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 Donald Richard Donovan
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a former Paulding County district attorney's petition to voluntarily give up his law license after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for lying in a sworn statement about a sexual harassment complaint.
MAYNARD v. SNAPCHAT, INC
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Snap can be sued over its Speed Filter feature, rejecting the idea that manufacturers automatically escape liability just because a third party misused their product intentionally or tortiously.
Alexander v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man convicted of sexually abusing his stepdaughters must prove the closed courtroom actually changed his trial's outcome to win an ineffective assistance claim, not merely that it was unfair.
Cook v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia eliminated the decades-old practice of letting convicted defendants ask a trial court directly for a late appeal, ruling that habeas corpus is now the only proper way to seek that relief.
MAYNARD v. SNAPCHAT, INC
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Snapchat's maker can be sued for negligently designing its Speed Filter, rejecting the idea that a manufacturer never owes a safety duty when a third party misuses a product intentionally or unlawfully.
McInerney v. McInerney
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Georgia's forum non conveniens law can be used to transfer or dismiss a divorce case without violating the state constitution's rule that divorce cases be tried where the defendant lives.
Rutledge v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man who pled guilty to murder could not ask a trial court for an out-of-time appeal, because such motions no longer have any legal basis in Georgia courts. His case was sent back so the trial court can dismiss it rather than rule on its merits.
Burns v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the denial of a police officer's motion to quash his murder indictment, ruling that 2016 changes to grand jury notice rules for officers are procedural and applied to his 2018 grand jury proceeding even though the shooting happened before the changes took effect.
BLACK VOTERS MATTER FUND, INC. v. KEMP, GOVERNOR (Five Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia threw out challenges to a law splitting the Augusta Judicial Circuit into two circuits, ruling that the voting rights group Black Voters Matter Fund never proved it had legal standing to sue.
Burns v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that 2016 changes to Georgia's grand jury notice laws for police officers are procedural, not substantive, so they applied to an Atlanta officer's 2018 indictment even though the shooting happened before the law changed.
DOE v. SAINT JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man who says a priest sexually abused him as a boy in the 1970s can still pursue most of his claims against the Catholic Church, because the two-year deadline to sue may have been paused by alleged fraud.
Daniels v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a 14-year-old's murder conviction, ruling that his confessions to police after hours of questioning were properly admitted because he knowingly and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights.
Graham v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Haleem Graham's felony murder and home invasion convictions, ruling that circumstantial evidence tying him to his co-defendants before and after the killing was enough to support the jury's verdict.
Hooper v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Timone Hooper's murder conviction, rejecting claims that his lawyer should have requested a jury instruction on corroborating confessions and that spectators were wrongly excluded during juror questioning.
Inquiry Concerning Judge Jadawnya Baker
The Supreme Court of Georgia approved a public reprimand for Atlanta Municipal Court Judge JaDawnya Baker after she admitted to repeatedly dismissing cases she should have simply rejected during guilty plea hearings.
Junior v. Graham
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a car accident victim can collect attorney fees and litigation expenses under two separate Georgia laws without one recovery canceling out the other, reversing the Court of Appeals of Georgia.
McEntyre v. Sams East, Inc
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that anyone who helps load a vehicle, not just the driver, has a legal duty to securely fasten the load, and can be sued for negligence if that duty is broken and someone is hurt as a result.
Monroe v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed an appeal about whether Daubert-style expert-testimony rules apply to competency trials, ruling the case was not properly positioned for the court to decide that question.
RILEY, COMMISSIONER v. GEORGIA ASSOCIATION OF CLUB EXECUTIVES, INC.; And Vice Versa
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a ruling on the constitutionality of a state tax on adult entertainment businesses, finding the case had become moot because the official sued had already left office before the trial court ruled.
Williams v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's felony murder conviction in his girlfriend's beating death, ruling that even if the trial court wrongly admitted evidence of an earlier attack on another man, the mistake did not affect the verdict.