he spent significant time in custody before bonding out. Approximately one month later, an officer with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office arrested appellee for driving on a suspended license and took him into custody. According to appellee, at the time of his Rockdale and Newton County arrests, he was on first offender probation; the arrests led to the revocation of his probation, for which appellee was ultimately arrested and spent one month in jail. According to appellee, at some point, the recorder’s court realized that it had provided DDS with incorrect information, and sent a notice of suspension withdrawal to the department. This led to the dismissal of the Rockdale and Newton charges and the withdrawal of the probation revocation petition. Appellee claimed he lost his job because of these events. Appellee alleged DeKalb County Recorder's Court Chief Judge Nelly Withers and court administrator Troy Thompson were aware that the recorder’s court was "understaffed, dysfunctional, and unable to process its cases," and knew the court’s computer systems produced unreliable data because the systems were flawed or "because employees routinely entered data incorrectly, and that employees routinely failed to communicate correct information to DDS." Appellee filed this action for damages alleging that defendants failed to perform their ministerial duties with due care and that their actions led to appellee’s unlawful arrests. In addition to state law claims, appellee asserted claims under 42 USC 1983. The Georgia Supreme Court concluded appellants were protected from suit by the doctrine of judicial immunity and its derivative quasi-judicial immunity, and reversed the Court of Appeals’ opinion to the extent it allowed appellee’s suit to move forward against these two appellants. View "Withers v. Schroeder" on Justia Law

Appellant Philmore Reed, Jr. resided at a property located at 1020 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and operated businesses there and at other contiguous parcels. At trial, evidence was presented to show that commencing in 2009, appellant was involved in a civil dispute with other parties concerning ownership of these parcels. In late 2010, the party who claimed to be the rightful owner of the parcel on which appellant resided, by virtue of a judicial sale of the property, hired a tow company to enter the property to remove old vehicles parked on it. That tow truck operator left after appellant threatened his life if he came back. In February 2011, the owner hired a different company, and employees Travis Fenty and James Donegan went to the property three different times. On February 3, appellant called the police, and when the police arrived, Fenty and Donegan stated they would not return without the proper documentation to show they had authority from the true owner of the property. When they returned weeks later, they saw appellant standing on the roof of the building with a shotgun. Fenty called 911 and asked appellant to come down to talk, telling him they had with them a copy of the deed showing the person who hired them owned the property. Appellant told the men he was through talking and fired two shots at them. Fenty was struck in the chest with the spray of shotgun pellets from the first shot, and died from his wounds. Appellant was charged with murder and other offenses. Following a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter, as well as the count alleging aggravated assault upon Donegan. Appellant was found guilty of all remaining counts, and the trial judge sentenced him to life in prison for malice murder plus five years to serve for the possession of a firearm offense. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Reed's convictions. View "Reed v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Levaughn Sloans was tried by a jury and found guilty of murder, felony murder, criminal damage to property in the first degree, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime related to the death of Antonio President. He appealed, arguing the evidence was insufficient and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. After a review of the record, the Georgia Supreme Court found no reversible error and affirmed Sloans' convictions. View "Sloans v. Georgia" on Justia Law

John Johnson was convicted of murder but was granted a new trial. The State appealed, and the trial court entered an order denying Johnson’s motion for appeal bond. Johnson appealed that last order, contending that it was directly appealable pursuant to OCGA 5-7-51 and that the denial of bond violated the same statute. The Georgia Supreme Court did not concur with the trial court's reasoning, but affirmed the outcome: "Because the trial court undertook such an evaluation and explained its reasons, and nothing in its order or in the record shows that it manifestly or flagrantly abused its discretion, the denial of Johnson’s motion for appeal bond is affirmed." View "Johnson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Albert King was tried by jury and convicted of murder and aggravated assault in connection with the 2003 death of Lelia Mae Huston. King appealed, arguing the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for aggravated assault and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "King v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Following a jury trial, Quantavious Guffie was found guilty of malice murder and various other offenses in connection with the shooting death of Drexel Berry. Guffie appealed, arguing trial court error and ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Guffie v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Arielle Turner was indicted by grand jury for the December 2015 death of her infant child. Turner filed a pre-trial motion to suppress, seeking to prohibit the State from adducing items that were seized from her house during what she says was an unlawful search. Following a hearing, the trial court agreed that the search was unlawful and granted the motion. The State appealed, but after a review of the record, the Georgia Supreme Court found no error and affirmed the trial court's decision. View "Georgia v. Turner" on Justia Law

Joseph Williams was tried by jury and convicted of murder and other crimes in connection with the 2015 shooting of Travious Floyd. Williams appealed, contending that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel when his lawyer failed to request a jury charge on the defense of habitation and that the trial court plainly erred with respect to two jury instructions. After reviewing the record and briefs, the Georgia Supreme Court found no merit to Williams’s claims, and affirmed his convictions. View "Williams v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Thomas Sessions, Jr. was convicted by jury for malice murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He contended on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict and that the trial court committed certain evidentiary errors. Finding no such errors, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. View "Sessions v. Georgia" on Justia Law

After she was terminated from her employment as a firefighter, Appellee Chawanda Martin sued the City of College Park, the city council, and various interim officials, including the two individuals responsible for her dismissal, alleging that the interim appointments were made in violation of the Open Meetings Act, and, thus, the interim officials lacked the authority to take adverse employment action against her. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, concluding that Martin’s claims were untimely and lacked evidentiary support. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed in part, determining that Martin’s challenge to Chess’ appointment was timely and, further, that the undisputed evidence demonstrated that the mayor made the challenged appointment in “consensus” with the city council without ever having taken a vote. The Georgia Supreme Court granted certiorari review to consider the Court of Appeals’ application of the Open Meetings Act and concluded the Court of Appeals should have first determined whether the charter for the City of College Park actually required a vote to effectuate such an interim appointment before considering the applicability of the public-vote requirement of the Open Meetings Act. Accordingly, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals in part and remanded this case for further proceedings. View "City of College Park v. Martin" on Justia Law