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Found 395 matching passages in 249 documents.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 1, 2020
Dixon v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Stanley Dixon's murder and gang-activity convictions for a fatal shooting after a school fight, finding the evidence and jury instructions were legally sound.
The expert reviewed numerous photographs and screen shots taken from Reid’s cell phone that depicted Dixon and others. The expert pointed out details in the photos that signified that Dixon was affiliated with the Bloods: Dixon wearing a green bandana; wearing “YSL” clothing items; making Slime hand signs, including in group photographs with other...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 2, 2026
Jones v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Nathan Jones's felony murder conviction, ruling that text messages, phone location data, and evidence of flight were enough to show he lured a man to a drug deal that led to his death.
Shortly after the shooting, law enforcement responded to the nearby scene of a crashed Mustang. The Mustang was subse- quently discovered to belong to Gratton. Projectile defects were located on the Mustang’s door, a window was broken, and a shell casing was in the floorboard near some broken glass, consistent with someone outside the driver’s side 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.
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...
5 The State’s gang expert testified that Goodfellas members use a ranking system “like the mob or the mafia.” They designate members as “godfathers,” “popes,” “capos,” “dons,” “hitters,” and “foot soldiers,” in that hierarchical order. Tucker was present at the scene of the crimes. See Bridges v. State, 268 Ga. 700, 705 (2) (e) (492 SE2d 877) (1997) (“We...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 29, 2024
Baker v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Kenneth Lee Baker's murder convictions for the deaths of his wife and stepdaughter, rejecting his claims that the evidence was too weak and that the trial judge should have given a special jury instruction and excluded certain photos and a notebook.
K. B. testified that on May 16, 2010, he and his mother had spent the night at his aunt’s home in College Park. At 5:39 a.m. on May 17, 2010, Lynnale sent Baker’s cell phone a sexually suggestive text message, apparently intended for someone else. Lynnale dropped K. B. off at school and proceeded to the Griffin residence to see Shaelinda, according to K. B....
Pursuant to a consent-to-search form signed by Baker, law enforcement searched Baker’s truck and found divorce papers and a notebook. The first page in the notebook began with the statement, “My name is Kenneth Lee Baker,” and included Baker’s address and names and some contact information for various people, including Baker’s father and children. The...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 25, 2022
Reese v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Laurens County man's felony murder conviction because the trial judge refused to update a jury instruction on self-defense after this court had just warned that the old wording could confuse jurors, and the confusion in fact occurred.
A few minutes after Stanley arrived and parked at the far end of the row of parking spaces, Jonathan Linder arrived in a Toyota sedan with Devero in the front passenger seat, pulled into the first spot in the row of parking spaces, and parked. Linder and Devero got out, walked to the rear of the Toyota, and leaned on either side of the trunk. A minute...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 21, 2023
State v. Wilson
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed a trial court's decision to throw out evidence from a murder suspect's cell phones, ruling the search warrant let police grab 'any and all' data without limiting the search to evidence of the crime.
PINSON, Justice, concurring. We need to talk about cell phones. In Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (134 SCt 2473, 189 LE2d 430) (2014), the United States Supreme Court took a small step down the road of applying the Fourth Amendment to the modern cell phone. Riley addressed the question whether the police could, without a warrant, search digital...
Riley rejected this understanding of cell phones. Indeed, the Riley Court supposed treating cell phones like other physical items that could be found on a person was “like saying a ride on horseback is materially indistinguishable from a flight to the moon. Both are ways of getting from point A to point B, but little else justifies lumping them together.”...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
Prodigies Child Care Management, LLC v. Cotton
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the 'special circumstances exception' used by the Court of Appeals for lunch-break and commuting car accidents is not a real separate legal rule, but just a way of applying the ordinary test for when an employer can be sued for an employee's actions.
unpaid lunch break during her work day, and on January 26, she used her lunch break to perform in a puppet show so that she could earn extra credit in one of her courses. Earlier that day, Bouie told her manager that she would return from her lunch break “a little bit late,” likely “a little after 2[:00 p.m.].” She clocked out for her lunch break at 12:53...
In addition, the amended complaint alleged, and Cotton later drivers from holding a cell phone in their hands, see OCGA § 40-6-241, was not in effect at the time of the accident. See Ga. L. 2018, p. 127, § 4. 3 The amended complaint also alleged a claim of negligent training and supervision against University Childcare. That claim is not at issue here, so...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 10, 2024
Troutman v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's malice murder conviction for stabbing his former friend to death, finding the evidence sufficient and rejecting claims that his trial lawyer's mistakes cost him a fair trial.
The evidence at trial showed the following. Troutman, a 21- year-old high school student, and Clemons, a student at DeVry University, were friends. But their friendship deteriorated when Clemons and a mutual friend whom Troutman had dated, Marlana Ackey, created a fake Facebook profile featuring naked photos of Troutman. Troutman thereafter threatened...
A cell phone associated with Troutman did not make or receive any phone calls or send or receive any texts on January 22, 23, or 24, 2014, and the phone’s location during that time could not be determined. Troutman’s MARTA card records and surveillance photos show that on January 24 Troutman arrived at the Avondale MARTA station at 4:21 p.m. and exited from...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 10, 2024
Sharkey v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Clayton County man's murder and armed robbery convictions, finding overwhelming evidence of guilt and ruling that excluding a young child's inconsistent photo identification was harmless.
Janaille testified that Barker’s phone records showed that, at 1:27 p.m. on the day of the shooting, Barker’s phone placed a call to a St. Louis, Missouri phone number, which Moore identified as Appellant’s. Leonard testified that, later that afternoon, around 2:00, he called Appellant and spoke with him over the phone. And according to Janaille, Barker’s...
In addition, the trial evidence authorized the jury to find that Appellant was conscious of his guilt, and therefore guilty of malice murder. Specifically, J. H. and R. W. testified that Appellant quickly fled the scene after falsely telling the girls that the victim would be all right. See Maynor v. State, 317 Ga. 492, 497 (2) (a) (893 SE2d 724) (2023)...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 27, 2026
State v. McGriff
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Clinch County judge's order suppressing a teenager's March 11 statement to investigators, but sent two earlier statements back for more fact-finding because the judge's findings did not adequately support the conclusion that he was in custody.
(b) March 6 Statement At the motion to suppress hearing, the State presented the testimony of Agent Hundley in connection with McGriff’s March 6 interview. Agent Hundley testified that she asked to speak to McGriff at the Florida hospital, 9 and after he agreed, she inter- viewed him in a waiting room; a portion of that interview was audio recorded. She did...
The trial court also orally granted the motion to suppress the statements made in the March 6 interview, finding that Agent Hundley “drove to another state to get the cell phone of the De- fendant in a hospital, took him to a room, had a conversation that lasted almost 30 minutes that she deemed fit to record. There w[ere] conversations not on recording....
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 15, 2022
Martinez-Arias v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a school counselor's testimony about supposed Latino and Mexican cultural attitudes toward sexual abuse should not have been admitted at a child molestation trial, but found the error harmless and upheld the conviction.
M. J. testified that she did not tell anyone about the abuse at the time because her aunt was “happy” with Martinez-Arias, and M. J. “didn’t want him to leave [her] aunt.” Moreover, M. J. “didn’t know if anyone would believe [her],” and she was “scared” that if she disclosed the abuse to her brothers, she “would lose them too.” To cope with the abuse over...
J. to record an abusive encounter on his cell phone, he said she was “very hesitant,” but, A. J. testified, “the evidence was needed.” 2 A cell phone forensic investigator later testified that the recording was made at 10:27 p.m. on January 29, 2015. Pizano testified that when she picked up the children on the night they left their house, M. J. told her...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 10, 2020
Clark v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): 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.
Yost admitted that, after the beating, he tied two plastic bags around Donald’s head. He and Clark rolled Donald’s body in the bed linens and placed Donald in the trunk of Donald’s own car along with his wallet, work boots, and the aluminum bat. Clark gave Yost the keys to Donald’s car and Donald’s cell phone. She instructed Yost to get rid of the items,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 11, 2024
Eleby v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Lamar County man's murder-related convictions from a deadly home invasion, but ordered his armed robbery and conspiracy convictions vacated because they should have merged into other convictions.
Although a .22-caliber bullet was recovered from Bussey’s leg, the handgun used in the crimes was never recovered. GBI Agent Cayce Ingalls testified about text messages that Appellant and Spinks sent to each other from December 4 to 5, 2010. For example, at 4:37 p.m. on December 4, Spinks sent Appellant a text message saying that he would “be over” and that...
The State also offered evidence that Spinks texted Smith at 1:55 a.m. on December 5, asking him if he “want[ed] to hit a lick.” Smith asked, “where about and what’s it worth.” Spinks replied that “it’s [the] college boys,” and Smith said that he lived “right by” them, that he watched them, that there “ain’t none in there worth all that.” Smith added that...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 15, 2021
Lofton v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Hakim Lofton's murder conviction, ruling that circumstantial evidence including phone and cell tower records was sufficient and that police reliance on then-existing law to obtain his cell records without a warrant did not require throwing out the evidence.
As with GPS information, the time-stamped [cell-site location] data provides an intimate window into a person’s life, revealing not only his particular movements, but through them his familial, political, professional, religious, and sexual associations. These location records hold for many Americans the “privacies of life.” And like GPS monitoring, cell...
The State introduced MetroPCS records, including subscriber information and call logs that included cell-site location information, for cell phones used by Eatmon, Brown, and Lofton. The phone records, together with the testimony of a records custodian who was qualified as an expert in MetroPCS’s recordkeeping practices, showed that Eatmon’s and Brown’s...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 5, 2026
Jackson v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's convictions for the murder of a nine-month-old and other gang-related shootings, rejecting challenges to the evidence, his lawyer's performance, and the trial judge's handling of a mistrial request.
Agent Thompson testified as an expert in criminal street gangs and street gang activity. 10 As to cell phones, Agent Thomp- son testified that they were being smuggled into Georgia prisons at an increased rate and that they allowed for inmates—and par- ticularly gang members—to engage in criminal activity from prison. He also described the methods by which...
Dixon was present for Malone’s murder, afterwards fleeing to Marco Watson’s apartment where Devin Thomas—who was also an SMM member—was present. Dixon was “really frantic” as she told Watson and Thomas about Malone’s murder. After hearing about what had happened, Thomas “felt somebody would have to get some get back for this.” Thomas testified that he then...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 26, 2025
Richardson v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's malice murder conviction, rejecting his arguments that the evidence was too weak and that a recorded witness statement should not have been played for the jury.
Richardson testified in his own defense at trial. He claimed that Holcombe had bought marijuana from Porter in the past and that the two of them had an argument that day. Richardson also claimed that, after stopping at the gas station with Porter and Hol- combe, he went to a high school football game. According to Richard- son, Porter and Holcombe dropped...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 11, 2024
Tatum v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that courts applying the independent source doctrine must decide whether police decided to seek a search warrant because of an earlier illegal search, not just whether the warrant application had enough evidence on its own.
Evidence from Deputy Townsend’s testimony, his body-worn camera, and the parties’ stipulations was largely consistent and shows the following. On July 15, 2018, at 10:34 p.m.,5 the Madison County 911 call center received a call regarding an unknown 5 The parties jointly stipulated that the call was received at 10:34 p.m., but the warrant affidavit states...
Deputy Townsend asked if Appellant would show him the last photograph he had taken. Appellant initially declined, but after Deputy Townsend told Appellant that he could detain him and obtain a search warrant, Appellant agreed. As Appellant was pulling up the gallery of photographs on his phone, he tilted his phone away from the deputy, preventing the deputy...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 18, 2026
Greene v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Sumter County man's felony murder conviction, finding the evidence was enough for the jury to reject his self-defense claim and that his trial lawyer was not constitutionally deficient.
By way of background, on the second day of trial, the trial court sua sponte addressed jurors about potential misconduct on two occasions. First, the court dismissed the jury for lunch but asked an alternate juror to stay behind and asked her if she had been falling asleep. The alternate juror responded that she had not been falling asleep, that she had a...
Second, there is no evidence that the juror who checked his cell phone used the phone for any case-related purpose that might have impacted Greene’s right to a fair trial. The record suggested the opposite, as the juror’s explanation that he had used his cell phone to check a message from his mother indicated that he had used the phone for a personal...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 13, 2026
Dorsey v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's felony murder conviction, ruling that photos and video showing him with guns were properly admitted and that his lawyer's failure to press for identification jury instructions did not change the trial's outcome.
1. The evidence presented at trial showed the following. In October 2021, 22-year-old Wilson—who was on leave from the military—met 16-year-old Salazar-Chavez. Soon thereafter, the pair began an exclusive romantic relationship. Most of their re- lationship was long-distance, as Wilson was stationed in South Korea or North Carolina while Salazar-Chavez...
Wilson was shot in his left leg; Salazar-Chavez was shot in her left arm and the left side of her chest. A medical examiner testified that Salazar-Chavez died from the shot to her chest. Investigators who responded to the scene recovered 11 nine-millimeter cartridge casings, and a firearms examiner later testified that all 11 of those casings were fired...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 9, 2026
Ash v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Richard Ash's murder conviction, ruling that cell phone location data and other evidence sufficiently backed up an accomplice's testimony and that Ash's silence at his first trial's mistrial waived any double jeopardy challenge to his retrial.
Atlanta Police Detective Kevin Leonpacher, who was tendered as an expert at trial in the field of “historical cell phone data,” “cell tower analysis,” and “phone data analysis,” testified that he received phone records from the cellular service providers for the cell phones of Ash, Fuller, Larkins, Mack, and Sherry pursuant to a search warrant. Detective...
6 Ash’s Google account, including his gmail account, and his location services were activated on his cell phone. residence in Riverdale, 7 and at 5:38 a.m., the user of Ash’s cell phone placed a call near the intersection of Hadlock Street and Leslie Avenue while in close proximity to the other defendants’ cell phones. At 10:08 p.m. on August 4, the user of...
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