Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Esposito v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that trial courts must follow Court of Appeals precedent even if a trial judge thinks it wrong, but dismissed this appeal because the error did not affect the outcome of a death row inmate's bid for DNA testing.
Young v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Tia Young's felony murder conviction in her husband's shooting death, finding the circumstantial evidence sufficient and rejecting her claims about a joint trial and jury instructions.
Winslow v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's convictions for possessing child pornography found on his laptop, ruling police did not exceed the scope of his consent to search, but sent the case back for resentencing because two counts should have been merged.
Ammons v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that police cannot use a DUI suspect's refusal to take a preliminary breath test or cooperate with field sobriety tests as evidence at trial, overruling a 29-year-old precedent. The court also rejected a separate constitutional challenge to using blood test refusals as evidence.
Dougherty v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man convicted of felony murder cannot get his motion for a new trial reviewed on the merits, because of earlier appellate rulings that locked in when his conviction became final. The court vacated an out-of-time appeal and dismissed his latest appeal.
Jones v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Savannah man's felony murder conviction but threw out his conviction for threatening a witness because prosecutors waited too long to charge him with that crime.
McElrath v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Damien McElrath can be retried for his mother's killing, holding that a jury's earlier inconsistent verdicts (guilty but mentally ill on one murder count, not guilty by reason of insanity on another) were legally void and did not bar a second trial.
Roberts v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Melvin Roberts's murder conviction, ruling that some evidence of a robbery he committed nine days earlier was properly admitted because it directly tied him to the murder weapon, and any remaining error was harmless.
Winslow v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's convictions for possessing child pornography found on his laptop, ruling his consent to a Walmart search extended to a forensic exam conducted 14 months later, but sent the case back because two counts should have been merged for sentencing.
State v. Powell
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a ruling that partially suppressed statements a 15-year-old girl made during a third police interview about a fatal shooting, finding the trial judge did not clearly err under the Riley factors for juvenile statements.
Clark v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Murray County man's felony murder conviction, rejecting his claim that his lawyer and the trial judge mishandled a report that a juror had silently communicated with the victim's family.
Crum v. Jackson National Life Insurance Company
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a person can legally buy life insurance on his own life intending to sell it later to someone with no financial stake in his life, as long as no third party was involved when the policy was first taken out.
Drennon v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Carlos Drennon's murder and criminal street gang convictions tied to a robbery crew's revenge killing, but sent the case back to the trial court to investigate whether Drennon was wrongly excluded from bench conferences during jury selection.
In the Matter of William D. Thompson, Jr
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an amended petition from an attorney seeking reciprocal discipline for trust account mismanagement in Florida, imposing a one-year suspension retroactive to January 2020.
Moten v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a Coffee County man's murder appeal ruling because the trial court wrongly refused to let him amend his motion for new trial to raise a claim that his trial lawyer was ineffective.
Polke v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder conviction of a Tattnall County woman who shot her former girlfriend, rejecting arguments about insufficient evidence, the trial court's discretion to grant a new trial, and improper venue.
Reese v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Laurens County man's felony murder conviction because the trial judge refused to update a jury instruction on self-defense after this court had just warned that the old wording could confuse jurors, and the confusion in fact occurred.
SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS v. HENRY COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia held that the Georgia Constitution requires every plaintiff to show a real injury before suing, but ruled that a private citizen can meet that requirement simply by showing her local government broke the law.
Simmons v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Troy Simmons's felony murder conviction in a gang-related methamphetamine dispute killing, rejecting claims about jury instructions and ineffective defense counsel.
State v. Powell
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a trial judge's decision to suppress part of a 15-year-old girl's statements to police, agreeing that under the totality of the circumstances she did not knowingly and voluntarily continue speaking with a detective after being misled about who could invoke her right to a lawyer.