Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Agee v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Walton County murder conviction because the trial court wrongly let jurors hear a dead witness's police statements, ruling the defendant's marriage to that witness did not actually cause him to be unavailable at trial.
Arnold v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's murder conviction for shooting a Chevron gas station customer, rejecting his claim that his lawyer should have objected to parts of the prosecutor's closing argument.
Blackshear v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Baker County man's murder conviction, finding the evidence was enough despite his shifting accounts and that his lawyer's choice not to object to autopsy photos was reasonable strategy.
Brown v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a second-trial murder conviction from Athens-Clarke County, rejecting claims about a flawed jury instruction, prejudicial photographs of the victim, and ineffective legal help.
Clark v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Newton County man's murder conviction, rejecting his argument that circumstantial evidence pointing to an unknown intruder should have kept the jury from finding him guilty.
Clark v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jennifer Clark's murder conviction, rejecting her claim that her trial lawyer should have asked for a special jury instruction about her co-defendant's criminal record.
Finnissee v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Lowndes County man's murder and arson convictions, finding the evidence of his mother's strangulation and the staged house fire was enough to convict and that his lawyer's trial strategy was not constitutionally deficient.
Gibbs v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Rodney Gibbs' felony murder and aggravated assault convictions from a shooting at a house party, ruling that the jury was entitled to reject his claim of self-defense and find the evidence sufficient.
Griffin v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Antonio Griffin's murder conviction, finding his lawyer was not ineffective for letting a witness testify about a recorded phone call, since no court had ever ruled such testimony inadmissible.
Heyward v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Savannah man's murder conviction, rejecting his claim that his lawyer botched his self-defense case by not showing the victim had also shot someone in the back.
Hill v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder and armed robbery convictions of a man who shot and killed a Fulton County convenience store clerk, finding the video, confession, and witness identification evidence more than enough to support the jury's verdict.
Hood v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Diara Hood's felony murder and related convictions for luring two men into an ambush robbery, but found the trial court made two sentencing errors that should be corrected.
In the Matter of Elizabeth Vila Rogan
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Georgia lawyer's request to give up her law license after she pleaded no contest to obstructing officers, a move equivalent to disbarment.
In the Matter of Vincent Chidozie Otuonye
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an Albany-area attorney's request to give up his law license after his felony conviction for trying to smuggle tobacco to jail inmates was upheld on appeal.
McDOWELL v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, ruling that evidence about a handgun used in the crime was properly admitted even though the gun itself had been destroyed before trial.
Miller v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Columbus man's murder conviction for a nightclub shooting, ruling he could not challenge a juror's dismissal because he asked the judge to remove that juror himself.
Powell v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the denial of a Clayton County man's request to withdraw his guilty plea to murder, finding the plea was knowing and voluntary and that he was not harmed by any shortcomings of his lawyer.
Reyes v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's murder conviction for stabbing his girlfriend in 2004, finding DNA evidence, prior threats, and circumstantial proof were enough for the jury to convict him.
Ringold v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man's request to withdraw his guilty plea to four murders was legally void because he filed it himself while still represented by a lawyer, so the trial court should have thrown it out instead of ruling on it.
Rodriguez v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County gang leader's felony murder conviction for shooting a fellow gang member, but ordered his aggravated battery sentence erased because it duplicated the murder charge.