Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
In the Matter of Allen Charles Jones
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred an Alabama lawyer also licensed in Georgia after he was disbarred in Alabama for smuggling drugs to jail inmates he represented and failing to report the discipline to Georgia's bar.
In the Matter of Vi Bui
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a voluntary surrender of law license from an attorney who was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a federal felony, a step equivalent to disbarment.
Mack v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Bernie Mack's murder and manslaughter convictions in the shooting deaths of his wife and her son-in-law, finding the evidence sufficient and any error in expert testimony harmless.
Marrow v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed a Chatham County man's convictions for killing three people, rejecting his claims that the trial judge should have instructed the jury on voluntary manslaughter and that his lawyers were ineffective.
Payne v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's murder conviction, ruling that a witness's photo lineup identification was properly admitted and that a flawed closing argument by the prosecutor did not require a new trial.
Richardson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's malice murder conviction, rejecting his arguments that the evidence was too weak and that a recorded witness statement should not have been played for the jury.
Scott v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Lee County man's murder conviction for killing his wife, rejecting his claim that his trial lawyer should have investigated an insanity defense.
WILLIAMS v. REGENCY HOSPITAL COMPANY, LLC
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a law that does not pause the two-year deadline for medical malpractice lawsuits filed on behalf of mentally incompetent patients, even though the deadline is paused in other kinds of civil cases.
Walton v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Washington County man's felony murder and armed robbery convictions, rejecting his claims that evidence was wrongly admitted and that his trial lawyer was ineffective.
Woods v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Bibb County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claim that his lawyer improperly advised him not to testify after the judge initially refused a voluntary manslaughter jury instruction.
Fripp v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jeremiah Fripp's murder conviction in a Laurens County shooting, rejecting his claims that the evidence was insufficient, his lawyer was ineffective, and a jury instruction on coercion was misleading.
Henderson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that the trial judge should have instructed jurors on voluntary manslaughter and that his lawyer was ineffective.
In THE MATTER OF DOMINIQUE MARC HENRI LEMOINE (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred a lawyer who took client and third-party escrow money for personal use and to pay off other clients, rejecting his claims that his mental state warranted only a suspension.
In the Matter of Kathleen Strang
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Kathleen Strang after she abandoned four indigent clients in criminal cases and failed to respond to the State Bar's investigation, following her default in the disciplinary proceedings.
In the Matter of William Keith McGowan
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney William Keith McGowan for taking a client's $30,000 personal injury settlement for himself and lying to her and the State Bar about why he never paid her.
Ivory v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Larry Ivory's convictions for murder and armed robbery, rejecting his claims that the evidence was too weak, that a co-defendant's out-of-court statement was improperly used against him, and that he should have been tried separately.
Johns v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld George Sharrod Johns's malice murder conviction in the stabbing death of Jason Cason Jr., rejecting challenges to the evidence, autopsy photographs, and testimony from a medical examiner who did not perform the autopsy.
P&J Beverage Corporation v. the Bottle Shop, LLC
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a business seeking damages for 'abusive litigation' must send a notice that not only names the lawsuit at issue but also says it believes that lawsuit was abusive litigation. An email that only warned of a separate wrongful injunction claim did not count.
Reynolds v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jeremy Reynolds's malice murder conviction for the 2008 shooting death of Barry Bullard, finding eyewitness testimony and other evidence more than enough for a jury to convict him.
Rhodes v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Addonis Rhodes's murder conviction in a Bibb County gang-related killing, rejecting his challenges to a Facebook post used as evidence and his claims that his trial lawyer was ineffective.