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Found 79 matching documents.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 16, 2025
Ealey v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Deanthony Ealey's malice murder convictions for the shooting deaths of two people in a Walmart parking lot, rejecting challenges to the evidence, prior-acts testimony, hearsay, and his trial lawyer's performance.
At trial, Detective Clint Patton of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office was qualified as an expert in forensic cell phone analysis, and he testified that he conducted a search of Woods’s cell phone pursuant to a search warrant. Woods’s cell phone records demonstrated that, at around 12:00 p.m. on January 13, Woods’s phone received a phone call lasting “a...
2. Ealey next contends that the trial court erred by admitting other-acts evidence against him at trial under OCGA § 24-4-404(b) (“Rule 404(b)”). At trial, after giving limiting instructions to the jury, the trial court allowed the State to introduce evidence of two prior incidents involving Ealey for purposes of showing — with respect to both of the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 18, 2025
Tucker v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Deangelo Tucker's murder conviction for a gang-related shooting, rejecting challenges to the evidence and jury instructions, but sent the case back for correction of a sentencing mix-up.
Shameka recanted her story at trial, testifying that she “made mistakes and lied on [her] baby daddy.” She testified that she received a call from Shaquitta on November 16, 2014, saying that “her stepson got killed.” Shameka said that she then texted her “baby daddy,” Tucker, who “was going to find out who — what happened for [her] and that [they] didn’t...
Tucker said that he only had one cell phone — the LG — at the time and took it with him to the studio. No other evidence was presented as to who, if anyone, was in possession of the LG phone at the time, and Tucker testified that he often let others use his cell phone. The shooting occurred around 6:50 p.m. Cell phone tower information placed Tucker’s LG...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 28, 2025
Craft v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County teenager's murder conviction, ruling that a missing jury instruction on defense of habitation was not shown to have changed the outcome given overwhelming evidence of guilt.
1. The evidence at trial showed as follows. On the morning of September 9, 2019, Craft, who was 17 years old, was getting ready for school when he texted a friend, 20-year-old Khalil Rogers, to see if Rogers was still interested in buying Craft’s Springfield XD .45- caliber pistol. Rogers texted back that he was, drove to Craft’s house, and picked up Craft....
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 13, 2025
McIver v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Benjamin McIver's murder conviction in a Chatham County killing but reversed his armed robbery conviction because the evidence showed the gun was used only after the victim's debit card was already taken.
The evidence presented at trial showed that, on April 16, 2020, McIver and co-indictee Antavius Wilcox, who was not tried with McIver, bound Smith with computer cords, kidnapped him in his vehicle, took and used his debit card, and executed him in a wooded area past the end of Pate Street, a dead-end street in Chatham County. Much of the evidence, as...
Cell phone data also showed that Wilcox spoke with McIver at least seven times between 8:40 a.m. and 11:52 a.m., with a few of their calls lasting longer than ten minutes. At 11:29 a.m., McIver texted Wilcox “Savannah Gardens off Pennsylvania Avenue” and then “Kall when you in route so I can B050.” At McIver’s trial, the State’s gang expert testified that...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 30, 2025
EVANS v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder, armed robbery, and gang convictions of two Gwinnett County teenagers involved in a robbery-turned-killing, but ordered one sentence for Khalil Miller vacated because two counts should have merged.
Although Evans argues that the evidence obtained from his cell phone caused him prejudice for three reasons, he has failed to show a reasonable probability of a different result if that evidence had been suppressed. First, Evans contends that “[t]he only evidence that [he] was in a gang came from his phone (photos, texts, and videos) and from otherwise...
Because the trial evidence strongly supported Evans’s guilty verdicts, and because Evans has not established that evidence obtained from his cell phone played any significant role in producing the jury’s verdict, Evans has not shown a reasonable probability that the result of his trial would have been different if trial counsel had filed a successful motion...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 6, 2025
Arnold v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Rockdale County man's murder conviction, rejecting arguments that the evidence was insufficient, that his fingerprint expert testimony was improperly admitted, and that his trial lawyers were ineffective.
While the evidence in this case was circumstantial, “circumstantial evidence alone can be constitutionally sufficient,” Hooks, 318 Ga. at 852 (2) (a), and the evidence here was sufficient as a matter of constitutional due process to authorize the jury to find Arnold guilty of Goolsby’s murder and the other offenses with which he was charged. See Ridley, 315...
————————————————————— 16 Arnold did not give the investigators much detail about this man other than to describe him as “heavyset” and “bald.” Arnold said he did not know the man or his name. 17 Arnold said that Ruley was not surprised Goolsby had kicked him out and thought Goolsby wanted “to have sex” with Arnold. Circle, he washed all his clothes, and his...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 21, 2025
Burks v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Rufus Burks's felony murder conviction for a Columbus home invasion that left three people dead, rejecting his claims about weak evidence, autopsy photos, jury instructions, pretrial publicity, and jury composition.
Gibson testified to the following. When the group arrived at the house, they walked up the driveway, and Gibson and Burks followed 3 Phone records also showed that, on the night of January 3, Burks’ cell phone had several incoming and outgoing phone calls with his father’s cell phone between 9:13 p.m. and 11:35 p.m. Tapley through the gate to the backyard...
A cell phone forensics analyst with the Columbus Police Department testified that Facebook messages extracted from Burks’s phone pursuant to a search warrant revealed a conversation between Burks’s account and another person that took place on January 4, 2016, where Burks asked if the person had a power cord for a PlayStation 4, and when the person replied...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 30, 2025
Crawford v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Carl Crawford's murder conviction for shooting his roommate's ex-girlfriend, finding that several disputed pieces of testimony either were properly admitted or did not affect the trial's outcome.
whom she had hair appointments scheduled the next day, and while McFadden was at the apartment, she and Crawford got into a heated argument. On the morning of November 17, McFadden left the apartment, and McFadden’s cell phone records show that, later that evening, several text messages were exchanged between McFadden’s cell phone and Crawford’s cell phone....
Smith testified that he arrived at Crawford’s apartment complex between 12:45 and 1:00 a.m., and he texted McFadden’s cell phone to let her know he was there. McFadden’s cell phone texted back and asked him “to come downstairs” to the apartment and “help her with her bags.” According to Smith, as he “started to go downstairs” to Crawford’s apartment, he...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 24, 2025
Wilson v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed Andrew Wilson's murder conviction, ruling the trial court should not have let jurors hear about a 2011 armed robbery because it was too generic to prove motive or a common criminal scheme.
In 2012, the lead investigator in Harris’s murder case filed motions seeking court orders requiring AT&T and Metro PCS to disclose Wilson’s phone records, including cell phone location data. The trial court issued the orders under the federal Stored Communications Act (“SCA”). See 18 USC § 2703 (c) (1) (B) & (d).21 21 At the time Wilson’s cell phone records...
relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation. In the case of a State governmental authority, such a court order shall not issue if prohibited by the law of such State. accompanying cell-phone location data. On appeal, Wilson argues that the State’s failure to obtain a search warrant for his phone records and cell-phone location data violated...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 28, 2025
Porter v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Bulloch County man's murder conviction, ruling that his confession to a friend plus phone and location evidence were enough for a jury to convict, and that the judge did not need to give a specific instruction on proving identity.
Cell phone records showed that Porter’s cell phone called 911 at 5:57 a.m. on October 8. That call lasted six seconds and was disconnected before it was connected to a 911 operator. The cell tower used for that call was located near Miles’s house. At trial, Detective Ben Purvis testified about a map created based on records showing which cell phone towers...
Forensic evidence also highlighted the troubled nature of Porter and Miles’s relationship. In the days leading up to the October 8 murder, Porter and Miles frequently texted each other. At 6:15 p.m. on Friday, October 6, Porter texted Miles, saying “U hate me.” Miles responded that Porter was “full of sh*t.” Later that night, Porter texted Miles that she...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 10, 2025
Floyd v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder and armed robbery convictions, rejecting arguments that the evidence was too weak and that his trial lawyer and judge made critical errors.
Thomas testified that the men in the back seat told Thomas and Turner that they would give them directions. According to Thomas, once they had driven for some time, the men in the back seat said that the destination was nearby and that Turner could “pull off” on the road. Once Turner parked, Thomas testified, he and Turner “both felt guns come up to [their]...
First responders arrived at the scene, and Turner was taken to a hospital but died the next morning. A medical examiner testified that Turner’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The medical examiner retrieved a projectile from Turner’s body, which a firearms examiner identified at trial as a “.380 metal jacket bullet.” The items that Turner...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 15, 2025
Moss v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's murder conviction in the shooting death of his girlfriend, rejecting claims that jury instructions were flawed, a mistrial should have been granted, and his trial lawyer was ineffective.
Those claims fail. Moss did not give a confession, so there was no need for a confession-corroboration jury instruction. Moss’s mo- tion for a mistrial was not preserved for appellate review because he did not make it contemporaneously. Any error in admitting the ex- pert’s testimony about domestic violence was harmless given the non-specific nature of the...
At 10:11 p.m., a neighbor called 911. Responding officers found a black car that had rolled into a parked truck. Slumped in the driver’s seat of the black car was Smith, who had been shot multiple times at close range, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Two small children, aged about three and one, were sleeping in the back seat. The children were taken...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 4, 2025
Jones v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that police could use a 'geofence' warrant to obtain anonymized Google location data near a Sandy Springs murder scene, upholding the technique against Fourth Amendment challenges.
Applying this deferential standard of review, the magistrate here had a substantial basis for concluding that the warrants here were supported by probable cause. Start with the first search warrant. Here is what the magis- trate had in front of him: The affidavit submitted with the applica- tion for the first warrant explained that the victim was found dead...
This information, together with reasonable inferences and common sense, gave the magistrate a substantial basis for finding probable cause to issue the first warrant. Surveillance video showed that the person suspected of murdering the victim at her home that night was carrying a cell phone that was likely powered on around the time of the murder. And given...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 21, 2025
Momon v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Tarell Momon's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that his trial lawyer's failure to object to gang and phone evidence amounted to ineffective assistance.
Officers soon obtained Antoinette’s cell phone records and identified two numbers that she repeatedly contacted around the time of the murder. One number belonged to Antoinette’s daughter Katrina Ledford, who was later indicted as a party to Riley’s murder. The other number—the 678 number from which Antoinette received the text message shortly after the...
In addition to Antoinette’s and Ledford’s numbers, Momon’s phone repeatedly contacted two other phone numbers, one with a 706 area code and the other with an 803 area code. Before the murder, Momon’s phone texted Riley’s name and street address to the 803 number. And around the time of the murder, Momon’s phone repeatedly called the 706 number, which pinged...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 24, 2025
Arnsdorff v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld an Effingham County man's murder conviction, ruling that his hiding, communications, and actions before and after the shooting were enough evidence that he shared the shooter's intent to kill.
At first, Arnsdorff told investigators that he did not have “firsthand knowledge of what had happened to [Wells].” Arnsdorff’s account “changed, however, as the interview continued.” He said Pinholster told him he knew where Wells was and “ordered” Arnsdorff to lie down in the back seat of the truck as Pinholster went looking for Wells. Pinholster then...
The records showed that Wells’s phone called Pinholster’s phone at 5:35 a.m. on January 9, 2017, and the call lasted a little over 58 minutes. Just after 6:30 that morning (so right after the call between Pinholster’s phone and Wells’s phone ended), Pinholster’s phone placed a call to Arnsdorff’s phone then sent a text to Arnsdorff’s phone saying, “Bubba,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 6, 2025
Routh v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the felony murder convictions of a man who shot two convenience store workers, ruling that the trial judge acted properly in limiting cross-examination of the lead detective.
The store workers called the police. When officers arrived, they interviewed the workers and viewed footage of the shooting captured by a surveillance camera outside the store. (The surveillance footage was later played for the jury at trial.) The video showed that the man from the passenger side of the white car had tried to unlock the door of Bhuyia’s car...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 9, 2025
Saunders v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Liberty County man's malice murder conviction, rejecting claims that his trial lawyer was constitutionally deficient and that the trial judge should have granted a new trial based on the weight of the evidence.
Investigators recovered Jones’s cell phone from the driver’s seat of the truck. A subsequent search of that phone established that, between January 26 and 29, 2018, multiple calls were placed from or received by Jones’s cell phone from the same phone number—later identified as Saunders’s cell phone number— including nine calls on January 29. The last phone...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 24, 2025
Bowdery v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Ryan Bowdery's murder conviction in a Fulton County gang shooting, finding an accomplice's out-of-court statement was sufficiently backed by other evidence and that the trial court handled a disputed closing argument appropriately.
Phone records for Washington, Wallace, and Barber were 4 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (86 SCt 1602, 16 LE2d 694) (1966). admitted into evidence. The cell-site location information (“CSLI”) from Washington’s cell phone records showed that on the day before the shooting at about 11:00 p.m., her cell phone accessed a tower near her home. Between 2:16 a.m....
Here, cell-phone record evidence, evidence about Bowdery’s participation in the same gang as Washington and Wallace, testimony about the gang-related motive for the shooting, and Bowdery’s own statements provided at least slight corroboration of Washington’s out-of-court statement identifying Bowdery as a participant in the crimes. Specifically, Bowdery...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 26, 2025
Allen v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, ruling the jury could reject his self-defense claim and that a separate assault charge did not have to merge with the murder count.
When officers arrived, they located a body, later identified as 72-year-old Emereje, lying on the street in a cul-de-sac of the apartment complex buildings. Officers also located a neck pillow, lottery tickets, a beanie cap, and broken glass on the ground near Emereje’s body. Crime scene investigators recovered one .380- caliber shell casing from the...
Cell phone records from Allen’s phone showed that his phone left his residence around 2:20 a.m. on the morning of the shooting and arrived in a neighborhood just south of downtown Atlanta around 3:56 a.m. Cell phone records from Emereje’s phone showed that his phone was in the area where video surveillance had shown that a man entered his taxi across the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 8, 2025
State v. Brantley
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a trial court order that had blocked prosecutors from using a murder defendant's recorded jail phone calls, ruling he had no privacy right in those calls and no equal protection violation occurred.
The trial court order in this case excluded the jail phone calls on the basis that the District Attorney’s Office unlawfully “acqui[red]” and “access[ed]” — i.e., obtained — those calls. Thus, the State was permitted to appeal under paragraph (a) (4). See Anderson v. State, 267 Ga. 116, 116-117 (1) (475 SE2d 629) (1996) (holding that the State’s appeal of...
violated the Fourth Amendment.2 In Preston v. State, 282 Ga. 210 (647 SE2d 260) (2007), we unequivocally held that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a jail phone call (at least when the call was not with counsel). Id. at 214 (4) (considering calls with the defendant’s mother). See also Keller v. State, 308 Ga. 492, 497 (2) (b) (842 SE2d 22)...
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