Georgia CommonsCourt opinions
Georgia Supreme Court decisions with plain-language summaries. Browse by year and case type, or search by case name.
Corley v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Savannah woman's murder conviction for shooting a prospective tenant who came to reclaim a rental application, but ordered her aggravated assault conviction erased because it was based on the same gunshot.
Glenn v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Decatur County man's murder conviction, ruling that it could not review his challenge to a search warrant because the hearing transcript and trial court's ruling were missing from the appeal record.
In the Matter of Marc Celello
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Georgia lawyer's request to permanently give up his law license after he pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to commit securities fraud.
Jones v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a woman convicted of murder adequately claimed her plea lawyer abandoned her, and sent her case back for a hearing on whether that cost her the right to appeal.
Mattox v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder convictions of a man who helped bury two Evans County brothers killed over drugs, rejecting his claims of insufficient evidence, ineffective counsel, and appellate delay.
Moore v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a trial court cannot dismiss its own appeal on jurisdictional grounds, and that judges must actually investigate claims that a lawyer failed to file a promised appeal before denying an out-of-time appeal.
Simmons v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Lowndes County man's murder conviction, finding the evidence was enough for the jury and that emotional outbursts by the victim's family in a hallway did not require a mistrial.
State v. GATES (And Vice Versa)
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Muscogee County judge's decision to grant Johnny Lee Gates a new trial in his 1977 murder conviction after new DNA analysis excluded him as a contributor to DNA found on the belt and necktie used to bind the victim.
State v. Goff
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Richmond County judge's decision to grant a new trial to a man convicted of murdering his girlfriend, ruling his trial lawyer's strategic choices were not constitutionally deficient.
State v. Remy
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man who claimed he shot someone in self-defense could still seek immunity from prosecution even after his first trial ended in a mistrial, and sent the case back to sort out whether his status as a convicted felon changes the outcome.
Stubbs v. Hall
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the dismissal of a Hancock County man's habeas corpus petition as too late, even though it found the trial court had miscalculated the exact date his conviction became final for that purpose.
WILLIAMS v. DEKALB COUNTY
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a DeKalb County taxpayer lacked standing to challenge the legality of a pay raise the county commissioners gave themselves, but revived his claim that commissioners could face civil penalties for how they added the raise to a meeting agenda.
Watkins v. Ballinger
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a ruling that threw out a Walker County man's second habeas corpus petition, finding he had done enough digging to justify a hearing on claims of jury misconduct and hidden evidence.
Wilson v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Telfair County father's murder conviction in the death of his six-month-old son, ruling the timeline of events excluded any reasonable possibility the child's mother caused the fatal injury.
BOWEN v. SAVOY
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a defendant seeking to reopen a default judgment under the 'proper case' rule does not have to show a reasonable excuse for missing the deadline to answer a lawsuit.
Bamberg v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder convictions of a man and his mother in the shooting death of his ex-wife, ruling that a rebuilt transcript of a lost trial day was adequate and that the trial evidence was sufficient.
Calhoun v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the felony murder conviction of a man whose high-speed chase ended when a state trooper's PIT maneuver caused his car to crash, rejecting his ineffective assistance of counsel claims.
DEBELBOT v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the murder convictions of Albert and Ashley Debelbot, finding their trial lawyers should have objected when the prosecutor told jurors proof beyond a reasonable doubt could mean less than 51 percent certainty.
Department of Public Safety v. Ragsdale
The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the 12-month deadline for giving the state pre-suit notice of a tort claim cannot be paused even when the injury resulted from a crime. The court reversed a lower ruling that had let a car crash victim's late notice slide.
Edwards v. State
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's felony murder conviction stemming from a botched armed robbery in which his accomplice was fatally shot, rejecting challenges to the evidence and to a recorded phone call played at trial.