Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Garay v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Hector Garay's malice murder conviction for a 1996 Gwinnett County shooting, finding that a witness's testimony about Garay's confession gave the jury enough direct evidence to convict.
Harris v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed Justin Ross Harris's murder and child cruelty convictions for leaving his toddler son Cooper to die in a hot car, ruling the trial court wrongly let jurors hear excessive and highly prejudicial evidence of his extramarital sex life.
Harris v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a school bus driver's homicide by vehicle conviction proceedings, ruling that both the trial court and the Court of Appeals used the wrong legal standards to judge whether jurors researching sentencing information online required a new trial.
In the Matter of Edward Hine, Jr
The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected a longtime attorney's request for a six-month suspension over admitted misuse of estate client funds, finding his disclosed misconduct alone could warrant disbarment and that he had left out related misconduct involving a separate trust.
In the Matter of Sherri Len Washington
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred Atlanta-area lawyer Sherri Len Washington after she abandoned three clients' cases, failed to communicate with them, and misrepresented facts to a client and a court.
Inquiry Concerning Judge Eric W. Norris
The Supreme Court of Georgia ordered a public reprimand for a Western Judicial Circuit judge who summoned a bail bondsman to his chambers and berated him for 30 minutes over a Facebook post criticizing the judge.
JOYNER v. LEAPHART
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Georgia's 'two-dismissal rule,' which can end a lawsuit after a plaintiff files two voluntary dismissals, only applies to bar a later case against the same or related defendants, not just any defendant sharing similar claims.
Jones v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the murder convictions of two men because the trial judge removed a dissenting juror during deliberations without making findings strong enough to justify the removal.
Mobley v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Walton County man's murder conviction, ruling the trial judge was right to refuse a voluntary manslaughter instruction because being shot while unlawfully breaking into a home is not the kind of provocation the law requires.
Rayton v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that the trial judge should have instructed the jury on voluntary manslaughter and that his lawyer provided ineffective assistance.
GENERAL MOTORS, LLC v. BUCHANAN
The Supreme Court of Georgia declined to adopt the 'apex doctrine,' a special rule some courts use to shield top executives from depositions, but ruled that trial courts must still actually weigh those arguments when deciding on protective orders.
Gude v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Marquayvian Gude's murder conviction for killing Devontavious McClain, finding the evidence was sufficient and the trial court properly handled evidentiary disputes and a rejected self-defense immunity claim.
Harris v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Quantavious Harris's felony murder conviction from a 2009 Fulton County taxi driver shooting, ruling that new claims raised after an earlier remand came too late and that the trial court's other rulings were proper.
In THE INTEREST OF T.B., a Child
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that children accused of delinquency for acts that would be crimes if committed by an adult can raise an insanity or delusional-compulsion defense in juvenile court, reversing a lower court that had barred such defenses entirely.
Jackson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Andre Jackson's convictions from two separate Richmond County trials, one for armed robbery and one for felony murder, rejecting his challenges to a hearsay ruling and to the trial court's refusal to separate the murder charges.
Jordan v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Orlando Jordan's malice murder conviction in the shooting death of a neighbor, ruling the evidence was sufficient and that the trial court properly admitted testimony about a stolen dirt bike and a related burglary.
Wynn v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County jail inmate's murder conviction for strangling his cellmate, rejecting challenges to impeachment testimony, a jury instruction, and legal testimony from a detective.
Goodman v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jemerius Goodman's felony murder and aggravated assault convictions from a Baldwin County shooting, but sent the case back to fix an illegal sentence on one tampering-with-evidence count.
Hounkpatin v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's felony murder conviction in the death of his two-year-old stepson, finding the evidence sufficient and the trial court's evidentiary rulings proper.
In the Matter of David J. Farnham
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an attorney's voluntary surrender of his law license after he admitted mishandling a $250,000 personal injury settlement for a minor and failing to communicate with his client.