Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Inquiry Concerning Judge Cary Hays III
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a disciplinary agreement suspending Crawford County Chief Magistrate Cary Hays III for 30 days without pay and publicly reprimanding him for shoving a handcuffed defendant.
Langley v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that trial judges do have discretion to put part of a felon-firearm-possession sentence on probation, reversing a Court of Appeals decision that said the sentence had to be served entirely in confinement.
Terrell v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Frederick Terrell's murder-related convictions from a 2005 Atlanta shooting, rejecting claims about appellate delay, a mistrial, severance, and ineffective counsel, but corrected a sentencing error.
In the Matter of Sawand Palmer
The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended attorney Sawand Palmer for three months, with conditions on her return to practice, after she admitted appearing in court on clients' behalf while her law license was already suspended.
Payne v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Paulding County man's felony murder conviction, rejecting his claims that testimony about a prior fight with the victim was wrongly admitted and that his trial lawyer botched key evidence about a threatening text message.
Awad v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that prosecutors cannot tell a jury that a DUI suspect refused to give a urine sample, extending a rule that already protected refusals to take breath tests under the state constitution.
Boone v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the denial of a man's request for an out-of-time appeal, because the only relief he actually wanted, a chance to withdraw his guilty plea, is not something an out-of-time appeal can provide.
Bowen, Warden v. Noel
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a grant of habeas relief to a man convicted of murdering a nine-month-old boy, ruling his appellate lawyer was not constitutionally ineffective for failing to challenge exclusion of the mother's prior violent acts.
Ellison v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Walton County man's felony murder conviction, ruling the trial court was entitled to disbelieve his claim that he shot the victim in self-defense.
In THE MATTER OF WAYMON SIMS (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an Atlanta-area attorney's request to voluntarily give up his law license after he admitted mishandling client and trust account funds in two separate disciplinary cases.
In the Matter of Justin Grey Woodward
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an attorney's petition for voluntary discipline and imposed a public reprimand for neglecting a client's case and mishandling his trust account in two separate incidents.
In the Matter of Sawand Palmer
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an attorney's admission that she practiced law while suspended and imposed a three-month suspension with conditions before she can be reinstated.
Jenkins v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder and related convictions of a man involved in a violent Gwinnett County home invasion, rejecting his challenges to the felon-in-possession evidence, flight testimony, and his lawyer's performance.
Johnson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the Court of Appeals used the wrong legal test to decide whether a man's multiple theft convictions should count as one crime, and sent the case back for a proper review.
Payne v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Paulding County man's felony murder conviction, finding no plain error in admitting testimony about a prior fight with the victim and rejecting claims his trial lawyer was ineffective.
Ward, Commissioner v. Carlton
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a trial court had legal authority to revoke a man's probation even before his probationary period had actually started, reversing a habeas court that had freed him from that revocation.
In the Matter of Cory Howerton Fleming
The Supreme Court of Georgia granted South Carolina attorney Cory Howerton Fleming's own request to be emergency suspended from practicing law in Georgia, mirroring an interim suspension already imposed by South Carolina's highest court.
Bates v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Barrow County man's murder conviction for shooting his neighbor and the neighbor's dog, rejecting his claims that his trial lawyers were constitutionally ineffective in handling his PTSD-related defenses.
Bell v. Hargrove
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a probate judge cannot deny a weapons carry license just because a criminal history report is incomplete or leaves open the possibility of a disqualifying conviction. The judge must have actual proof the applicant is ineligible.
McAlister v. Clifton
The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed as moot an appeal challenging Georgia's equitable caregiver law because the child at the center of the visitation dispute had already turned 18 by the time the case was argued.