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Found 134 matching documents.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 4, 2022
In the Matter of Trent Lee Coggins
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Valdosta lawyer's petition for a six-month suspension over trust account violations, retroactive to when he stopped practicing, and reinstated him immediately because the suspension period had already passed.
Additionally, prior to the May 2016 closing, Coggins was present and overheard a telephone conversation between his client and the third party in which they discussed applying the proceeds of the sale of the four lots toward repayment of the Loan. Coggins believed that the third party would release the four lots from the security deed upon application of...
More than a year later, in June 2017, the third party contacted Coggins’s client and requested a replacement check, representing that Check No. 5016 had been dishonored by the bank due to the length of time that had elapsed since it was issued. The client told the third party that he would request a replacement check from Coggins, but the client did not do...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 4, 2022
In the Matter of Karen Lynn Pass
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia issued a public reprimand with conditions to attorney Karen Lynn Pass for mishandling client trust funds and failing to properly supervise a nonlawyer employee who stole client money.
PER CURIAM. These two disciplinary matters are before the Court on the consolidated report submitted by the Special Master, Patrick H. Head, who recommends that this Court impose a public reprimand with conditions upon respondent Karen Lynn Pass (State Bar No. 480920) for her violations of Rules 1.15 (I) (a), 1.15 (II) (b), and 5.3 (b) of the Georgia Rules...
2 Rule 1.15 (II) (b) provides in relevant part that “[n]o personal funds shall ever be deposited in a lawyer’s trust account, except that unearned attorney’s fees may be so held until the same are earned. . . . Records on such trust accounts shall be so kept and maintained as to reflect at all times the exact balance held for each client or third person. No...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 7, 2022
In the Matter of Andrew Matteson
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected an attorney's request to accept a three- to six-month suspension for mishandling client funds and abandoning cases, because he gave the court no proof of his mental health claims or that he had made his clients whole.
In his petition, Matteson, who was admitted to the Bar in 2000, makes the following admissions unconditionally with respect to State Disciplinary Board Docket (“SDBD”) No. 7496. In exchange for a total retainer of $1,500 paid to Matteson’s law firm, Matteson represented a client in several personal and business matters over a number of years including 2017....
314 Ga. 576 FINAL COPY S22Y1093. IN THE MATTER OF ANDREW MATTESON.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 15, 2022
Shelton v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld James Shelton's malice murder conviction in the death of Manuel Palmer, rejecting arguments that the evidence was insufficient and that his trial lawyers were constitutionally deficient for not pursuing a criminal-responsibility evaluation.
Mary, who lived next door to Palmer, told police officers that she saw Appellant and Palmer in Palmer’s car earlier in the day. She testified that she saw the two of them moving scrap material during the day and placing the material between her house and Palmer’s mobile home. She testified that they were moving the material from Appellant’s home because...
According to Juanita, Palmer came to visit her alone at her home between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. to drop off some of the money he obtained from scrapping his car.6 She testified that Palmer told her that he was going to stop talking or associating with Appellant and that he was “giving up the partying lifestyle.” Tessa Watkins, a neighbor, testified that...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 8, 2022
McEntyre v. Sams East, Inc
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that anyone who helps load a vehicle, not just the driver, has a legal duty to securely fasten the load, and can be sued for negligence if that duty is broken and someone is hurt as a result.
1 In addition to the parties’ briefs and presentations at oral argument, the Court was assisted in answering the three certified questions by an amicus curiae brief from Georgians for Lawsuit Reform. mattresses became loose and fell from the bed of McCall’s truck onto a public roadway. Shortly after the mattress fell onto the road, Amanda McEntyre’s vehicle...
(b) No person shall operate or load for operation, on any public road, any vehicle with any load unless such load and any covering thereon is securely fastened so as to prevent such covering or load from: (1) Becoming loose, detached, or in any manner becoming a hazard to other users of the public road[.] In considering the meaning of this statute, we must...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 8, 2022
DOE v. SAINT JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man who says a priest sexually abused him as a boy in the 1970s can still pursue most of his claims against the Catholic Church, because the two-year deadline to sue may have been paused by alleged fraud.
Likewise, Doe’s claims against the Church for failure to warn and provide adequate security on the premises require a showing that the Church knew or should have known about Father Edwards’s alleged history of sexual abuse, so that it could reasonably foresee that he presented a danger to young parishioners. See Johnson St. Properties v. Clure, 302 Ga. 51,...
7 See Piedmont Hosp., 276 Ga. at 614 (“Georgia courts have consistently held that an employer cannot be held liable under respondeat superior for an employee’s sexual misconduct when the alleged acts were not taken in furtherance of the employer’s business and were outside the scope of employment.”). claim as time-barred. We cannot say the same with respect...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 4, 2022
In the Matter of Edward Hine, Jr
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted attorney Edward Hine, Jr.'s request to permanently give up his law license after he admitted mishandling client and trust funds, an outcome equivalent to disbarment.
PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the petition for voluntary surrender of license, which Respondent Edward Hine, Jr. (State Bar No. 355775), filed before the issuance of a formal complaint, see Bar Rule 4-227 (b), but after this Court rejected his earlier petition for voluntary discipline. See In the Matter of Hine, 314 Ga. 70 (875...
(3) the client gives informed consent, in a writing signed by the client, to the essential terms of the transaction and the lawyer’s role in the transaction, including whether the lawyer is representing the client in the transaction. Rule 1.15 (I) (a) provides, in relevant part, that “[a] lawyer shall hold funds or other property of clients or third persons...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 19, 2022
Renfro v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld David Renfro's murder conviction, ruling that even if police wrongly used pre-arrest statements without giving him Miranda warnings, the mistake made no difference because other evidence proved the same points.
Deputy Garcia testified for the State at trial. When asked on cross-examination if Appellant, his brother, or his father was free to leave during the conversation on the porch, Deputy Garcia stated that “they were not under custodial arrest.” When asked if the police had “secured the residence,” Deputy Garcia said, “Yes.” Finally, when asked again if “they...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 19, 2022
In THE MATTER OF WAYMON SIMS (Two Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an Atlanta-area attorney's request to voluntarily give up his law license after he admitted mishandling client and trust account funds in two separate disciplinary cases.
PER CURIAM. These disciplinary matters are before the Court on the report of special master Catherine H. Hicks, who recommends that this Court accept the petitions for voluntary surrender of license filed by respondent Waymon Sims (State Bar No. 648825) after the filing of a formal complaint. See Bar Rule 4-227 (c). In his petitions, filed in State...
With regard to SDBD No. 7316, the special master found that Sims commingled and maintained personal and client funds in his Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (“IOLTA”) ending in 4777, his trust account ending in 1392, his IOLTA ending in 1384, his trust account ending in 6273, and his trust account ending in 2366. In addition, Sims held client funds in...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 30, 2022
McIver v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed Tex McIver's felony murder conviction in the shooting death of his wife Diane, ruling the trial judge should have let jurors consider a lesser misdemeanor manslaughter charge.
A firearms examiner for the State determined that McIver’s double-action .38-caliber revolver was in good working order and, due to the internal hammer block, could not have discharged without the trigger being pulled. The trigger pull was either 2¼ pounds with the hammer cocked or 12¼ pounds with the hammer uncocked. An accident reconstruction expert for...
314 Ga. 109 FINAL COPY S22A0093. MCIVER V. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 22, 2022
In the Matter of Edward Hine, Jr
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected a longtime attorney's request for a six-month suspension over admitted misuse of estate client funds, finding his disclosed misconduct alone could warrant disbarment and that he had left out related misconduct involving a separate trust.
PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before this Court on the petition for voluntary discipline filed by Edward Hine, Jr. (State Bar No. 355775), prior to the issuance of a formal complaint, pursuant to Bar Rule 4-227 (b). In his petition, Hine, who has been a member of the Bar since 1976, admits that, by his conduct in failing to adequately communicate...
Hine begins his recitation of the underlying facts by recounting that his wife passed away in May 2021 after a 17-month battle with cancer, that he has transferred all of his clients save one to other counsel, that his one remaining client was in the process of selling off all of its assets, and that he intends to convert his Bar status to inactive once...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 19, 2022
In the Matter of Justin Grey Woodward
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an attorney's petition for voluntary discipline and imposed a public reprimand for neglecting a client's case and mishandling his trust account in two separate incidents.
With regard to SDB Docket Nos. 7422 and 7423, Woodward admits that, at all relevant times, he maintained an IOLTA trust account; that on July 23, 2018, when implementing a one-time transfer of $500 in earned fees from that account into his operating account, he “inadvertently set the transfer to be a recurring weekly transfer”; that the following week, the...
and thorough,” and he asserts that, in an effort to rectify any harm he caused, he has refunded to the clients half of the attorney fees they paid to him, less the costs for filing and serving process in the case. With regard to SDB Docket Nos. 7422 and 7423, Woodward admits that he violated Rules 1.15 (I) (a) and 1.15 (II) (b).2 He explains that both of...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 7, 2022
Mitchell v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Kashawn Mitchell's murder conviction in the killing of Jaron Acklin, rejecting arguments that the evidence was too weak and that his police interview statements should have been suppressed.
Viewing the evidence in this light, the record shows that, on the morning of November 16, 2015, a maintenance worker entered Acklin’s apartment after one of Acklin’s friends voiced concerns that she had not heard from him for two days. Upon entering the residence, the maintenance worker found Acklin dead of a single gunshot wound to the head. When the...
YEARGIN: Without him on the phone, I’m going to tell you, I’m still recording, and I’m going to tell you, man to man. Okay? I will take what I’ve got right here, we’re going to vet this information to make sure it’s accurate and I promise you, if it is, I will talk to the D.A., and we will charge you appropriately. Okay? You will get charged with something,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 15, 2022
Edible Ip, LLC v. Google, LLC
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Edible Arrangements' owner cannot sue Google for theft, conversion, or racketeering just because Google auctions its trade name to advertisers as a keyword search term.
is a part.”). See also Reis v. Ralls, 250 Ga. 721, 723 (1) (301 SE2d 40) (1983) (“[I]t appears clear that in addition to a trademark, a trade name, along with the goodwill it represents, may be the subject of an Article 9 security interest.”). Here, Edible IP specifically pleaded that it is the only entity entitled to license the use of the trade name...
Edible IP also argues, citing Williams v. National Auto Sales, Inc., 287 Ga. App. 283 (651 SE2d 194) (2007), that “an unauthorized sale of the property is itself an unlawful exercise of dominion.” 10 Id. 10 In Williams, a car owner sued a dealership and its employee for conversion and a variety of other claims after the dealership repossessed the owner’s...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 7, 2022
Reed v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Jaquavious Reed's murder conviction over claims about a decade-long appeal delay, unrecorded bench conferences, and missing evidence, but ordered his felony murder sentence vacated as duplicative.
314 Ga. 534 FINAL COPY S22A0530. REED v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 17, 2022
Redding v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia sent a Muscogee County murder case back to the trial court a second time, ruling that the judge misapplied the law and failed to properly weigh the factors used to decide speedy-trial claims.
313 Ga. 730 FINAL COPY S22A0124. REDDING v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 15, 2022
Ward v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Greene County man's murder conviction for killing his girlfriend, rejecting his claims that the evidence was too weak and that hearsay testimony and ineffective trial counsel warranted a new trial.
313 Ga. 265 FINAL COPY S21A1309. WARD v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 2, 2022
Ammons v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that police cannot use a DUI suspect's refusal to take a preliminary breath test or cooperate with field sobriety tests as evidence at trial, overruling a 29-year-old precedent. The court also rejected a separate constitutional challenge to using blood test refusals as evidence.
Search and Seizure Clause11 and Due Process Clause12 to insist that the police obtain a search warrant or satisfy some other exception to the warrant requirement before performing the test. And although our cases construing these provisions do not hold or suggest that a suspect’s refusal to consent to a blood test cannot be used against her at trial, she...
315 Ga. 149 FINAL COPY S22A0542. AMMONS v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 8, 2022
Inquiry Concerning Judge Jadawnya Baker
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia approved a public reprimand for Atlanta Municipal Court Judge JaDawnya Baker after she admitted to repeatedly dismissing cases she should have simply rejected during guilty plea hearings.
Pursuant to JQC Rule 23, Judge Baker and the Director then entered into an agreement to resolve the formal charges with a public reprimand. In authorizing this resolution, the Investigative Panel considered in mitigation Judge Baker’s lack of prior disciplinary complaints; her relative inexperience on the bench;1 her seeking out guidance of various mentors...
As for the facts underlying these charges, Judge Baker acknowledges in the discipline by consent agreement that in May 2015, she had a court security officer drive his personal vehicle to a store to pick up alcoholic beverages and deliver them to a private event celebrating Judge Baker’s appointment to the bench; that around September 2016, she had a court...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 2, 2022
Winslow v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's convictions for possessing child pornography found on his laptop, ruling his consent to a Walmart search extended to a forensic exam conducted 14 months later, but sent the case back because two counts should have been merged for sentencing.
4 Winslow’s silence alone would not be sufficient to establish consent without the other facts indicating the context of his expressed consent for Sergeant Asbell to search Winslow’s bag, which contained the laptop, for pictures of children. See Turner, 304 Ga. at 361-362 (1) (b) (concluding that The record also shows that, moments later, in response to...
When Sergeant Asbell looked in the bag, he noticed a laptop computer. While present with Winslow, Sergeant Asbell attempted to turn the laptop on but was unable to access any information on the computer because it had trouble starting. The record before us does not indicate whether Sergeant Asbell asked Winslow whether he could check the contents of the...
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