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Found 83 matching documents.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 21, 2023
Bowman v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Paulding County man's 2014 trial never happened in the eyes of the law because the 12 citizens who heard his case were never sworn in as a jury, so he is entitled to be discharged and acquitted under Georgia's speedy trial statute.
On November 27, 2019, through new counsel, Bowman filed a motion for discharge and acquittal on statutory and constitutional speedy trial grounds. On the same day, the State filed a motion seeking a declaratory order that the December 2014 proceeding “constitute[d] a trial” for the purpose of satisfying Bowman’s Demand for Speedy Trial pursuant to OCGA §...
We granted Bowman’s petition for certiorari and posed the following question: Was [Bowman] deprived of his statutory or constitutional right to a speedy trial where the trial he received was held before a jury that had not sworn the oath required by OCGA § 15-12-139? The case was orally argued in this Court on September 20, 2022. 2. The dispute in this case...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 7, 2023
Rucker v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's murder conviction for a fatal home invasion in Southwest Atlanta, rejecting his arguments about a missing jury instruction and a delayed trial.
(c) Assertion of the right. The trial court weighed Rucker’s delay in asserting his right to a speedy trial heavily against him. Rucker argues that the trial court erred in this regard because, although he did not assert his right to a speedy trial until he filed his motion to dismiss the indictment on April 13, 2017, he was not served with initial...
We cannot say that the trial court erred in reaching this determination. Because delay often works to a defendant’s advantage, “the accused bears some responsibility to invoke the speedy trial right and put the government on notice that he . . . would prefer to be tried as soon as possible.” Ruffin, 284 Ga. at 62 (2) (b) (iii). And, “[o]ur cases hold that...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 21, 2023
Leonard v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Joshua Leonard's murder conviction for a 2010 Columbus shooting, ruling that the victim's statements identifying his shooters, made after he woke from a coma and again on the day he died, were properly admitted as dying declarations.
Reading closing arguments as a whole, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion when allowing the prosecutor’s reference to scripture, which was permissible rebuttal. Indeed, the prosecutor attempted to defuse Leonard’s argument and offer an explanation as to why Grimes repeatedly identified Leonard and Alexander, resorting to Biblical...
“When an accused claims that a delay in bringing him to trial has worked a denial of his constitutional right to a speedy trial, a court first must consider whether the delay is long enough to raise a presumption of prejudice and to warrant a more searching judicial inquiry into the delay.” State v. Johnson, 291 Ga. 863, 864 (1) (734 SE2d 12) (2012). Here,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 16, 2023
Blalock v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Dwight Blalock Jr.'s murder conviction, rejecting his arguments that the trial judge should have delayed his trial and that a witness improperly commented on his silence.
8 OCGA § 17-8-22 provides in pertinent part: “All applications for continuances are addressed to the sound legal discretion of the court and, if not expressly provided for, shall be granted or refused as the ends of justice may require.” prompt setting of the trial date was its attempt “to comply with the demand for trial” (citations and punctuation...
As noted above, “to be entitled to a new trial based upon the denial of a motion for a continuance, a defendant has the burden to show that he was harmed by that denial.” Phoenix v. State, 304 Ga. 785, 788 (2) (822 SE2d 195) (2018) (citation and punctuation omitted). Here, even if the trial court had abused its discretion in denying the motion for...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
Kimbro v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder and rape convictions in a 2009 motel killing solved years later through DNA matching, rejecting claims about trial delay, closing argument, and his lawyer's performance.
It is unclear whether Kimbro contends in his brief on appeal that the prosecutor violated certain discovery statutes. See OCGA §§ 17-16-8 (a) (requiring the prosecutor in a felony case to provide to the defense certain information regarding witnesses “not later than ten days before trial” or “as otherwise ordered by the court”) & 17-16-4 (a) (3) (A)...
investigative delay does not deprive him of due process, even if his defense might have been somewhat prejudiced by the lapse of time”).10 To prevail on this claim, Kimbro must “‘prove (1) that the delay caused actual prejudice to his defense, and (2) that the delay was the result of deliberate prosecutorial action to give the State a tactical advantage.’”...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 16, 2023
Ward, Comr. v. Medina
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a ruling that a Wheeler County man's guilty plea to armed robbery and aggravated assault was involuntary, because he was told he faced far more prison time than the law actually allowed and was hinted that a trial would go worse for him.
The trial court denied Medina’s request, stating that Medina just had an extended conversation with counsel, Medina’s speedy trial demand had imposed constraints on the court, a jury and witnesses were ready and waiting, and the trial court was unwilling to delay proceedings any further. Medina began to say, “I want to ask my attorney —” before the trial...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 18, 2023
GAY v. JACKSON, JUDGE
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a driver challenging pretrial restrictions on his license through a habeas corpus petition jumped the gun, because his speeding case was still pending and ordinary court remedies remained open to him.
PINSON, Justice. Donovan Gay received a speeding ticket and pleaded not guilty. While his case was still pending, he filed a pretrial petition for habeas corpus to challenge pretrial restrictions on his driving privileges. The habeas court dismissed the petition, and we now affirm the dismissal. As we recently held in Phillips v. Jackson, 314 Ga. 347 (877...
315 Ga. 464 FINAL COPY S22A1204. GAY v. JACKSON et al.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · July 5, 2023
In THE INTEREST OF R. J. A., a Child
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia declined to review a Court of Appeals ruling on when a jailed juvenile counts as 'detained' for speedy-indictment purposes, but Justice Pinson wrote separately to question whether courts should look beyond published opinions to old case files to figure out what a prior ruling actually decided.
The question presented in this case is whether a superior court or a juvenile court had jurisdiction over the underlying prosecution against R. J. A., a juvenile. A juvenile charged with a crime within the jurisdiction of the superior court “who is detained” is entitled to have the charge presented to the grand jury “within 180 days of the date of...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 15, 2023
TAYLOR, EXR. v. THE DEVEREUX FOUNDATION, INC. (And Vice Versa)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Georgia's $250,000 cap on punitive damages in a sexual assault case against a Georgia treatment facility, ruling the cap does not violate the right to a jury trial, separation of powers, or equal protection.
We recognize that even to the extent the Georgia constitutional provision on jury trials “froze” the scope of the inviolate right to a jury trial as it existed in 1798, it did not freeze the law completely. “New forums may be erected, and new remedies provided, accommodated to the ever shifting state of society.” Flint River, 5 Ga. at 208. In other words,...
B. Nestlehutt’s Analytical Framework In Nestlehutt, this Court applied the well-established analytical framework described above to evaluate a contention that a statutory cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice claims violated Georgia’s constitutional right to trial by jury. See 286 Ga. at 732-738. In that case, we first considered whether in...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 18, 2023
Hightower v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Fulton County judge acted within his authority when he declared a mistrial in a murder trial due to a COVID-19 judicial emergency, so the defendant can be retried without violating double jeopardy protections.
The following week, on March 19, 2020, the trial court entered 4 The Court explained to the jury that [t]he existence of the judicial emergency in Fulton County is related to the continued transmission of the coronavirus, COVID- 19 virus, throughout Fulton County and the potential infection of those who are required to appear in our courts and interact with...
Hightower filed the Plea in Bar over one year later, on April 7, 2021. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the Plea in Bar in a written order entered May 21, 2021. That order recited that in making the decision to declare a mistrial, the trial court was aware that “a judicial emergency [was] being declared due to the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 21, 2023
Gonzales v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's felony murder and aggravated battery convictions in the death of his girlfriend's three-year-old son, but ruled his separate aggravated battery sentence should have merged into the murder sentence.
“Even if an appeal is jurisdictionally defective from the outset, a notice of appeal generally acts as supersedeas until the appeal is dismissed.” Jones v. Peach Trader, 302 Ga. 504, 508 (807 SE2d 840) (2017). However, the filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case from an order that is appealable only under OCGA § 5-6-34 (b) does not act as a supersedeas...
315 Ga. 661 FINAL COPY S22A1303. GONZALES v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
In THE MATTER OF RYAN CURTIS CLEVELAND (Two Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred Ryan Curtis Cleveland after he abandoned eight clients, including a father seeking custody visits and indigent defendants in jail, and then failed to respond to the State Bar's discipline process.
9 Rule 3.2 provides that “[a] lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to expedite litigation consistent with the interests of the client.” 10 Rule 8.4 (a) (4) provides that a lawyer shall not “engage in professional conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.” Certainly, Cleveland’s knowing misrepresentations about the status of one...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
Kinlaw v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Harold Dean Kinlaw's murder conviction and life sentence, rejecting his challenges to the aggravated stalking evidence, jury instructions, an interpreter dispute, and jury selection issues.
motion for new trial. On December 11, 2008, Kinlaw filed a pro se motion for appointment of appellate counsel. New attorneys filed entries of appearance in November 2009 and May 2014, but it does not appear from the record that those attorneys took any action on Kinlaw’s appeal. In November 2019, current appellate counsel, the third post-trial counsel to...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
Rivera v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Ben Hill County man's felony murder conviction in a 1996 cold case solved decades later by DNA testing, but threw out his rape conviction because prosecutors never told the grand jury why the rape charge wasn't too old to bring.
(1909) (punctuation omitted)). To that end, “[t]his Court has held that an exception to the statute of limitation is a ‘material allegation’ which must be alleged in the indictment.” Id. (quoting McLane v. State, 4 Ga. 335, 342 (2) (1848) (holding that the State is required to allege in the indictment “the particular exception” which the State “intended to...
has made it clear that fundamental principles of due process require indictments or other charging instruments to not only show that a public law of the State has been violated, but also that the defendant has been indicted therefor, in the manner, and within the time, prescribed by the laws of the land. Lynch, 346 Ga. App. at 866 (McMillian, J., concurring...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 18, 2023
Kelly v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Richmond County judge lost the power to reconsider his own order granting Jeremiah Kelly a new trial once the court term ended, so the later order denying Kelly a new trial does not count.
6 Although the State admits that “it is a rare case in which these concepts may be said to apply to the State in a criminal prosecution,” it offers no example—not even a “rare” one—of due process applying to the State under such circumstances. The only case that the State cites in support of this idea, Prater v. State, 222 Ga. App. 486, 488 (474 SE2d 684)...
315 Ga. 444 FINAL COPY S22A0979. KELLY v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 7, 2023
Behl v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Chatham County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that the trial judge was not obviously wrong to skip a voluntary manslaughter instruction and that his discovery access complaint was never properly raised.
The Georgia Constitution provides that “[n]o person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. I, Sec. I, Par. I. But a due process claim such 7 Although we do not reach the merits of whether any denial of access to discovery violated Behl’s constitutional rights, we note that some of us are...
Under these circumstances, we conclude that Behl waived any claim of a violation of due process based on any inability to access the materials in question. Cf. Williams v. State, 298 Ga. 538, 542 (7) (783 SE2d 594) (2016) (“We find no support in the record to support appellant’s assertion that the trial court refused to allow him to subpoena witnesses for...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
Sosebee v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's felony murder conviction and life-without-parole sentence for a car chase death, rejecting his arguments that a lenity rule required a lighter sentence and that his punishment was unconstitutionally cruel.
In this case, the evidence showed that Sosebee willfully put his girlfriend, the motoring public, and other innocent bystanders at risk of grave injury or death simply to avoid a traffic stop. Under the circumstances, we cannot say that Sosebee’s sentence is so overly severe or excessive in proportion to his offenses as to shock the conscience. Sosebee’s...
10 Cf. Bradshaw v. State, 284 Ga. 675, 679 (2) (b), 683 (4) (671 SE2d 485) (2008) (holding that a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment imposed under OCGA § 42-1-12 (n) for the defendant’s second failure to register as a convicted sex offender constituted cruel and unusual punishment, considering that the failure to update information on the sexual...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 16, 2023
Moody v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jeremy Moody's death sentences for the 2007 rape and murder of two teenage cousins in Fulton County, rejecting all 13 claims he raised, including that his guilty plea was coerced.
After the prosecutor set out the factual basis for the guilty plea, the trial court conducted its own inquiry. Moody affirmed that, “just before [lead defense counsel] was about to get up to deliver the opening statement in th[e guilt/innocence] part of [his] case,” he had indicated that he wanted to speak with counsel and had subsequently spoken “for some...
(a) Guilty Plea Hearing. Moody testified under oath at the plea hearing that he was 35 years old, had completed his G.E.D., and was not then under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication.5 The prosecutor listed the charges brought against Moody, and Moody indicated that he understood those charges. Moody also confirmed that he understood that by...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 2, 2023
Session v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Derrick Session's convictions for failing to register as a sex offender based on a Louisiana conviction, rejecting his claims that Georgia's registry law violated his rights to travel, equal protection, and a state constitutional protection against social status legislation.
3. Session has not shown that requiring him to register 2 Apparently, the phrase “mend the hold” is a nineteenth-century wrestling term, meaning to get a better grip on one’s opponent. See Harbor Ins. Co. v. Continental Bank Corp., 922 F2d 357, 362 (7th Cir. 1990). violates his federal rights to travel and equal protection. Session raises two federal...
None of the United States Supreme Court decisions on which Session relies for his right-to-travel claim involved an argument that a new state resident’s right to travel is being burdened by a sex offender registration requirement on the basis that, if he had committed the crime in his new state, he would have been treated differently in the underlying...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 7, 2023
McCoy v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder and burglary convictions, rejecting his argument that a fingerprint expert's testimony was hearsay and that the evidence tying him to the crime was too weak.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdicts, the evidence presented at trial showed that, on December 2, 2003, Barber called 911 at 11:43 a.m. to report that he believed someone was about to break into his apartment. On the 911 recording, Barber stated that two young men were “banging” on doors and trying to break into apartments in his building. He...
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