State v. Williams

Jalontaye Cleveland and Courtney Williams were convicted by a Muscogee County jury of murder and other crimes tied to a string of gas station robberies, including a shooting that killed Vatsal Patel. At trial, the judge instructed the jury that three witnesses who had pleaded guilty and testified against the men were 'accomplices' to specific counts. After the verdicts, both men argued this instruction violated a Georgia law barring judges from commenting on a defendant's guilt, because calling someone an accomplice necessarily means the defendant was also a participant in the crime. The trial court agreed and granted new trials. The State appealed, arguing that other parts of the jury instructions fixed any problem. The Supreme Court of Georgia disagreed, holding that naming the witnesses as accomplices amounted to the judge expressing an opinion on guilt, which requires automatic reversal under the statute regardless of other instructions given.

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Affirmed

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