Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
VANTAGE CANCER CENTERS OF GEORGIA, LLC v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH (Three Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that when the state health commissioner reviews a hearing officer's factual findings in certificate-of-need cases, he must defer to those findings unless they lack 'competent substantial evidence,' a standard that does not let him reweigh evidence or judge witness credibility.
WOODS v. BARNES (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Fannin County teachers cannot use the state's Impairment Clause to challenge the loss of job protections that came when their school system converted to a charter system, because those protections had already been limited by a 1993 law long before the conversion.
FIRST CENTER, INC. v. COBB COUNTY
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the dismissal of a wall-height dispute against Cobb County and two officials, ruling that suing a county officer by name alongside the county violates the state constitution's sovereign immunity rule.
Harper v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Terry Harper's murder convictions from a 2003 Fulton County bar shooting, rejecting his claims about a nearly 19-year appeal delay, a mistrial denial, and ineffective assistance of counsel.
Holmes v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the convictions of a Cobb County man found guilty but mentally ill of killing his toddler son and abusing his stepdaughter, rejecting his challenges to a psychiatrist's recorded interview and a missing jury instruction.
In THE MATTER OF TIMOTHY ORMAN MCCALEP (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Timothy Orman McCalep after finding he repeatedly abandoned clients in criminal and divorce cases, kept their fees, and let unlicensed staff mishandle their cases.
In the Matter of Coulter Clauzell Henry, Jr
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Georgia attorney's petition for voluntary discipline and imposed a public reprimand after he falsely told a patent client that his application had been filed when it had not.
JACKSON v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the murder-related convictions of brothers Dedric Jackson and Dimitrius Castle for a fatal shooting at a Cartersville birthday party, rejecting claims of ineffective trial counsel and other trial errors.
KENNESTONE HOSPITAL, INC. v. EMORY UNIVERSITY
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a certificate of need to operate a general acute care hospital is a private right, not a public one, because it lets an individual owner use property in a specific way.
Lee v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed David Wallace Lee's malice murder convictions for killing his ex-girlfriend Meghan Bowen and James Harden, rejecting challenges to the evidence, trial rulings, and his trial lawyer's performance.
Morrell v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Chatham County man's murder conviction for fatally shooting a bystander during a fight, rejecting his claims that the evidence was insufficient and that gaps in trial transcripts denied him a fair appeal.
Payne v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the felony murder conviction of a Bartow County man in the death of his girlfriend's one-year-old daughter, rejecting challenges to the evidence, evidentiary rulings, jury instructions, and his lawyer's trial strategy.
Rashad v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder conviction of a Floyd County man for killing his girlfriend's two-year-old son, finding the evidence was strong enough for the jury and that his trial lawyer's choices were not constitutionally deficient.
Redding v. State
For the third time, the Supreme Court of Georgia sent Merrick Redding's murder case back to a Muscogee County trial court, ruling that the judge again misapplied the legal test for deciding whether Redding's speedy-trial rights were violated.
Tracie Underwood v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed its own review of a search dispute, deciding it granted review too soon because the trial court's finding that police lawfully entered the petitioner's house was not clearly wrong.
Vendrel v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's murder conviction in the shooting death of his girlfriend, rejecting his claims that his trial lawyer's mistakes amounted to a complete failure to defend him or otherwise entitled him to a new trial.
COLLINGTON v. CLAYTON COUNTY
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a woman injured in a crash with a Clayton County sheriff's deputy properly gave legal notice of her claim by sending it to the county commission, not the sheriff himself.
Weems v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's convictions for the murders of his roommate's houseguest and her boyfriend, finding the circumstantial evidence pointing to him as the shooter was legally sufficient.
ANDREANA WILLIAMS, CONSERVATOR v. REGENCY HOSPITAL COMPANY, LLC
The Supreme Court of Georgia transferred a medical malpractice appeal to the Court of Appeals, ruling that the trial court never clearly decided the constitutional question the appellant wanted reviewed, so the high court lacked jurisdiction to keep the case.
Adams v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction for a fatal drive-by shooting, rejecting his claims that the evidence was too weak, that evidence found in his home should have been suppressed, and that his lawyer had a conflict of interest from representing him and his brother together.