Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

A jury convicted Donnie Forte of murder and kidnapping (amongst other crimes). He appealed, arguing the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions. Furthermore, Forte argued the trial court erred in instructing the jury on malice murder. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Forte’s convictions. View "Forte v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Wife and Husband were divorced in 1995; the final decree of divorce incorporated a settlement agreement that provided for child support and at least half of his Armed Services retirement pay monthly. The child support obligation terminated in 2006, and his first payment of retirement benefits was due to Wife the following month. Husband, however, never paid. Although Wife employed attorneys to demand payment from Husband, Wife took no court action until February 25, 2016, when she filed a motion for contempt. The trial court held that the first payment of retirement benefits became due on July 1, 2006, and the judgment went dormant on July 1, 2013. Although filing a scire facias within three years of dormancy would have revived the judgment if it were dormant, Wife made no such filing. Therefore, the trial court held: that although Husband “clearly and knowingly failed to uphold his obligations under the decree,” it could not hold him in contempt. The Georgia Supreme Court determined the trial court erred in its analysis: Wife’s first viable opportunity to enforce the judgment occurred in July of 2006, when the initial payment became due. The dormancy period did not begin to run until each installment is due. Here, installments that became due within seven years preceding the issuance and recording of the execution are collectible and enforceable. Installments that were dormant remain subject to revival pursuant to OCGA 9-12-61. View "Holmes-Bracy v. Bracy" on Justia Law

Frank Bozzie was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2013 death of Richard Morgan. Bozzie appealed, arguing the evidence was insufficient to support his malice murder conviction, the trial court made numerous evidentiary errors, he should have been granted a new trial due to alleged juror misconduct, he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel, and the trial court erred in refusing to secure his attendance for the motion for new trial hearing. Because none of these claims had merit, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Bozzie’s convictions. View "Bozzie v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Orlando Smith was convicted of felony murder and related offenses in connection with the 2010 shooting death of Demetra Smith . On appeal, Smith argued: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred by: failing to suppress illegally obtained evidence; (3) the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial; and (4) the trial court erred in allowing inadmissible hearsay pursuant to the necessity exception. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Smith v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Paul Manner was convicted of malice murder and related offenses in connection with the 2013 shooting death of Tracey Kingcannon. On appeal, Manner contended his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by withdrawing a request for a jury charge on the requirement for evidence corroborating accomplice testimony, and by failing to introduce evidence of the confessions of two of the State’s witnesses to an earlier aggravated assault on the victim. Manner also contended the trial court’s failure to instruct the jury on impeachment by prior conviction related to a first offender guilty plea by on State witness was plain error; or, in the alternative, his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to preserve her objection to the court’s denial of her request for that instruction. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court determined counsel’s strategic decision to withdraw her request for an accomplice corroboration instruction was not objectively unreasonable under the circumstances of this case. Similarly, counsel’s decision to rely on testimony about the State’s witnesses’ involvement in and confessions to an earlier aggravated assault on the victim, rather than seeking to admit the witnesses’ written statements, fell within the broad range of reasonable trial strategy. And the Supreme Court found no error in the trial court’s refusal to give the instruction on impeachment by prior conviction, and thus, no deficiency in counsel’s failure to make a specific objection on this issue after the jury instructions were given. The Court did, however, find the trial court erred in merging the two felony murder verdicts into the malice murder verdict, when the felony murder convictions should have been vacated by operation of law. View "Manner v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Lawrence Womac appealed his convictions and sentences for aggravated sexual battery, child molestation, cruelty to children in the first degree, and false imprisonment. On appeal, Womac argued, among other things, that his life sentence for aggravated sexual battery constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Georgia Constitution. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirm. View "Womac v. Georgia" on Justia Law

James Carter was tried by jury and convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2011 shooting death of Chandler Johnson. Carter appealed, contending: (1) the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court erred when it struck two prospective jurors; (3) the trial court erred when it refused to strike a third juror; (4) the trial court erred when it admitted evidence of his pretrial statements; and (5) the trial court erred when it allowed Johnson’s mother to testify about certain text messages, which she said that she had received from Carter. After review of the record and briefs, the Georgia Supreme Court found no reversible error, and affirmed. View "Carter v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Bernard Dixon and Arrick Camps were tried by jury and found guilty of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2015 shooting death of Robert Carr. They appealed, both contending the trial court erred when it refused to declare a mistrial for prosecutorial misconduct in the cross examination of a defense witness. They also argued (each for different reasons) the trial court erred when it refused to grant them new trials based on jury misconduct. Finding no reversible error after review of the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the convictions. View "Dixon v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Carlo Simpson was convicted of felony murder and other crimes in relation to the 2013 shooting death of Shakhira Dunson. Simpson and Dunson had a child together; when she ended the relationship, testimony at trial revealed he responded by telling her: “[I]f I can’t have you I will make sure nobody else will.” Simpson appealed his conviction and argued the trial court plainly erred in instructing the jury on a method of committing aggravated assault that was not alleged in the indictment. Because the trial court specifically instructed the jury that the State was required to prove every material allegation of the indictment, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Simpson’s convictions. View "Simpson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Malcolm Muckle was convicted of felony murder in connection with the 2012 shooting death of his accomplice in an attempted armed robbery, Travis Callaway. On appeal, he argued the evidence at his trial was insufficient to support his conviction and that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. The Georgia Supreme Court determined neither of those claims had merit, so it affirmed the conviction. View "Muckle v. Georgia" on Justia Law