Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Dongsoo Park was convicted of malice murder in connection with the stabbing death of Kwang Ko (“Ko”) in a parking lot after a confrontation between two groups of people. On appeal, he contended: (1) the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on justification as part of the former suggested pattern jury instruction on mutual combat; (2) his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel; and (3) the trial court erred in merging the aggravated assault count into the felony murder count. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Park v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Harvey Lee was convicted by jury of malice murder in connection with the 2017 shooting death of George Young. On appeal, Lee claimed his trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance by failing to object to (1) evidence of George’s good character, (2) a photograph of George in life with his children, and (3) the presentation of and comments on Lee’s silence after he was advised of his Miranda rights. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Lee v. Georgia" on Justia Law

This case was a dispute over who could run for Chief Magistrate Judge of Douglas County, Georgia in the November 2022 election. After the incumbent successfully challenged the qualifications of the only person who qualified to run for the Democratic nomination, the Douglas County Democratic Party Executive Committee purported to name a replacement. That led to another challenge, this one by the incumbent’s husband (a registered voter eligible to vote in the election), contending that the substitution was improper. The superior court agreed that the Douglas County Board of Elections and Registration (the “Board”) was not legally authorized to allow the substitution, but ruled that the statutory vehicle through which the challenge was asserted — OCGA § 21-2-6 — covered only challenges to a candidate’s qualifications to hold office, not whether the candidate fulfilled the necessary prerequisites to seek office. The Georgia Supreme Court granted an application for expedited consideration in the light of the rapidly approaching election, and reversed. "Code section 21-2-6 allows the challenge here because 'qualifications,' as that term is used in the statute, includes all of the prerequisites for seeking and holding office. The substitute candidate did not properly qualify to seek office, so the Board lacked authority to put him on the ballot. And because electors have an interest in having the community’s government offices filled by duly qualified officials, the Board’s decision allowing an unqualified candidate on the ballot violated a substantial right of an elector." View "Camp v. Williams, et al." on Justia Law

Joseph Jones, III appealed his convictions for felony murder in connection with the shooting deaths of Quatez Strong and Jalen Walker. In his sole enumeration of error, Jones argued that, because “unrebutted” testimony showed that he was provoked to shoot, the trial evidence at most established voluntary manslaughter and was insufficient to support his felony-murder convictions. To this, the Georgia Supreme Court disagreed: because a rational jury could have rejected the testimony that Jones claimed established provocation, and the evidence was more than sufficient to support Jones’s felony-murder convictions, the judgment was affirmed. View "Jones v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Derrico Thomas was convicted by jury of malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, stemming from the shooting death of Orlando Young. Thomas argued: (1) the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a prior shooting and his aggravated battery conviction that flowed from it; and (2) he was deprived of his right to testify due to the ineffective assistance of counsel. The Georgia Supreme Court concluded that although the trial court erred in admitting the evidence of the prior shooting, it was highly probable that the error in admitting the evidence about the shooting did not contribute to the verdict. And the Supreme Court concluded Thomas did not met his burden to show that trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective. The Court therefore affirmed Thomas’s convictions. View "Thomas v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Erik Albert Williams, Jr. was convicted by jury of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Deangelo Hudgins and the shooting of Albert Gilbert. On appeal, Williams argued: (1) the evidence presented at trial was insufficient as a matter of due process to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred by failing to grant a new trial when Williams’s accomplice’s guilty plea was admitted into evidence and used substantively against him; and (3) that the trial court abused its discretion by determining that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was not violated. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Williams' convictions. View "Williams v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In 2011, Didrekeus Lewis was convicted by jury of malice murder and other crimes for the shooting death of Marvin Printup. Lewis argued on appeal: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred when it denied Lewis’s motion to suppress evidence that Yvette Varner identified a man in a photo lineup as “Weasel”; (3) the trial court erred when it denied Lewis’s motion for mistrial made after a detective summarized a pre-trial statement from a witness, Abdul Aziz, that the trial court had ruled was inadmissible before trial; (4) the trial court erred by denying Lewis’s motion to suppress evidence that Aziz identified a man in a photograph as “Weasel”; and (5) that Lewis received ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Lewis' convictions. View "Lewis v. Georgia" on Justia Law

The State appealed a trial court’s suppression of custodial statements 16-year-old Jeffrey Burton made during a video-taped interview with law enforcement officers who had arrested Burton for the murder of George Akins, Jr. The State contended the trial court erred in concluding that Burton clearly, unequivocally, and unambiguously invoked his right to remain silent and that the State failed to show that Burton knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). The Georgia Supreme Court did not decide whether the trial court erred in concluding that Burton clearly invoked his right to remain silent. However, it did conclude that the trial court did not err in ruling that the State failed to meet its burden of showing that Burton knowingly and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights: a ruling that was supported by factual and credibility findings that were not clearly erroneous. The Supreme Court therefore affirmed. View "Georgia v. Burton" on Justia Law

Luis Torres was found guilty of the felony murder of Dennis Bryant and other offenses at a bench trial. Torres appealed, arguing that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient as a matter of Georgia law to sustain his convictions, that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress statements he made to the police, and that double jeopardy barred his re-trial after he had previously been acquitted by a jury of some offenses arising from the events surrounding Bryant’s death. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Torres' convictions. View "Torres v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In 2016, William Downer was found guilty of felony murder, armed robbery, and other crimes in connection with the death of Michael Hill following a bench trial. On appeal, Downer argued: (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) his custodial statements should have been suppressed; (3) the trial court erred in admitting hearsay statements through two witnesses; (4) the State withheld exculpatory evidence; and (5) the trial court erred in denying his post-trial motion for DNA testing. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Downer's convictions. View "Downer v. Georgia" on Justia Law