Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
JACKSON v. STEVENSON
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a company that never signed a real estate joint venture's arbitration agreement cannot be forced into arbitration just because its owner's other companies did sign it, reversing an arbitration award against it.
Kam v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's murder conviction for shooting his neighbor, rejecting challenges to the evidence, his police statement, being shackled at trial, excluded blood-alcohol evidence, and the jury verdict form.
Lee v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that jury instructions saying gang activity charges can be proved just by showing a crime was the 'type' gang members commit misstate the law, since prosecutors must prove intent to further the gang's criminal purposes.
Miller v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a Richmond County judge's ruling that let prosecutors tell a murder jury about a separate, uncharged shooting, agreeing with both sides that the evidence was improperly admitted.
Richardson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld George Richardson's murder conviction for driving armed men during a Crisp County ambush that killed Carnell Saintville, rejecting claims of insufficient evidence and ineffective counsel.
Scott v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Chatham County man's murder conviction for killing his wife, ruling the trial judge was right not to tell the jury it could convict him of the lesser crime of involuntary manslaughter.
Shoffner v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Houston County man's convictions for murder and other crimes in the stabbing deaths of his mother and stepfather, rejecting challenges to the evidence, his confession, a mistrial denial, and his lawyer's performance.
Snow v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Hall County man's murder conviction for stabbing his wife 19 times, rejecting his claims about hearsay evidence, a denied continuance, and prior conviction evidence.
Williams v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Richmond County man's murder conviction, finding that jurors could reject his self-defense claim and that his trial lawyer was not ineffective for not pursuing a voluntary manslaughter defense.
BENNETT v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder convictions of two Glynn County men, ruling the evidence was enough to convict both and that testimony about a prior shooting incident and ineffective-assistance claims did not require a new trial.
Bryant v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Johnnie Bryant's murder and aggravated assault convictions stemming from a land dispute shooting, rejecting claims of self-defense, ineffective counsel, and trial errors, while correcting a sentencing mistake.
Dickey v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fannin County teenager's murder conviction, ruling that his confession to shooting the victim was properly admitted because he voluntarily and knowingly waived his Miranda rights.
Hills v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Eric Bernard Hills's murder conviction for shooting his girlfriend's estranged husband, ruling the trial judge was right not to tell the jury it could convict him of the lesser crime of voluntary manslaughter instead.
In the Matter of Shaquandra A. Woods
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Savannah-area attorney's request to give up her law license after her felony wire fraud conviction was upheld on appeal, permanently ending her ability to practice law in Georgia.
Jackson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's convictions for the murder of a nine-month-old and other gang-related shootings, rejecting challenges to the evidence, his lawyer's performance, and the trial judge's handling of a mistrial request.
Johnson v. City of Vidalia
The Supreme Court of Georgia declined to review a Vidalia woman's sidewalk injury lawsuit, but every Justice joined a concurrence warning that the Court of Appeals wrongly suggested cities can never be liable for simply failing to fix sidewalk hazards.
Merritt v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Tyler Merritt's murder conviction in a DeKalb County shooting, ruling that the trial judge was right to instruct the jury on conspiracy even though Merritt was never charged with that crime.
Payne v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a Clayton County judge's order denying Hannah Payne a new trial after discovering the prosecution's brief and the judge's own order were riddled with fake or misused AI-generated case citations. The court also suspended the assistant district attorney from practicing before it for six months.
Peavy v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Forsyth County man's felony murder conviction for shooting his coworker, rejecting his challenges to the jury verdict form, the exclusion of expert testimony, and claims that the jury's verdicts contradicted each other.
State v. Faison
The Supreme Court of Georgia sent back a Henry County murder case after finding the trial judge never actually analyzed whether a bail recovery agent's conduct met any specific legal justification standard before declaring him immune from prosecution.