Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
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 surrounding facts, not a single rule, and that a special dispute process under the Service Delivery Strategy Act cannot be used to decide whether a city's water rates are an illegal tax.
In the Matter of Andrea Jo Anne David-Vega
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred an attorney who abandoned a longtime client's injury case, then fabricated emails and text messages to cover up missing a legal deadline, rejecting her request for a shorter suspension.
In the Matter of Shaquandra A. Woods
The Supreme Court of Georgia agreed to suspend Savannah-area attorney Shaquandra A. Woods from practicing law while she appeals a federal wire fraud conviction, granting her own request for a voluntary suspension.
Jennings v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Savanna Jennings's murder conviction for helping orchestrate the killing of her grandfather, rejecting her claims about improper evidence and ineffective defense lawyering.
Madera v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed a Cobb County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that video evidence was improperly admitted, a witness statement lacked foundation, and his trial lawyer was ineffective.
McCullum v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Samuel Earl McCullum's convictions for the 1998 rape and murder of Monica Blackwell and the 1999 rape of another woman, rejecting his arguments that the evidence was insufficient and that pretrial delay and joinder violated his rights.
McKinney v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that prosecutors do not need to prove a defendant's other crimes were meant to help a gang before those crimes can be used as evidence in gang prosecutions under Rule 418, but such evidence can still be blocked under other fairness rules.
Palmer v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Willie Williams Palmer's murder convictions from his fourth trial, rejecting his claims that his speedy trial rights were violated and that the trial court wrongly excluded evidence pointing to other possible suspects.
Sinkfield v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed a Fulton County man's felony murder conviction, rejecting his claims that the evidence was insufficient, that his police interview should have been suppressed, and that his trial lawyer's mistakes required a new trial.
State v. LEDBETTER (And Vice Versa)
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a trial court's order barring prosecutors from using information a man's own attorney improperly gave police, while separately affirming that cell phone search warrants used in two Atlanta murder investigations were backed by probable cause.
Blash v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Demarcus Blash's murder convictions in the killings of a Dodge County couple, rejecting challenges to jail call evidence, gang expert testimony, and his sentencing, but vacated two sentences that should have merged.
Blash v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Demarcus Blash's murder convictions for the killings of a Dodge County couple during a home invasion, but ordered two of his sentences erased because they should have been merged into other convictions.
Floyd v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Newton County man's felony murder conviction because his trial lawyer failed to tell jurors that Georgia law lets a felon use a gun in self-defense, even though he is barred from possessing one.
Green v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's guilty plea to murder, overruling two decades of its own decisions that required automatic reversal whenever a judge failed to specifically recite all three rights described in Boykin v. Alabama.
In THE MATTER OF DEIRDRE MARIA STEPHENS (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia ordered the disbarment of attorney Deirdre Maria Stephens, rejecting a lighter six-month suspension recommendation after finding she repeatedly lied to a trial court about the location of $80,000 in client funds.
In the Matter of Cheryl Joyce Braziel
The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended a Georgia lawyer for two years after she failed to pay off a hospital lien and a child support lien from a client's personal injury settlement and misled state officials about the settlement.
KIRKLAND v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder convictions of Mark Kirkland and Kendrick Ogletree for setting fire to a Fulton County house, killing two people, rejecting claims about a suggestive photo lineup, ineffective counsel, and improper evidence.
Lopez v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Belinda Lopez's malice murder conviction in the shooting death of her husband, finding the evidence sufficient and rejecting her claims that her trial lawyer was ineffective.
Premier Pediatric Providers, LLC v. Kennesaw Pediatrics, P.C
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a trial judge did not abuse his discretion when he refused to dismiss an appeal over a late-filed hearing transcript, reversing the Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Reyes v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a 15-year sentence for a man convicted of killing a driver while drunk, ruling that a trial court may consider a defendant's immigration status and likely deportation in deciding whether to allow probation.