Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Johnson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Bibb County man's murder conviction, ruling that the trial judge was right to refuse a voluntary manslaughter instruction because nothing in the confrontation amounted to legally sufficient provocation.
McNabb v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Christopher McNabb's murder conviction in the death of his infant daughter, finding the circumstantial evidence enough to support the verdict and rejecting claims his trial lawyer botched the case.
Munn v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Mark Munn's malice murder conviction in the shooting death of Kalliber Chambers, rejecting arguments about jury instructions, courtroom shackling, admitted evidence, and his lawyer's performance.
Neal v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Houston County man's felony murder conviction, rejecting his claims that the evidence was insufficient, that he was wrongly excluded from bench conferences, and that his trial lawyer performed poorly.
Neloms v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Andrew Neloms's murder conviction, rejecting claims that the trial judge should have declared a mistrial, held a hearing on self-representation, or found his lawyer ineffective for not objecting to certain testimony.
Perkins v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Andreas Perkins's murder and other convictions from a fatal home invasion, rejecting challenges to the evidence, a mistrial denial, admitted photographs, and his lawyer's performance.
Redding v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia sent a Muscogee County murder case back to the trial court a second time, ruling that the judge misapplied the law and failed to properly weigh the factors used to decide speedy-trial claims.
Smith v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Dougherty County man's felony murder conviction for the beating death of Jerome Walden, rejecting arguments about the indictment and multiple ineffective-assistance claims against his trial lawyer.
Thomas v. Caldwell, Warden
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a habeas court wrongly threw out a man's second habeas petition as repetitive, because the claims in it grew out of a 2019 re-sentencing that had not even happened when he filed his first petition.
Washington v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's murder conviction, rejecting claims that his trial lawyer was ineffective and that he was wrongly excluded from a discussion about which exhibits would go to the jury room.
Caldwell v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Dougherty County man's felony murder conviction because the trial judge should have corrected the District Attorney's improper closing argument about who decides whether a witness is an accomplice.
In the Matter of Donald Francis Hawbaker
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an attorney's voluntary surrender of his law license after he pleaded guilty to five felony counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer, a step that amounts to disbarment.
in Re: Formal Advisory Opinion No. 20-1
The Supreme Court of Georgia approved a revised ethics opinion clarifying that lawyers may talk to a former employee of a company represented by a lawyer without that lawyer's permission, as long as certain disclosures are made first.
BROWN v. CARSON
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Forsyth County landowner never received the kind of official assurance needed to lock in a right to build 42 small-lot homes before the county changed its zoning rules.
Butler v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Cory Butler's malice murder conviction for a home invasion that killed Epsie Ewing, rejecting his claims about insufficient evidence, an invalid jury trial waiver, and ineffective legal help.
Caldwell v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Dougherty County man's felony murder conviction because the trial judge refused to correct the jury after the District Attorney improperly argued in closing that his own charging decisions proved the key witness was not an accomplice.
Early v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld an Athens man's murder-related convictions, ruling that a jail video showing him saying 'I'm a murderer' was properly admitted and that his aggravated assault sentence did not have to merge with other counts.
Harris v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jordan Robert Harris's felony murder conviction for a 2010 store robbery shooting, rejecting his claims about weak evidence, faulty eyewitness identification, and mishandled prior-crime testimony.
In the Matter of Donald Francis Hawbaker
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted the voluntary surrender of law license from a Spalding County attorney who pleaded guilty to five felony counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer, a step equivalent to disbarment.
In the Matter of Evelyn Proctor
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Evelyn Proctor after she failed to respond to bar discipline proceedings over her abandonment of three clients, including a divorce, a child support case, and a criminal defense appointment.