Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Geer v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Georgia's anti-SLAPP statute cannot be used to strike a public records defendant's counterclaim for attorney fees, because that fee claim cannot be evaluated until the underlying records dispute is resolved.
Coates v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Horace Coates's murder and armed robbery convictions, ruling that the jury heard enough evidence to convict him even though witnesses disagreed about who fired the fatal shot.
Fulton County v. Ward-Poag
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Fulton County employee's whistleblower lawsuit cannot be thrown out on summary judgment just because she initially failed to disclose it in her bankruptcy case and later valued it at $1 there.
Glenn v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Georgia's common-law right to resist an unlawful arrest also allows a person to use proportionate force against government property, such as a police car, while trying to escape an unlawful detention.
Horton v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Candler County man's murder and arson convictions, rejecting claims about a mistrial, jury instructions, false testimony, and his lawyer's performance.
In the Matter of Daniel Lee Dean
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted the voluntary surrender of law license from an attorney facing terminal illness and multiple ethics grievances, treating the surrender as equivalent to disbarment.
Lester v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder conviction of a Tift County teenager, ruling his police statements were properly admitted and that an alternate juror's mistaken presence during jury deliberations did not affect the verdict.
Premier Health Care Investments, LLC v. Uhs of Anchor, L.P
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a state health agency exceeded its authority when it required a hospital to get a new permit before shifting existing beds into a psychiatric program, because state law does not list bed shuffling as something needing that approval.
State v. Stephens
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that prosecutors cannot use a photograph showing a murder suspect's girlfriend holding a gun, with the suspect nearby holding what looks like a gun magazine, at his upcoming retrial for murder.
State v. Wheeler
The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed the State's appeal in a Fulton County murder case because prosecutors filed a required certification more than four months after the deadline, meaning the court never reached the underlying evidence dispute.
AULD v. FORBES (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Belize's one-year time limit, not Georgia's two-year limit, governs a wrongful death lawsuit over a Cobb County student's drowning on a school trip in Belize.
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF LOWNDES COUNTY v. MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VALDOSTA
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Lowndes County can sue Georgia state officials individually for allegedly enforcing state sanctions without legal authority, reversing a Court of Appeals decision that had blocked the suit on sovereign immunity grounds.
Bridgewater v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Andre Bridgewater's murder conviction, ruling that the evidence was sufficient despite being circumstantial and that a witness's earlier statements to a detective and an intermediary were properly admitted at trial.
Edvalson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Gwinnett County man convicted on 11 separate counts of possessing child pornography images should have received only one conviction, since simultaneous possession of multiple images counts as a single crime under the statute.
Eggleston v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Stewart County man's felony murder conviction for killing his neighbor, finding that direct testimony and forensic evidence gave the jury enough to convict him beyond a reasonable doubt.
Gray v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that he was too mentally impaired to stand trial and that his lawyer failed to investigate that impairment.
Griffin v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Forsyth County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that his lawyer's decision to use evidence of his racism as part of a self-defense strategy was reasonable and that his drunken confession to police was voluntary.
In the Matter of Pamela Studivant Stephenson
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Rockdale-area attorney's request to give up her law license rather than face formal disciplinary charges, a step the court treats as equivalent to disbarment.
In the Matter of Timothy Walter Boyd
The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected an attorney's third attempt to settle disciplinary charges with a suspension of six to 18 months, finding his repeated dishonesty toward a client and history of prior discipline warranted harsher scrutiny.
LUMPKIN v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder and robbery convictions of two men involved in a fatal Gwinnett County home invasion, rejecting challenges to a traffic stop, excluded evidence, and the sufficiency of the evidence.