Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Bustamente v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Cobb County man's life sentence for murder, rejecting his claim that the trial judge violated his due process rights by discussing the risks of testifying and citing his lack of remorse at sentencing.
Dill v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Carlos Dill's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that the evidence only showed manslaughter, that a juror should have been removed, and that his lawyer was constitutionally ineffective.
Fadesire v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's murder conviction, ruling that his lawyer's decision not to object to two prosecutor remarks during closing argument was a reasonable trial strategy, not ineffective assistance.
Hernandez v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Gustavo Hernandez's murder conviction, rejecting his claim that his trial lawyer should have objected to several parts of the prosecutor's closing argument.
In the Matter of Charles Bruce Singleton, Jr
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred an attorney who abandoned three clients, failed to refund fees, and kept a minor's personal injury settlement money for himself despite multiple court orders to turn it over.
Jackson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claim that his trial lawyer's advice caused him to wrongly turn down a plea deal for manslaughter.
Jackson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Devon Jackson's murder conviction, ruling that the trial judge acted properly when she repeatedly removed him from the courtroom for disruptive outbursts and found he had forfeited his right to testify.
Patterson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Chatham County man's murder conviction, rejecting his arguments that the evidence pointed to another man in the house and that his trial lawyer was ineffective.
Rainey v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County woman's convictions for felony murder and home invasion, ruling the evidence showed she directed others to a specific bedroom she had no right to enter and that her voice was properly identified at trial.
Simms v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a Fulton County murder conviction ruling on a juror-citizenship claim because the trial court used the wrong legal test to decide whether the defendant had given up his right to raise the issue.
Williams v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's felony murder conviction, rejecting claims about a denied trial continuance, alleged prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective counsel, and a jury instruction he never identified.
CITY OF MILTON v. CHANG
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a separate road-defect statute does not itself waive a city's immunity from lawsuits, and that the City of Milton's duty to keep streets safe covers only the actual travel lanes, not the grassy shoulder where a concrete planter sat.
GINES v. THE STATE (Three Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder convictions of three men in the shooting death of Kadarius Medlock, rejecting claims about leg restraints, jury instructions, missing evidence, and ineffective lawyering.
In THE MATTER OF CANDACE LANETTE SNEED (Four Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia reinstated Candace Lanette Sneed to practice law after finding she met the conditions the court had previously set for her return to the State Bar.
Gibson v. Head, Warden
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the denial of Exzavious Gibson's habeas corpus petition, ruling that even though his trial lawyer secretly worked as a part-time state attorney, Gibson did not prove the arrangement actually hurt his defense.
Hamilton v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Glynn County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that the trial judge properly handled a courtroom outburst and a detective's mention of the defendant's silence, and that any error in admitting prior-relationship evidence was harmless.
In the Matter of Joseph William Cloud
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Joseph William Cloud after he abandoned two clients, mishandled a $12,000 trust payment, and failed to respond to any part of the State Bar's disciplinary case against him.
In the Matter of Oksana Klymovych
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a disciplinary hearing officer wrongly refused to let a Ukrainian-American solo attorney reopen her default after she missed a filing deadline, and sent her case back for a decision on the merits.
Jackson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Quintavius Jackson's felony murder conviction in a DeKalb County gas station killing, but sent the case back because the trial court wrongly imposed a life-without-parole sentence on two felony murder counts instead of one.
Medina v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's convictions for felony murder and related crimes, rejecting his claims about confusing jury instructions and his lawyer's handling of a self-defense argument.