Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Williams v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's murder convictions, ruling that the trial court properly allowed a friend to testify about the victim's account of a prior strangling under Georgia's residual hearsay exception.
In the Matter of Paul Gerard Wersant
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Forsyth County lawyer's request to give up his law license after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of interfering with child custody and filing false documents.
Dees v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Rockdale County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that police officers' testimony about what crime scene witnesses told them did not amount to a clear legal error even though it was never challenged as hearsay at trial.
Ealey v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Deanthony Ealey's malice murder convictions for the shooting deaths of two people in a Walmart parking lot, rejecting challenges to the evidence, prior-acts testimony, hearsay, and his trial lawyer's performance.
Felton v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Joseph Felton's murder conviction for killing his wife Sheray, rejecting claims of ineffective counsel and errors in admitting forensic testimony and knife evidence.
Fraser v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Marcus Fraser's murder conviction for shooting Rodricous Gates, Jr., rejecting claims that his trial lawyer was ineffective, but the court threw out a separate assault conviction that should have been merged into the murder count.
In the Matter of Craig S. Bonnell
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a special master wrongly declared attorney Craig Bonnell in default in his disciplinary case, and sent the matter back for a full hearing on the merits.
In the Matter of Melvin Raines, II
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Melvin Raines, II after he took a client's $5,000 payment for personal use, lied about it, and repeatedly failed to show up for court or communicate with two other clients.
Jester v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jquantae Jester's felony murder conviction in the killing of Myra Smith Parlier, ruling that any error in admitting evidence of a prior strangling incident was harmless given overwhelming proof of his guilt.
Mbungu v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that any error in excluding evidence about the victim's gang ties and a prior confrontation was harmless and that the jury instructions given were adequate.
Pinion-Lopez v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that his own trial testimony about a planned drug pickup was enough to prove the underlying drug conspiracy that led to a fatal shooting.
Priest v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Clayton County man's felony murder conviction, rejecting his claims that the trial court accepted his guilty plea without enough factual support and improperly forced him to give up his right to withdraw the plea.
Sprayberry v. Morris
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a habeas court's decision that had thrown out Edward Morris's murder conviction, ruling that his trial and appellate lawyers were not constitutionally ineffective on the claims the habeas court considered.
State v. ROMAN (Nine Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia declined to review the Fulton County election interference case, leaving in place a Court of Appeals ruling that forced District Attorney Fani Willis to step down from prosecuting Donald Trump and his co-defendants.
Tucker v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder conviction of a Warren County man who strangled his girlfriend and then set their home on fire, rejecting his arguments that the evidence left room for accident or self-defense.
Scales v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia denied review of a man's challenge to being restrained by a 'Band-it' security device during his child molestation trial, letting his conviction stand while a concurring Justice warned trial judges about courtroom security practices.
Allen v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, ruling the jury could reject his self-defense claim and that a separate assault charge did not have to merge with the murder count.
Foster v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Wayne County man's felony murder conviction for the death of a three-year-old, rejecting his claims that the evidence was insufficient and that the trial judge wrongly denied a last-minute request to delay trial for a new lawyer.
Gateway Pines Hahira, Lp v. Lowndes County Board of Tax Assessors
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that county tax assessors may still use the income approach to value affordable housing properties that receive federal low-income housing tax credits, correcting a Court of Appeals ruling that had barred the method entirely.
Hall v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Michelle Hall's felony murder conviction in the shooting death of her husband, ruling that evidence of her past violence toward ex-husbands and her daughter's recorded statements were properly used at trial.