Georgia CommonsSupreme Court of Georgia
Court opinions
Opinions of the Supreme Court of Georgia filed from 2020-01-13 through 2026-10-14: 1,778 opinions. Each opinion has its full text and a plain-language summary. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
What this collection holds, and what it leaves out
- Opinions come from CourtListener and, for decisions it has not yet published, from the Supreme Court of Georgia's own website (62 opinions at present). When CourtListener publishes one of those decisions, its record replaces the court-sourced one and the old address redirects to it.
- The court's website index was last compared on 2026-10-19: every decision it listed through 2026-10-14 is here.
- Records whose text is shorter than 200 characters are not included.
- Each decision is counted once: where two records hold one decision (CourtListener's slip opinion and its Georgia Reports copy, or a court-website record and CourtListener's), the better copy is kept and the other record's id redirects to it (118 so far).
- The filing date is the decision date the court printed in the opinion for 63 opinions (every court-website record, and CourtListener records whose date disagreed with the caption); every other date is CourtListener's. For 1 court-website records whose PDF prints no date, the date is the day the court posted it.
- Spanish translations of the summaries exist for 1,778 of the 1,778 opinions with summaries (`lang=es`); the text of an opinion, and every quote from it, stays in English.
Lyons v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Joseph Milton Lyons' convictions for felony murder, aggravated assault, home invasion, and firearm possession in a Henry County robbery gone wrong, but struck one of his aggravated assault sentences as legally improper.
Newton v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Bibb County man's murder conviction, ruling that the photo lineup used to identify him was not unfairly suggestive and that his trial lawyer's handling of witness testimony did not amount to ineffective assistance.
Norris v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Melissa Norris's murder conviction for shooting her father, ruling the trial judge did not commit plain error by refusing to instruct the jury on mistake of fact.
Rouzan v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated a Richmond County man's murder conviction proceedings, ruling the trial judge used an outdated legal test to let jurors hear extensive evidence about an earlier, unrelated killing.
Shealey v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a West Point man's murder conviction, ruling that a trial court properly excluded a co-defendant's guilty plea hearing statements as hearsay that did not qualify for a legal exception.
State v. Heath
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Columbia County woman's lawyer was ineffective for failing to challenge a defective indictment, even though she had notice of the charges against her.
Stinchcomb v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a trial court was wrong to reject a Fulton County man's request for a new murder trial without first holding a hearing on new evidence about the shooting victim's actions.
Thompson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Tift County man's felony murder conviction in his wife's death, ruling that testimony about his past violence against his children and stepchildren was properly admitted and that those witnesses could watch the trial before testifying.
Treadaway v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Chattooga County woman's felony murder conviction for beating her husband with a broom handle, rejecting arguments about the evidence, jury instructions, and her lawyer's trial strategy.
Carson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, rejecting challenges to the joint trial of his charges, admission of prior crime evidence, and handling of his police statements.
Hampton v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Savannah man's convictions for three murders, ruling that any error in admitting a co-defendant's jailhouse statements was harmless and that the trial court properly excluded an alibi witness who chose to invoke his right against self-incrimination.
Hood v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that his trial lawyer's decision not to consult a gunshot residue expert did not deprive him of a fair trial.
In the Matter of Howard L. Sosnik
The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended a Georgia attorney for six months as reciprocal discipline after New York disciplined him for failing to oversee his law firm's escrow account, which allowed an employee to misappropriate client funds.
JACKSON v. RAFFENSPERGER
The Supreme Court of Georgia revived a lactation consultant's lawsuit against Georgia's licensing law, ruling that the Georgia Constitution protects a right to work in one's chosen profession and that similarly qualified lactation consultants may be treated as equals under the law.
Johnson v. Williams
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a habeas court's order that had thrown out a Cobb County bank robber's convictions, ruling his appellate lawyer was not ineffective for failing to raise two claims about his trial lawyer's performance.
MATHENIA v. BRUMBELOW
The Supreme Court of Georgia reinstated a trial court's decision denying a biological father's petition to legitimate his son, ruling that the Court of Appeals wrongly reweighed evidence about whether the father had abandoned his chance to build a relationship with the child.
Mahaffey v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Cobb County man's guilty pleas to felony murder and aggravated assault, ruling the plea record showed he understood his rights when he pleaded guilty rather than go to trial.
NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC v. DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that AT&T's Georgia cell phone subsidiaries had legal standing to seek refunds of sales taxes collected before a 2009 law expressly let dealers file such claims on customers' behalf.
San Miguel Produce, Inc. v. L.G. Herndon Jr. Farms, Inc
The Supreme Court of Georgia answered three certified questions about Georgia's agricultural dealer licensing law, ruling that a produce company acting as a dealer must be licensed and that failing to get a license can bar it from enforcing a business contract in court.
State v. Rowe
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that it had jurisdiction to hear the Department of Corrections' appeal over a court order sealing prison visitation records in a death penalty case, and it partly upheld and partly overturned that order.
Filter and search
For machines, models, and agents
Every page here has a Markdown twin
Add .md to any address for the Markdown, /text for the verbatim text, or send Accept: text/markdown. Documentation: the JSON API, connecting an assistant, and the full URL grammar on /for-assistants.
- Map
The collection at routing depth, one line per unit, with links onward. Markdown.
- Search
Full-text search; add .md before the query for the Markdown twin, and &in=headings to search only headings.
- JSON API
Public read routes, no key: /meta for coverage, /search, /items?ids=, POST /verify.
- MCP
The MCP server, streamable HTTP, no key. Serves the Code and the two constitutions, bills, and opinions.
- About
Provenance, coverage, license, and the independence statement.