Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
James v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Sanchez James's murder conviction for shooting Roderick Billups and wounding Keisha Bussey, rejecting his claims about insufficient evidence and a witness's refusal to testify.
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE v. ETERNAL VIGILANCE ACTION, INC. (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that most organizations challenging seven new state election rules lacked standing to sue, and that only one of five rules individual voters could challenge, a rule requiring video surveillance of ballot drop boxes, survived constitutional scrutiny.
State v. Embert
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Dougherty County woman's 2019 murder trial was not automatically void just because one juror turned out to be an ineligible felon, undoing the trial court's decision to dismiss her case on speedy trial grounds.
Craft v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County teenager's murder conviction, ruling that a missing jury instruction on defense of habitation was not shown to have changed the outcome given overwhelming evidence of guilt.
DEAN v. STATE OF GEORGIA
The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed a losing Labor Commissioner candidate's lawsuit challenging his rivals' qualifications, ruling he waited too long, filing only after he had already lost the primary election.
Docs of Ct, LLC v. Biotek Services, LLC
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a company challenging an arbitration award over improper behind-the-scenes emails must show those emails actually changed the outcome, not just that they happened.
French v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Timothy French's murder conviction in the 2008 stabbing death of an elderly Lee County farmer, rejecting his challenges to jury selection, denial of expert funds, and two claims he failed to properly argue on appeal.
In the Matter of Johnbull Okechukwu Nwosu
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred an attorney who twice altered the date on a contract and filed the falsified document in court to defeat a statute of limitations defense.
In the Matter of Nathaniel Watson Cochran
The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended a Georgia lawyer for one year for abandoning a client who hired him to pursue a home construction dispute, rejecting a state disciplinary board's recommendation of only six months.
In the Matter of Stephanie Dianne Woodard
The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected a former Hall County solicitor-general's request for only a public reprimand over a misdemeanor conviction for misusing public funds, finding the misconduct warranted a suspension instead.
Jackson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Carey Jackson's felony murder and gang crime convictions, ruling his trial lawyer was not ineffective for failing to object to the jury instruction on Georgia's Street Gang Act.
Pollard v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Baldwin County man's murder conviction, ruling that even if his lawyer should have objected to warrantless cell phone location evidence, the other evidence against him was strong enough that it made no difference.
Porter v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Bulloch County man's murder conviction, ruling that his confession to a friend plus phone and location evidence were enough for a jury to convict, and that the judge did not need to give a specific instruction on proving identity.
Short v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Columbus man's murder conviction, ruling that his confession to detectives was not improperly induced by promises of leniency or threats, and so was properly admitted at trial.
Sims v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder convictions of two men involved in a shooting outside a Henry County nightclub, rejecting their arguments about insufficient evidence, trial errors, and ineffective lawyering.
State v. Wierson
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that evidence a woman stopped taking her psychiatric medications before a fatal crash cannot be used to strip away her insanity defense, and it overruled a 1982 precedent that had allowed exactly that.
Stephens v. State of Georgia
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Georgia's law barring most people under 21 from carrying handguns in public, rejecting a 20-year-old's argument that the state constitution's right to bear arms should be reinterpreted using federal legal tests.
BROWNPHIL, LLC v. CUDJOE
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that simply having a recorded deed to a property is not enough, by itself, to prove someone adversely possessed land under a defective title. Actual physical possession of at least part of the land is still required.
COX-OTT v. BARNES & THORNBURG, LLP
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the Court of Appeals used the wrong legal test, called judgmental immunity, to shield a lawyer from a malpractice suit, but it still upheld the result because the client's case failed for a separate reason.
Dougherty v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Robert Kyle Dougherty's felony murder conviction in the death of Trevorius Thomas, rejecting his arguments about insufficient evidence, improperly admitted text messages, and unfair sentencing.