Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Mitchell v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction for stabbing his son, ruling the trial judge had discretion to refuse a same-day immunity motion filed after trial began and to allow a prosecutor's 'mean drunk' remark in closing argument.
Robinson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's murder conviction from a fatal shooting at an Atlanta strip club, ruling he waived his claim that the trial court wrongly denied a mistrial because he never renewed the motion after the judge gave a curative instruction.
Rogers v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Miller County man's murder conviction for shooting his girlfriend's son, rejecting his claim that he acted in self-defense against an armed group.
Sanders v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Toombs County man's murder convictions in the shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend and her mother, rejecting his claim that his post-trial lawyer should have argued his trial lawyer botched his testimony.
Senior v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Oscar Senior's murder conviction from a 2012 Muscogee County shooting, ruling his lawyer's failure to use two witnesses' old felony convictions to attack their credibility did not change the trial's outcome.
Small v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, ruling that his claims about a missing arraignment and his lawyer's performance came too late to be considered on appeal.
Strong v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Cobb County man's felony murder and aggravated assault convictions from the fatal stabbing of his wife's son and the stabbing of her grandson, rejecting his claims of trial error and ineffective counsel.
Woods v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Maleik Woods's murder conviction, finding that even if evidence of a prior gun incident should not have been admitted, the mistake did not affect the verdict, and that the trial judge's instructions to a deadlocked jury were not improperly coercive.
Bradford v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's felony murder and gang convictions, rejecting claims of insufficient evidence and ineffective trial counsel, but sharply criticized the 13-year delay in resolving his post-conviction motions.
Carter v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Jackson County man's murder conviction, ruling that state law did not require a separate competency hearing after a state evaluator found him fit for trial and that his lawyers were not ineffective for skipping a formal incompetency plea.
Chapple v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Johnny Chapple's felony murder conviction in the shooting death of Latoria Waller, ruling that expert testimony on gunshot residue and forensic evidence were properly admitted and his trial lawyer was not ineffective.
Dempsey v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County teenager's felony murder convictions in the shooting deaths of two men during a botched marijuana deal, finding the evidence sufficient and the trial judge's decision to let jurors hear about his probation status proper.
Fournier v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Bibb County man's malice murder conviction, ruling that graphic autopsy photos of his girlfriend's strangled neck were properly admitted even though he offered to stipulate to her cause of death.
In the Matter of Bryan Matthew Pritchett
The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Bryan Matthew Pritchett after he admitted forging clients' signatures on workers' compensation checks and keeping the money for himself, then lied to clients and ignored the State Bar's investigation.
Jones v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that the evidence let the jury reject his claim that he shot the victim in self-defense.
LUCID GROUP USA, INC. v. STATE OF GEORGIA
The Supreme Court of Georgia revived part of Lucid Motors' constitutional challenge to Georgia's law requiring car manufacturers to sell through franchised dealers, ruling the trial court used the wrong legal test in tossing out the claims.
Murphy v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's felony murder conviction from an Augusta nightclub shooting, rejecting his claims about excluded hearsay evidence, a Brady violation, jury instructions, an indictment defect, and ineffective assistance of counsel.
Owens v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a woman's felony murder convictions in the death of an infant in her care, ruling the trial judge wrongly told jurors they could not find her guilty of a lesser negligence crime alongside intent crimes, but left her child cruelty conviction standing.
Rivers v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's murder conviction, ruling that the trial judge did not commit plain error by instructing jurors that self-defense does not cover the use of excessive force.
Samuels v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Savannah man's murder conviction, finding enough circumstantial evidence linked him to a fatal shooting and that a detective's testimony about his jail calls did not undermine his trial's fairness.