Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Travis Thomas, Jr. was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting deaths of Jabrial Adams and Kenny Hart. On appeal, Thomas contended the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions and that the trial court erred in denying his motion for mistrial, admitting evidence of a confession, and admitting testimony regarding pre-trial identifications of Thomas. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Thomas v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Quran Knighton was convicted of malice murder and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony in connection with the stabbing death of Markice Harris. Appellant contended that by twice interrupting his counsel’s closing argument to provide instructions to the jury, the trial court committed plain error and denied him his constitutional right to a fair trial, and that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to object to the interruptions and instructions. Finding no reversible error from these contentions, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Knighton v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Wanda Nuckles was charged with depriving James Dempsey, an elder person, of essential services and concealing his death. Prior to her trial on those charges, Nuckles filed a motion seeking to exclude a video recording captured on a camera concealed in Dempsey’s room at the residential rehabilitation center where Nuckles worked, asserting that the recording was inadmissible under OCGA 16-11-67 because she did not consent to its recording as required under OCGA 16-11-62 (2). The trial court denied the motion, and Nuckles appealed that ruling to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the trial court in an unpublished opinion. The Georgia Supreme Court granted Nuckles’s petition for certiorari on the issue of whether the Court of Appeals erred in determining that the video recording at issue fell within the exception provided in OCGA 16-11-62 (2) (B). Because the Supreme Court agreed that the video recording fell within that exception, judgment was affirmed. View "Nuckles v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Fernando Guzman-Perez was convicted by jury of malice murder and concealing the death of another in connection with the death of his wife, Yamilet Rodriguez. On appeal, Appellant argued the evidence was insufficient to support his murder conviction and that he was denied constitutionally effective assistance of counsel. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Guzman-Perez v. Georgia" on Justia Law

In related appeals, Dreshaun Martin and Tori Byrd appealed their convictions for the malice murder of Valentine Dwight Gant, Jr., and the aggravated assault of Gant’s three-year-old son. Both raised claims that the trial court erred in certain rulings during trial, that the evidence was insufficient to support their convictions, and they received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Finding no errors, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed their convictions. View "Martin v. Georgia" on Justia Law

The Georgia Supreme Court determined the court of appeals erred in holding a trial court properly declined to address a claim raised by Christina Flanders in an amended motion to withdraw her guilty plea. Flanders pled guilty to aggravated assault and first-degree child cruelty, for which Flanders was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment and 5 years' probation. A month later, Flanders moved to withdraw her plea, arguing her attorneys were ineffective; the amended motion at issue here alleged the State failed to disclose the existence of a taped interview with the victim wherein the victim denied Flanders injured her. The trial court denied the motion. The appellate court concluded the trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider the claim because the amended motion was filed outside the term of court in which Flanders had entered her guilty plea, even though the original motion was timely filed within the term of court in which the plea was entered. "With respect to a motion to withdraw a guilty plea, no statutory authority prohibits a defendant from amending outside the term of court a proper motion to withdraw a guilty plea that was filed within the term of court in which the conviction was entered. In fact, '[n]o statute sets forth the procedures by which a motion to withdraw a guilty plea may be entertained by the trial court after a sentence has been pronounced.'" The Supreme Court granted the petition for a writ of certiorari, vacated the court of appeals' opinion, and remanded this case to that court so that it could address Flanders' claim the trial court erred in declining to address her claims in her amended motion to withdraw her guilty plea. View "Flanders v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Marquerius Dandre Carter was convicted of malice murder and two firearm offenses in connection with the shooting death of Sarferaz Khan. Around 1:00 a.m. on February morning in 2016, Khan was closing the grocery store he owned. Two of his employees, Lynda Rowe and her son Otis, were helping. While the Rowes were outside the store’s doors locking up, Khan picked up trash in the parking lot. Otis saw a person coming around the corner of the store, and both Otis and Lynda heard a man yell, “Don’t move, don’t move,” followed by multiple gunshots. Surveillance video recordings of the parking lot show the man, later identified as Appellant, running into the parking lot with a white t-shirt wrapped around his face and a gun in his hand. Appellant ran toward Khan and fired at least two shots at Khan as Khan ran away, drew his own gun, and fired at least one shot. The Rowes testified that after the two men fell, they struggled on the ground. Appellant had dropped his .380 pistol; he tried to regain control of it, but Lynda, who had run toward the men, grabbed it, pointed it at Appellant, and told him, “Don’t move.” After Otis called 911, Lynda handed him Appellant’s gun, and Otis started repeatedly kicking Appellant. Lynda and Otis also took the t-shirt off Appellant’s face. Appellant told Otis, “I’m sorry Bro. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it.” Meanwhile, Lynda checked on Khan, saw his .40-caliber pistol, picked it up, and kept it until she went to the police department later that morning. Khan was not moving or speaking when Lynda checked on him. Emergency medical personnel found Khan laying face down in the parking lot with no detectable pulse. He took three or four gasping breaths, but then he stopped breathing and could not be revived. Khan had been shot three times: once in the chest, once in the left thigh, and once in the right knee. Appellant disputed the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions, arguing that the Rowes were not credible witnesses and that the State failed to prove that he killed Khan with malicious intent rather than in self-defense. Finding the evidence sufficient to support Appellant's conviction, and that his counsel did not render constitutionally ineffective assistance, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's conviction. View "Carter v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Bobby Jay Cole appealed the trial court’s summary denial of his motion for out-of-time appeal of his murder and armed robbery convictions. Because the trial court did not hold a hearing to determine whether Cole was deprived of his right to appeal due to the constitutionally ineffective assistance of his plea counsel, the Georgia Supreme Court vacated the court’s order and remanded for such a hearing. View "Cole v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Eugenia Schell challenged her 2016 convictions for malice murder and other crimes in connection with the death of her mother, Willie Jo Vaughn. Appellant had a demonstrated history of abuse and violence towards her mother. This pattern of behavior led to a permanent protective order being issued against Appellant on February 9, 2011. Sometime later, Vaughn invited Appellant to live with her at her home. In October 2014, however, Vaughn initiated eviction proceedings against Appellant. Vaughn went to stay with her youngest daughter, and Appellant was given a timeframe to vacate Vaughn’s home. Vaughn had the locks changed and a spare key for the new locks hidden somewhere outside the house by her grandson. In March 2015, people accustomed to seeing or hearing from Vaughn did not. Vaughn did not report to work or to services at the church that weekend. Neighbors, who had a good view of her home and regularly interacted with her, did not see Vaughn’s car in her driveway after March 26. On that date, Vaughn was seen in the backseat of her own car, driven by Appellant. On April 3, Vaughn’s vehicle was found submerged at the bottom of a boat ramp at Upper County Landing in Wayne County, Georgia. Vaughn was discovered in the back seat, a plastic bag near her head, and a white, vinyl-type material was found draped over her body. Large rocks taken from the banks of the boat ramp had been placed on the trunk of the vehicle to keep it from floating. In her sole enumeration of error, Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support her convictions. Specifically, Appellant argued that evidence of her mere presence with Vaughn on March 26, 2015, did not prove her involvement in the murder. Appellant also argued there was no evidence that Vaughn was prevented from leaving or was taken from one location to another without her permission to support the kidnapping conviction. The Georgia Supreme Court found the evidence sufficient to support Appellant's conviction and affirmed the trial court's judgment. View "Schell v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Detrik Davis appealed pro se a superior court order denying his motion for an out-of-time appeal. The superior court found that Davis failed to carry his burden of showing that the lack of an appeal from the judgment of conviction entered following his guilty plea was the result of counsel’s ineffective assistance. Davis contended he was “forced to improperly proceed pro se on his first appeal from his conviction based on a guilty plea.” He also argued he was entitled to appointed counsel to assist him with his motion for an out-of-time appeal. Finding no merit to these claims of error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Davis v. Georgia" on Justia Law