Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

David Freeman was found guilty by jury on one count of disorderly conduct, pursuant to OCGA 16-11-39(a)(1). Freeman attended a church service, whereby instead of praying for teachers and students for a successful start to the school year, Freeman raised his middle finger in the air and stared angrily at the pastor. The pastor testified that he felt afraid for his own safety. As people left the sanctuary, Freeman began yelling about sending children off to the evil public schools and having them raised by Satan. As Freeman yelled, the music minister at the church turned up the music in an effort to drown him out, and Freeman then left the sanctuary. Freeman was later sentenced to twelve months of probation and ordered to pay a $270 fine. On appeal, Freeman contended the statute was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and his conviction, therefore, should not stand. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court reversed Freeman’s conviction, but for different reasons. The Court found Freeman raised his middle finger as a form of protest, and there is no evidence that Freeman engaged in additional threatening conduct that would have elevated his raised middle finger to the level of conveying “fighting words” or a “true threat.” The evidence reveals that he stared angrily at the pastor, but did nothing more while he raised his middle finger in silence from the back of the church. This would not rise to the level of “fighting words” or a “true threat” as a matter of law. View "Freeman v. Georgia" on Justia Law

A jury found Craig Johnson guilty of malice murder and other crimes related to the 2008 stabbing death of Nicole Judge. All of the original verbatim trial transcript materials were later destroyed in a fire at the court reporter’s house. The State ultimately provided Johnson with a 14-page, double-spaced document purported to be a complete narrative recreation of the trial transcript. As part of its review, the Georgia Supreme Court reviewed the narrative at issue and found the recreated transcript was not sufficiently detailed to allow Johnson a fair opportunity to appeal or to allow meaningful appellate review. The Court therefore reversed the trial court’s denial of Johnson’s motion for new trial and remanded this case for further proceedings. View "Johnson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Misty Sunshine Moran appealed her convictions malice murder, felony murder (attempt to rob), felony murder (aggravated assault), criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit a crime, aggravated assault (with a deadly weapon), aggravated assault (with intent to rob), aggravated assault (with intent to murder), four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and two counts of participation in criminal street gang activity. Appellant and her friends conspired to rob a taxi driver. Appellant called for a taxi to pick her up, while her friends followed the taxi in a separate car which was to serve as the “getaway” vehicle. During the ride, appellant pulled a gun on the victim and demanded money. When the victim begged for his life and then attempted to exit the vehicle, appellant shot him in the back of the head. Although shot, the victim’s foot remained on the gas pedal and the vehicle continued to move, eventually crashing into a tree in a wooded area off the road. Appellant exited the vehicle before it crashed. When appellant met up with her friends again, she tried to get them to collect any money inside the taxi, but they refused to do so upon seeing the carnage at the crash site. The group then decided to burglarize a home. Later that night, appellant and one of her compatriots hid the gun under a cement slab in appellant’s driveway; however, appellant eventually returned the gun, which was a 9 millimeter gun, to the person from whom she had borrowed it. On appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, appellant argued the evidence was insufficient to sustain her convictions, and that the trial court erred in certain evidentiary rulings. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed appellant’s convictions. View "Moran v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Mark Taylor appealed his convictions related to the 2012 death of Charles Weaver. Appellant entered the parking lot of a car dealership and saw a truck that had its engine running and the lights on. Seeing no one in the car, appellant jumped in and threw the vehicle in reverse. Weaver worked at the dealership, and tried to stop appellant from stealing the vehicle. Weaver started dialing the police on his cell phone, but appellant got out of the truck, pulled a gun and forced Weaver to stop the call. Appellant forced Weaver to walk towards the building, then shot him. The victim attempted to run away and hide inside the building, but appellant followed him and shot him a second time. Appellant then fled in the truck, taking the victim’s cell phone and pocket knife with him. A significant portion of appellant’s encounter with the victim was caught on the dealership’s video surveillance system. The victim was found deceased by a coworker. The medical examiner testified the victim died from a bullet that entered and exited his arm and then re-entered his body through his chest, damaging his lungs and a major artery to his heart such that he bled to death. Police tracked the stolen vehicle to an apartment complex in Atlanta, used the apartment’s surveillance system to link appellant to the truck, and found appellant in an apartment with some of his relatives. As appellant was arrested, he admitted to the shooting. Nevertheless, appellant alleged the evidence presented against him was insufficient to sustain his convictions, and that errors at trial warranted a new trial. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed appellant’s convictions. View "Taylor v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Dennis Hampton was found guilty of malice murder and other related crimes in connection with the shooting death of Takilam Terrell. The charges arose from an altercation outside a Cobb County bar in 2013. On appeal, he contended, among other things, that the trial court gave an impermissibly coercive jury charge and erred in sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for malice murder. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the convictions. View "Hampton v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Isaiah Blackmon challenges his convictions for felony murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Edward Cobb and the aggravated assault of Stanton Gilliam. The charges arose from an arrangement to purchase marijuana that did not go as planned. Appellant contended the evidence was legally insufficient to support his convictions and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed appellant’s convictions. View "Blackmon v. Georgia" on Justia Law

The State appealed a trial court’s order granting Nathaniel Wilkins’ pretrial motion in limine to exclude incriminating statements made by his co-defendant Michael Jones with regard to a 2013 double murder. Wilkins and Jones were indicted by grand jury for malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault arising from the execution-style shootings of Forrest Ison and Alice Stevens at their home in Thunderbolt, Georgia. Jones’ case was severed from that of Wilkins, and he was tried in April 2016 and found guilty on all counts. Most of the statements complained of here were admitted into evidence at Jones’ trial. The State expected the evidence to show that Wilkins, Jones, and Tracy Burgess, the driver of the getaway car, attempted to avoid arrest after the murders by hiding in the homes of friends and family members in Georgia and South Carolina. During that time, Jones allegedly made a number of incriminating statements to witnesses. The trial court held that some of the statements, while made by a co-conspirator, were not made “in furtherance of the conspiracy” and thus did not fall within the exception to the hearsay rule provided by OCGA 24-8-801 (d) (2) (E). Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in so doing, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Georgia v. Wilkins" on Justia Law

Following the denial of his motion for new trial, as amended, Darius Davis appealed his convictions and sentences for malice murder, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the fatal shooting of Anton Johnson and the wounding of Jamal Makanjoula. The charges stemmed from the attempted fencing of a stolen television, and the attempted robbery of a drug dealer. Davis challenged the trial court’s permitting cross-examination of alibi witnesses about prior altercations with him, the failure of the trial court to give a limiting instruction regarding the evidence of prior altercations, the admission into evidence of certain other testimony at trial, and the effectiveness of his trial counsel. Finding the challenges to be without merit, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the convictions. View "Davis v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In 2001 Appellant Danny Deloney pled guilty to the felony murder of his six-year-old daughter, Porsha, and numerous other crimes. For this, he received the death penalty. Fourteen years later, Deloney filed a motion for out-of-time appeal, which the trial court denied. He appealed pro se, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion and in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on the motion. Pretermitting whether Appellant alleged a proper excuse for not filing a timely appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court determined the record shows that he is not entitled to an out-of-time appeal and thus that the trial court was not required to hold an evidentiary hearing on his motion. Accordingly, we affirm. View "Deloney v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Derrick Williams appealed the denial of his motion for a new trial following his conviction for malice murder for the death of his wife, Finesse Dawson. Williams argued the trial court erred by: (1) excluding evidence regarding drugs found in Dawson’s blood; (2) admitting evidence of prior bad acts by Williams; and (3) allowing an irrelevant and prejudicial demonstration. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded there was no reversible error in excluding the toxicology evidence, and that any error in the trial court’s decisions to admit the prior bad acts and allow the State’s demonstration was harmless. View "Williams v. Georgia" on Justia Law