Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Huff v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a moving company owner's felony murder conviction for shooting an employee, rejecting his claims of self-defense, improper trial evidence, and ineffective counsel.
Jackson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Walton County man's felony murder conviction, ruling the evidence supported the jury's rejection of his self-defense claim and that the trial judge was not biased against him.
McCoy v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder and burglary convictions, rejecting his argument that a fingerprint expert's testimony was hearsay and that the evidence tying him to the crime was too weak.
Rucker v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's murder conviction for a deadly home invasion, ruling that skipping a jury instruction on corroborating an accomplice's testimony was not a fatal error and that his trial did not violate his right to a speedy trial.
Rutland v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Berrien County man's felony murder convictions for a fatal high-speed police chase, ruling that his guilty verdicts on felony murder and vehicular homicide were not legally inconsistent.
SILLAH v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia largely upheld the murder convictions of Darnell Sillah and Andrew Murray for killing a Gwinnett County teenager, but ruled that two of Sillah's conspiracy convictions should have merged into the completed crimes.
State v. Arroyo
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the state could not appeal a trial judge's decision to suppress cocaine evidence because the judge did not rule on the suppression motion until after the trial had already started.
Williams v. the Stat
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that neither the cell phone location warrant used against him nor the jury instructions given at trial amounted to plain error.
Williams v. the Stats
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Camden County electors could force a referendum to repeal the county's resolutions approving a rocket launch facility land deal, upholding the probate judge's decision to call the election.
Wilson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Antonio Wilson's felony murder conviction, ruling that a marijuana purchase gone wrong was a legally sufficient basis for the murder charge and that the trial court handled the evidence and jury instructions correctly.
CAZIER v. GEORGIA POWER COMPANY
The Supreme Court of Georgia denied further review of a long-running dispute between Georgia Power customers and the utility over how certain revenue terms in a rate order should be interpreted, letting the Court of Appeals' ruling stand.
Whited v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a father's murder-related convictions in his infant daughter's death, rejecting his arguments about a missing jury instruction and a recorded jail phone call played for the jury.
Clark v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld William Clark's felony murder conviction, finding the evidence and jury instructions sufficient and clarifying that trial courts weighing a juvenile's Miranda waiver must consider all circumstances rather than a fixed nine-factor checklist.
GAY v. JACKSON, JUDGE
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a driver challenging pretrial restrictions on his license through a habeas corpus petition jumped the gun, because his speeding case was still pending and ordinary court remedies remained open to him.
Hightower v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Fulton County judge acted within his authority when he declared a mistrial in a murder trial due to a COVID-19 judicial emergency, so the defendant can be retried without violating double jeopardy protections.
In the Matter of Ashutosh S. Joshi
The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected an attorney's proposed six-month suspension because his plea admitted only a minor rule violation while leaving unaddressed far more serious allegations that he lied to jail staff and improperly met with a represented witness.
In the Matter of Candice Valerie Blain
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Candice Valerie Blain after she abandoned a client's civil case, causing it to be dismissed, and then failed to respond to State Bar disciplinary proceedings.
In the Matter of Chandra McNeil Norton
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred Chandra McNeil Norton after she pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program of nearly $8 million and failed to report her conviction to the State Bar.
In the Matter of Debra Kaye Scott
The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended attorney Debra Kaye Scott from practicing law after she repeatedly failed to show up to receive a disciplinary reprimand the court had already ordered.
Kelly v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Richmond County judge lost the power to reconsider his own order granting Jeremiah Kelly a new trial once the court term ended, so the later order denying Kelly a new trial does not count.