Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Petitioner pled guilty to computer and electronic exploitation charges, for which he received a twenty-year sentence in prison, with eighteen to serve. He applied for habeas relief, challenging the voluntariness of his guilty plea. To facilitate his habeas claims, petitioner filed a pro se motion in his criminal case seeking production of the record and other documents. Petitioner filed another pro se motion to compel the production, claiming certain agencies subject to the order did not comply. The trial court determined petitioner had counsel, and dismissed the motion to compel for that reason. The Georgia Supreme Court determined that whether petitioner was represented by counsel was not evident in the record. In fact, petitioner represented that he filed his habeas corpus complaint pro se, and that one of his grounds for habeas relief was ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The Supreme Court remanded this case back to the Court of Appeals for confirmation of whether petitioner was represented by counsel; if not, the appellate court was directed to consider other substantive issues raised in petitioner’s application for discretionary appeal. View "New v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Eugene Leslie was tried and convicted of murder and related offenses in connection with the shooting death of Jason Glenn Wade. On appeal, Leslie argued the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his convictions. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Leslie v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Otis Bennett was convicted by jury of malice murder, and multiple counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children in the first degree, and aggravated battery, in the death of his girlfriend’s nine-month-old daughter Masiah Copeland. He appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. After review of the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court found no reversible error and affirmed. View "Bennett v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Willie Jackson was convicted by jury of the murder of his sister, Willie Mae Jackson. He was also convicted of possessing a knife during the conviction of a felony. On appeal, he argued he contended the trial court erred by declining his request to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter and insanity. The Georgia Supreme Court found neither instruction was appropriate in this case and affirmed the trial court’s decisions. View "Jackson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Earl Crump was tried by jury and found guilty of murder and various other offenses in connection with the shooting death of Simon Riley. In his sole enumeration on appeal, Crump contended that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Trial counsel testified at the motion for new trial hearing that he was not surprised by the test results, that he fully discussed the ballistics report with Crump prior to trial, and that the test results did nothing to change his trial strategy. The Georgia Supreme Court found no merit to Crump’s claim of ineffective assistance and affirmed. View "Crump v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Rodney Jackson was tried by jury and convicted of murder and two related firearms charges. He appealed, asserting that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. He also contended the trial court erred when it admitted a partial recording of a phone call that he made and when it allowed the lead investigator to testify about what another law enforcement officer told him. Upon review of the record and briefs, the Georgia Supreme Court found no error, and affirmed. View "Jackson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Leshan Tanner appealed his convictions for felony murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, and attempt to purchase marijuana all in connection with the fatal shooting of Cedric Huff. He challenged the admission into evidence of statements by the victim to the victim’s mother and the sufficiency of the evidence of his guilt. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court found the challenges to be without merit; however, the Court vacated in part because of an error in sentencing. View "Tanner v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Cornelius Richardson-Bethea appealed her convictions for malice murder and abuse of a disabled adult arising out of the death of Susan Walter, a woman with an intellectual disability who lived in Appellant’s home. Appellant argued she was entitled to a new trial because her trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call an expert witness to refute aspects of the medical examiner’s testimony. After review of the record, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded Appellant did not show that counsel’s failure to call an expert was so prejudicial as to require a new trial. View "Richardson-Bethea v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Thomas Hourin appealed a trial court’s denial of his pre-trial motions. Hourin, the non-physician owner of a medical clinic, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit the offense of unauthorized distribution and dispensation of controlled substances. The Georgia Supreme Court granted Hourin’s application for interlocutory appeal and directed the parties to address whether the Georgia Supreme Court had jurisdiction over an application for interlocutory appeal when the certificate of immediate review was signed by a judge different than the judge who signed the order to be appealed. The Court answered that question in the affirmative but rejected Hourin’s arguments that the statutes under which he was charged were unconstitutional. The Court also determined the trial court erred in concluding that officers announcing their presence while simultaneously entering a building was sufficient to satisfy Georgia’s knock-and-announce statute. Because that error was the trial court’s basis for denying Hourin’s motion to suppress, the Supreme Court vacated that order and remanded for consideration of additional issues not decided by the trial court. View "Hourin v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In September 2014, a grand jury indicted David Keener as following three separate physical altercations with three different victims: count one, felony murder predicated on aggravated battery (Randall Huling); count two, felony murder predicated on aggravated assault (Huling); count three, aggravated battery (Huling); count four, aggravated assault (Huling); count five, aggravated battery (Ricky Blocker); count six, aggravated assault (Blocker); counts seven and eight, aggravated battery (Steven Yearwood); and count nine, aggravated assault (Yearwood). Appellant was ultimately convicted of felony murder and two counts of aggravated battery. On appeal, he contended that trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective and that the trial court failed to apply the correct legal standard when considering his motion for new trial. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Keener v. Georgia" on Justia Law