Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Ward v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Paulding County man's felony murder and related convictions, rejecting his claims that the jury should have heard a voluntary manslaughter option, that his second-shooting conviction was legally inconsistent, and that his lawyer was ineffective.
MILTON v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Wilkes County man's murder conviction, ruling that a mix of a witness's shifting statements, phone and car evidence, and his own lies to police gave the jury enough to convict him either as the shooter or as an accomplice.
Henderson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder conviction of a DeKalb County man who stabbed his 15-year-old sister to death, ruling that evidence of a prior knife assault on another sister was properly admitted and that no voluntary manslaughter instruction was warranted.
In the Matter of Paul Jason York
The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected a lawyer's proposed three-year suspension for forging a judge's and prosecutor's signatures, finding it improper to let him resume practicing law while related felony forgery charges remain pending.
Milton v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Wilkes County man's murder conviction, ruling that the jury heard enough evidence to find him guilty either as the shooter or as a participant in a fatal beating.
Stroud v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Richard Stroud Jr.'s felony murder and firearm possession convictions in the shooting death of Frederick Cade, finding the evidence was enough to convict him whether as the shooter or as a participant in the fatal confrontation.
Stryker v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Austin Stryker's murder conviction for killing Hannah Bender, rejecting claims about closing argument limits and prosecutor misconduct, but corrected his sentence by merging two counts that should not have been sentenced separately.
Thompson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Hancock County prison inmate's murder conviction, finding the trial evidence sufficient and rejecting claims that improper prosecutor statements or ineffective defense counsel required a new trial.
Victory Media Group, LLC v. Georgia Department of Transportation
The Supreme Court of Georgia denied a billboard company's request for further review of a lost free-speech challenge to Georgia's sign law, but Presiding Justice Peterson wrote separately to flag an unresolved question about whether the law's content rules are unconstitutional.
Richardson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's felony murder conviction from a drive-by shooting, ruling that a detective's testimony about how two witnesses answered her questions did not improperly vouch for their truthfulness.
Durden v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Devin Durden's felony murder conviction in a Columbus taxi driver's killing, finding that a detective's identification testimony and a missing jury instruction did not likely change the trial's outcome, though it vacated his separate armed robbery sentence.
Everett v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jerome Everett's felony murder conviction, ruling that a flawed jury instruction on self-defense was harmless because the evidence made it very unlikely jurors thought his shooting of Keith Nelson was justified in the first place.
Hassan v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Muhammad Hassan's murder and gang-activity convictions from a fatal Fulton County drive-by shooting, rejecting claims that hearsay testimony and jury instructions on circumstantial evidence amounted to plain error.
Howard v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Marquavious Howard's felony murder conviction for the 2017 shooting death of Jacorbin King, rejecting arguments about the evidence, a photo identification, and a dismissed juror.
In the Matter of Joel David Myers
The Supreme Court of Georgia granted disbarred attorney Joel David Myers's application for certification of fitness to practice law, allowing him to seek readmission to the State Bar of Georgia.
Richardson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's murder conviction in a fatal drive-by shooting, ruling a detective's testimony about two witnesses did not improperly vouch for their truthfulness and his trial lawyer was not ineffective for not objecting.
Andre Pugh v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Andre Pugh's murder conviction for killing his wife, ruling that the cell phone search warrant used against him was valid and that his lawyers were not ineffective for how they challenged it.
City of Winder v. Barrow County
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that whether county road maintenance mainly benefits unincorporated areas depends on all the circumstances, not just where roads sit or who uses them, and sent that question back for a full hearing.
Baker v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Houston County man's murder conviction, ruling that a rap music video showing him waving a handgun should never have been played for the jury three times at his trial.
CRARY v. CLAUTICE
The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed as moot a mother's challenge to Georgia's grandparent visitation law because the trial court had already set aside the visitation order on other grounds, and upheld denials of her contempt and attorney fee requests.