Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Baker v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Nathaniel Baker's felony murder and related convictions in a gang-related home invasion killing, finding the evidence sufficient and that an improper admission of gang evidence did not affect the verdict.
In the Matter of Barry Dean Carothers
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a lawyer admitted to the Alabama Bar by transferring his Uniform Bar Exam score from South Carolina was still 'admitted by examination,' letting him seek Georgia Bar admission without taking Georgia's exam.
Lewis v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed a Chatham County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claims of insufficient evidence, self-defense, and ineffective assistance of his trial lawyer.
Logan v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Richmond County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claim that the trial judge blocked him from playing recorded witness statements to challenge testimony while he represented himself at trial.
Nelson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the denial of a murder defendant's motion to suppress cell phone and laptop evidence, ruling that his long incarceration and failure to ask for the devices back weakened his privacy interest despite a two-year delay.
Willerson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's murder conviction for beating another man to death with a lamp, rejecting his self-defense claim and his argument that his lawyer botched a key witness cross-examination.
Williams v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County father's murder and child cruelty convictions in the drowning death of his ten-year-old son, rejecting his claim the evidence was too weak and that some convictions should be merged.
In THE MATTER OF HUDSON OWEN MADDUX Reinstatement Issued.
The Supreme Court of Georgia reinstated attorney Hudson Owen Maddux to practice law in Georgia after finding he met the conditions the court had previously set for his return to the bar.
Mobuary v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia found that the Court of Appeals wrongly dismissed a man's appeal as late, ruling that COVID-19 court emergency orders had paused his filing deadline. The case goes back to the Court of Appeals to proceed.
Cook v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, ruling that even if the trial judge wrongly blocked evidence of the victim's past violence against other people, the error made no real difference to the verdict.
In the Matter of Carl S. Von Mehren
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Statesboro-area lawyer's petition for voluntary discipline and suspended him for six months after he admitted mishandling client trust funds and failing to protect a client's legal defense.
In the Matter of William Leslie Kirby III
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Georgia attorney's fourth petition for discipline, imposing a six-month suspension after rejecting three earlier, lighter proposed sanctions for the same misconduct.
Mobuary v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Fulton County man's appeal was wrongly dismissed as late, because COVID-19 judicial emergency orders paused the filing deadline and he actually filed on time.
Orr v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Floyd County man's felony murder conviction, ruling the evidence supported rejecting his self-defense claim and that no voluntary manslaughter instruction was required.
SMITH v. LONG COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND REGISTRATION
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Long County probate judge election result, ruling that a losing candidate failed to show enough illegal or irregular votes to overcome the nine-vote margin of victory.
Sims v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a trial court's dismissal of a Tift County man's decade-late attempt to withdraw his guilty plea to murder and other charges, ruling the request came far too late and lacked required allegations.
Sims v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Dion Sims's murder conviction for shooting Alan Watson in 2001, rejecting arguments that the evidence was too weak, that Fulton County was the wrong venue, and that his trial lawyer was ineffective.
State v. Gilmore
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a silent video showing a confidential informant buying drugs from a man can be used as evidence, because the informant's actions on camera were not an intentional statement covered by the Confrontation Clause.
Walker v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's murder convictions, ruling that mumbled statements during a police interview were not clear enough to count as invoking his right to remain silent.
Woods v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia sent a Colquitt County murder case back to the trial court, ruling that it must first decide whether the defendant's trial lawyers performed deficiently before deciding whether that hurt his defense.