Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Dequan Holmes appealed his convictions for felony murder, aggravated assault, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime for the shooting death of Javares Alston and the non-fatal shooting of Danielle Willingham. He argued on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to convict him and that the trial court committed plain error when it charged the jury to “consider with great care and caution” Holmes’s out-of-court statements. Holmes, a juvenile at the time the crime was committed, also challenged his sentence of life without parole, arguing that it violated the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court. The Georgia Supreme Court held the evidence was sufficient to convict Holmes and that any error in the trial court’s instruction to the jury did not amount to plain error because the instruction did not affect the outcome of his trial. The Supreme Court also concluded Holmes’ sentence of life without parole was not prohibited by United States Supreme Court precedent, especially in the light of that Court’s recent decision in Jones v. Mississippi, ____ U.S. ___ (141 S.Ct 1307 (2021)). View "Holmes v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Deanthony Davenport was convicted by jury of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2014 shooting death of Willie Thomas. On appeal, Davenport argued: (1) the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) his trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance by failing to request a curative instruction or move for a mistrial based on hearsay evidence; and (3) the trial court erred by refusing to charge the jury on voluntary manslaughter. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Davenport’s convictions. View "Davenport v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellants Zonnique Maxwell and Tyquarius Washington appealed a trial court’s partial denial of their respective motions for autrefois convict and pleas of procedural double jeopardy based on OCGA sections 16-1-7 and 16-1-8. Jaheim Morris was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Savannah with a gunshot wound to the head; he died from that wound. At the hospital, police learned that Morris had been driven to the hospital in a private car, which had a bullet hole in one of its doors. The occupants of this car (other than Morris) were Maxwell, Washington, and two others. Police searched these individuals for weapons and recovered a handgun from Maxwell and a revolver and a pistol from Washington. Maxwell would be arrested for possessing a handgun by a person under age 18 in state court; after further investigation into Morris’ shooting, Maxwell would be indicted at superior court for felony murder, aggravated assault, weapons possession charges, and violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. She negotiated a guilty plea in state court to the firearm charge, for which she was sentenced to 12 months. Maxwell then moved to dismiss the superior court charges against her on double jeopardy grounds. Similar to Maxwell, Washington was initially arrested at the hospital and charged with misdemeanor carrying weapons without a license in state court. Washington was later indicted in superior court on charges that largely mirrored Maxwell’s. Washington entered a negotiated guilty plea on the firearm charge in state court and was sentenced to 12 months of probation. Thereafter, Washington moved to adopt Maxwell’s procedural double jeopardy motion. The trial court granted Appellants’ motions with regard to the weapons charges as procedurally barred by procedural double jeopardy, but denied the motions with respect to all remaining superior court charges. Appellants challenged that ruling on nearly identical arguments. The Georgia Supreme Court determined that for the majority of the superior court counts, the trial court properly denied Appellants’ motions. However, with respect to one count of street gang activity, against Maxwell and two counts against Washington, the trial court should have dismissed these counts as they were explicitly premised in the indictment on the counts that were dismissed. View "Maxwell v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellants Jefrey Rios and Justin Carter, along with Marco Cruz, were jointly indicted for three counts of felony murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Cristian Carrillo. The State could not locate Cruz after the crimes, and the case proceeded to trial against Rios and Carter. On the first day of witness testimony, the trial court declared a mistrial, finding that critical evidence had not been disclosed to the defense until that day because of a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) computer error and that the trial could not proceed as a result. Rios and Carter filed a joint plea in bar, but the trial court denied it and concluded that double jeopardy did not preclude the State from retrying them. Rios and Carter appealed, but finding no error in the trial court judgment, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Rios v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Jeffrey Lewis was convicted of felony murder and other crimes in connection with the fatal shooting of Delorean Patterson, who was killed during an armed robbery that Lewis, Patterson, and others carried out at a “trap house” in Atlanta in 2011. On appeal, Lewis argued the trial court erred: (1) by admitting his confession to police given while Lewis was in custody because it was induced by a “hope of benefit;” (2) by admitting that same confession because it was obtained in violation of his right to counsel; (3) by denying Lewis’s claim that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to object when the trial court refused to expound on a jury instruction; and (4) by giving an incorrect jury instruction on the statutory accomplice-corroboration requirement. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Lewis’s convictions. View "Lewis v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Robert Rogers was convicted of felony murder in connection with the 2016 shooting death of Richard Trantham, Jr. On appeal, Rogers contended the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court committed plain error when it admitted certain testimony from a State witness. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Rogers v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In related appeals, Donovan Fitts and Jermanique Franklin appealed their convictions for murder and other crimes in connection with the 2017 shooting deaths of Tenecia Posley and Barry Johnson. In Case No. S21A0159, Fitts argued the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a subsequent shooting incident as intrinsic evidence and as other-acts evidence under OCGA 24-4-404 (b), and that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance for failing to object to certain hearsay testimony and for not moving for a mistrial. In Case No. S21A0160, Franklin claimed: (1) the evidence was insufficient to convict her beyond a reasonable doubt as a party to the crimes; (2) the Georgia Supreme Court should reconsider the standard of review for sufficiency; and (3) she received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. As to Fitts, the Georgia Supreme Court found no reversible error, so it affirmed in Case No. S21A0159. As to Franklin, the Court rejected each of her enumerations of error, but found a merger error with regard to her convictions for armed robbery and burglary. The Court therefore affirmed her convictions for felony murder but vacated her convictions for armed robbery and burglary in Case No. S21A0160. View "Fitts v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Philemon Shark Jackson was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2017 shooting death of Clyde Weeks. On appeal, Appellant contended: (1) the evidence was legally insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred in allowing an unredacted 911 call containing hearsay testimony into evidence; and (3) the trial court erred in refusing to charge the jury on sympathy, despite a request by the defense. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Jackson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Drexton Thomas appealed his convictions for malice murder and other offenses in connection with the shooting death of Jeffrey Douglas, Sr., and the aggravated assault of Jeffrey Douglas, Jr. (“Junior”). He argued: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions as a matter of federal due process; (2) the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a new trial as the “thirteenth juror;” (3) the trial court abused its discretion in denying Thomas’ motion for a mistrial based on a courtroom outburst; (4) his inculpatory custodial statement was obtained in violation of his Miranda rights; (5) his trial counsel was ineffective; and (6) he was entitled to a new trial on the basis of cumulative prejudice. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court found no reversible error and affirmed. View "Thomas v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Rufus Griffin appealed his convictions for the 2016 malice murder of Kerry Freeman and related offenses, contending, among other things, that the trial court made certain evidentiary errors and that trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance. After review, the Georgia Supreme Court found no reversible error and affirmed. View "Griffin v. Georgia" on Justia Law