Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
In the Matter of Phillip Norman Golub
The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended attorney Phillip Norman Golub for one year after he neglected an elderly client's lawsuits, kept her and her son in the dark, and never refunded his $7,500 fee.
In the Matter of Reginald J. Lewis
The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended Atlanta-area attorney Reginald J. Lewis for six months after he admitted neglecting three clients' personal injury cases and failing to keep them informed or return files.
Mimbs v. Henry County Schools
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a fifth-grade teacher's whistleblower lawsuit against Henry County Schools was filed on time as to her formal termination, even though earlier related incidents were too late to sue over.
Palencia v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the Court of Appeals wrongly excused a trial judge's failure to instruct jurors that accomplice testimony must be corroborated, in a home invasion and rape case.
in Re: Formal Advisory Opinion No. 20-1
The Supreme Court of Georgia approved a new ethics guidance opinion confirming that lawyers may talk to former employees of a company represented by a lawyer, without getting that lawyer's permission first.
McAlister v. Clifton
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a woman's challenge to Georgia's equitable caregiver law became moot once her adopted daughter turned 18, wiping out the visitation order but leaving her ex-partner's win on a separate money dispute intact.
Polanco v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a trial court order that had denied a man's motion for an out-of-time appeal, applying its recent ruling that trial courts have no authority to decide such motions at all.
Davenport v. Ward, Comr
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Floyd County man's aggravated assault conviction should have merged into his armed robbery conviction because both charges came from the same armed robbery of a Kroger shopper at gunpoint.
Dickey v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Richmond County man's murder conviction, ruling that surveillance video, an officer's identification testimony, and a shooting victim's own identification gave the jury enough evidence to convict.
In the Matter of Debra Kaye Scott
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a voluntary discipline petition from attorney Debra Kaye Scott, imposing a Review Board reprimand for failing to properly explain a fee change to one client and failing to adequately communicate with another.
In the Matter of Tiffini Colette Bell
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred an Atlanta-area attorney who repeatedly lied to a client about the status of a dispossessory case, including claiming she filed and served documents she never filed or served.
McAlister v. Clifton
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a woman's challenge to Georgia's equitable caregiver visitation law became moot once the child at the center of the case turned 18, and upheld the denial of her breach of contract counterclaim for lack of proof of damages.
Polanco v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a trial court's order that had denied a man's request for a late appeal, following the court's recent ruling that trial courts have no legal authority to decide such requests at all.
Price v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Henry County man's murder conviction and refused to merge his aggravated assault and aggravated battery convictions, finding the two shots were separated by a deliberate pause.
Rawls v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed as moot a man's appeal seeking free trial transcripts, finding that the State had already provided him with all the transcripts that actually exist.
Renfro v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld David Renfro's murder conviction, ruling that even if police wrongly used pre-arrest statements without giving him Miranda warnings, the mistake made no difference because other evidence proved the same points.
Rouzan v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a trial court order that had granted a Richmond County man an out-of-time appeal, holding that trial courts have no authority to decide such motions after the court's recent ruling in Cook v. State.
Smith v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jared Smith's murder conviction, ruling that even if a medical examiner should not have offered opinions about blood-spatter patterns, any error was harmless given the other strong evidence against him.
Watkins v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Bibb County teenager's felony murder conviction for choking his 19-year-old sister to death, rejecting his argument that the trial judge should have found him guilty of the lesser crime of voluntary manslaughter instead.
In the Matter of Mark Preston Jones
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Columbus lawyer's request to give up his law license after he pleaded guilty to felony charges including influencing a witness, treating the surrender as equivalent to disbarment.