Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Byrd v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's malice murder conviction for shooting a man who slapped him at a teen party, rejecting claims about insufficient evidence, an invalid jury waiver, and ineffective counsel.
Callaway v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Mikeal Callaway's murder and aggravated assault convictions from a shooting spree across Fulton and DeKalb counties, rejecting his challenges to the evidence, jury instructions, and his lawyer's performance.
Clements v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Cherokee County man's felony murder conviction for beating his girlfriend to death, rejecting his argument that her drug use, not the beating, may have caused her fatal brain bleed.
Collins v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Quame Lamar Collins's convictions for the armed robbery and murder of two men in Burke County, rejecting his claims that the evidence was too weak and that hearsay testimony was wrongly admitted.
Dillard v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the murder and armed robbery convictions of a man who fatally shot a 15-year-old during a staged marijuana deal, rejecting his arguments that the evidence at trial was too weak.
Harris v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed Emmanuel Harris's murder conviction, ruling that graphic evidence of his 2017 domestic violence against a former girlfriend was improperly used to paint him as a violent person rather than to prove a specific reason for killing Jordan Gooch.
Hill v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Terrance Hill's murder conviction, finding that although the trial judge probably erred by not telling jurors that a convicted felon can still claim self-defense while holding a gun, that error was not clear enough to overturn the verdict.
In THE MATTER OF JAMES HOWARD SINNOTT (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended attorney James Sinnott from practicing law after his federal criminal conviction, with the suspension to last until his direct appeal is resolved.
In the Matter of Christopher Ryan Breault
The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended attorney Christopher Ryan Breault for six months after finding he repeatedly disclosed his clients' confidential information and refused to stop representing them after being fired.
In the Matter of Dell Jackson
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Dell Jackson after she abandoned a client on his criminal appeal and never responded to State Bar disciplinary proceedings against her.
Jones v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that police could use a 'geofence' warrant to obtain anonymized Google location data near a Sandy Springs murder scene, upholding the technique against Fourth Amendment challenges.
La Anyane v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County woman's DUI conviction, ruling that Georgia's implied-consent warning does not unconstitutionally coerce drivers into consenting to blood tests.
Love v. McKnight
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that simply violating a traffic law, like following too closely, is not by itself enough evidence of 'bad faith' to let a jury award litigation expenses. The court reversed a Court of Appeals decision that had allowed the claim to go to a jury.
Nesbit v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld David Nesbit Jr.'s murder conviction in a Cobb County gas station shooting, rejecting his claims that his trial lawyer was constitutionally ineffective.
Pindling v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Michael Pindling's second murder conviction for the shooting death of Robert Pett, rejecting his claims that the evidence was unreliable and legally insufficient.
Riley v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Yathomas Riley's murder conviction for killing his wife in front of their infant son, rejecting his self-represented claims about a witness in the courtroom, false evidence, and ineffective counsel.
Ryals v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's murder conviction in a fatal shooting, rejecting his claims that his trial lawyer's decisions about witnesses, phone records, criminal history evidence, and jury instructions amounted to constitutionally deficient representation.
State v. Green
The Supreme Court of Georgia reinstated a man's conviction for attempting to entice a 15-year-old girl into his car, ruling that his earlier sexually suggestive comments to two adult CVS employees that same day were relevant evidence of his intent.
State v. Riley
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a trial judge's decision to grant Brendan Riley a new trial, ruling his lawyer was not ineffective for failing to challenge an ambiguous charging document that mixed indictment and accusation language.
Warbler Investments, LLC v. City of Social Circle
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a lawsuit against a city that initially named individual officials, in violation of a constitutional naming rule, can be fixed by dropping those individuals rather than being thrown out entirely.