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Found 76 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...
Code section · Georgia General Assembly · active
O.C.G.A. § 17-7-170. Demand for speedy trial; service; discharge and acquittal for lack of prosecution; expiration; reversal on direct appeal; mistrial and retrial; special pleas of incompetency
(a) Any defendant against whom a true bill of indictment or an accusation is filed with the clerk for an offense not affecting the defendant’s life may enter a demand for speedy trial at the court term at which the indictment or accusation is filed or at the next succeeding regular court term thereafter; or, by special permission of the court, the defendant...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 20, 2022
Williams v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Richmond County man's murder conviction, rejecting his self-defense claim, his argument about an accomplice's guilty plea, and his claim that a 25-month delay before his retrial violated his right to a speedy trial.
4. Finally, Williams argues that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated when he was not brought to retrial for 25 months after remittitur of his case to the superior court following the reversal of his convictions by this Court. The trial court determined that Williams’s constitutional speedy-trial right was not violated and denied both a...
Courts examining an alleged denial of the constitutional right to a speedy trial first must consider whether the interval between the defendant’s arrest, indictment, or other formal accusation and the trial is sufficiently long so as to be characterized as presumptively prejudicial. If the delay is long enough to invoke the presumption of prejudice, the...
Meeting transcript · Georgia House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee · March 5, 2026
House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, March 5, 2026 (part 2)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee approved HB 1255 by substitute, with an amendment assigning responsibility for sending charging documents to the state rather than court clerks. Discussion focused on evidence-sharing deadlines, delays in criminal cases, and whether prosecutors have enough staff and technology to meet the requirements. The committee also heard HB 1322, which the presenter said would make rioting a felony. Three organizations opposed that bill, raising concerns about unclear language, penalties, protest rights, and bail restrictions. The chair postponed further consideration until the next morning without a vote.
I think a lot of times we lose sight of what happens just down the street, for example, in the busiest court in the State of Georgia, which is Fulton County State Court. In Fulton County State Court, you routinely have cases that will be accused in 18 months to 24 months after the date of arrest. Roughly two years. A defendant's case is accused, and then it...
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee · February 23, 2026
Senate Judiciary Committee, February 23, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee approved four bills and held one for more work. Members unanimously approved a substitute to SB 470 addressing signal jammers, an amended SB 327 adding a sixth superior court judge in the Clayton Judicial Circuit, and SB 202 establishing reciprocal evidence-sharing rules for misdemeanor cases. After extensive testimony about constitutional protections, religious freedom and effects on Muslim Georgians, the committee approved SB 486 on foreign laws and tribunal decisions, 4 to 3, with the chair breaking a tie. The committee held SB 499 after members questioned removing enhanced penalties involving firearms equipped with silencers. Funding for the additional Clayton judgeship remained an issue for the budget process.
All right. Any questions for District Attorney Moseley or Judge Mason? Thank y'all. Thank y'all. We have one other person, Mr. Sullivan from the Black Republican Council, that's here. You want the last word? Yes, sir. Come on down. Oh, thank you. Nobody else told me. You know, this whole time, maybe it was better, I don't know. Okay, I will make this quick...
Justice delayed can feel like justice denied. And number five, economic and administrative efficiency. Delays in civil and business cases can negatively affect the economy development. Efficient courts attract businesses, support stable families, reduce detention and housing costs. Investing in one additional judgeship can reduce long-term systematic costs....
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 19, 2020
Henderson v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed a Gwinnett County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that his speedy trial rights were violated and that his lawyer's mistakes entitled him to a new trial. The court also overruled a prior precedent that assumed such lawyer mistakes always cause harm.
Henderson contends that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was denied. We disagree. The United States Constitution guarantees that, “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy 3 We remind litigants that the Court will end its practice of considering sufficiency sua sponte in non-death penalty cases with cases...
As we have explained, [i]f the delay is long enough to invoke the presumption of prejudice, the trial court must balance four factors: (1) whether the delay before trial was uncommonly long, (2) whether the government or the criminal defendant is more to blame for the delay, (3) whether, in due course, the defendant asserted his right to a speedy trial, and...
Code section · Georgia General Assembly · active
O.C.G.A. § 17-7-172. Requirement of announcement by state of readiness for trial prior to announcement by defendant; speedy trial
The state shall be required in every case to announce ready or not ready for trial, except in those cases where the defendant is entitled by law to demand a speedy trial, before the defendant shall be called on to make such announcement.
Constitution provision · Constitution of the State of Georgia · active
Ga. Const. Art. I, Sec. I, Para. XI. Right to trial by jury; number of jurors; selection and compensation of jurors
(a) The right to trial by jury shall remain inviolate, except that the court shall render judgment without the verdict of a jury in all civil cases where no issuable defense is filed and where a jury is not demanded in writing by either party. In criminal cases, the defendant shall have a public and speedy trial by an impartial jury; and the jury shall be...
Bill or resolution · Georgia House of Representatives · January 27, 2025 · Passed
Criminal procedure; pretrial proceedings in capital offense cases where the death penalty is sought when the accused has an intellectual disability; provide
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): House Bill 123 creates a pretrial process for Georgia courts to decide whether a defendant facing the death penalty has an intellectual disability, and bars execution for anyone found to have one.
SECTION 3. Said title is further amended by revising subsection (d) of Code Section 17-7-171, relating to time for a demand for speedy trial in capital cases, discharge and acquittal when no trial held before end of two court terms of demand, counting of terms in cases in which death penalty is sought, and special pleas of incompetency, as follows: "(d) If...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 5, 2024
Palmer v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Willie Williams Palmer's murder convictions from his fourth trial, rejecting his claims that his speedy trial rights were violated and that the trial court wrongly excluded evidence pointing to other possible suspects.
2. Appellant contends that the trial court erred in rejecting his claim that the State violated his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. We disagree. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy . . . trial.” Sixth Amendment speedy trial claims are...
Application of the Barker-Doggett balancing test to particular cases is committed to the sound discretion of the trial courts. See Heard v. State, 295 Ga. 559, 563 (761 SE2d 314) (2014). Thus, on appeal from a ruling on a speedy trial claim, we accept the trial court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous, and we review the trial court’s...
Code section · Georgia General Assembly · active
O.C.G.A. § 17-7-171. Time for demand for speedy trial in capital cases; discharge and acquittal when no trial held before end of two court terms of demand; counting of terms in cases in which death penalty is sought; special pleas of incompetency
(a) Any person accused of a capital offense may enter a demand for speedy trial at the term of court at which the indictment is found or at the next succeeding regular term thereafter; or, by special permission of the court, the defendant may at any subsequent term thereafter demand a speedy trial. The demand for speedy trial shall be filed with the clerk...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 20, 2022
Davis v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that his speedy trial rights were violated, that evidence about the victim's friend was wrongly excluded, and that his lawyer was ineffective.
2. Davis first contends that he was denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial. In reviewing the trial court’s ruling on this issue, we accept the trial court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous, and we will affirm its ultimate conclusion absent an abuse of discretion. See Burney v. State, 309 Ga. 273, 286 (4) (845 SE2d 625) (2020)....
2 Although this filing may have been intended as a statutory speedy-trial demand, it did not comply with the speedy-trial statute. See OCGA § 17-7-171. That Code section provides that, absent “special permission of the court,” any speedy-trial demand must be filed “at the term of court at which the indictment is found or at the next succeeding regular term...
Code section · Georgia General Assembly · active
O.C.G.A. § 38-3-62. Suspension or tolling of deadlines and time schedules in event of judicial emergency; statutory speedy trial requirements defined
(a) An authorized judicial official in an order declaring a judicial emergency, or in an order modifying or extending a judicial emergency order, is authorized to suspend, toll, extend, or otherwise grant relief from deadlines or other time schedules or filing requirements imposed by otherwise applicable statutes, rules, regulations, or court orders,...
(vii) The extent of efforts made by prosecuting attorneys and the court to reduce the number of criminal defendants held in custody awaiting trial; and (viii) Other relevant facts that justify ongoing relief from statutory speedy trial requirements, if any. (3) An order granting relief under this subsection shall be accompanied by a certification that...
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...
Code section · Georgia General Assembly · active
O.C.G.A. § 17-8-21. When showing for continuance required of state
In all cases in which the defendant cannot, according to law, demand a speedy trial, a continuance shall not be granted to the state, except upon a reasonable showing therefor.
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.
“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,...
(c) Assertion of the right The trial court weighed the third factor heavily against Leonard, finding that Leonard waited more than nineteen months before asserting his right to a speedy trial despite being represented by counsel within one month of his arrest. The record supports that finding, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion by weighing...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 6, 2024
Redding v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): For the third time, the Supreme Court of Georgia sent Merrick Redding's murder case back to a Muscogee County trial court, ruling that the judge again misapplied the legal test for deciding whether Redding's speedy-trial rights were violated.
(c) The assertion of the right to a speedy trial. The trial court weighed the assertion-of-right factor neutrally and did not abuse its discretion in doing so. We have explained that this factor asks whether the defendant asserted the right to a speedy trial in due course. This factor focuses on the timing, form, and vigor of the accused’s demands to be...
Although the trial court again made an erroneous factual finding that Redding requested trial delays, the trial court correctly laid out the other facts and reasons behind the one-year delay in filing the speedy-trial motion and based its analysis in large part on those findings. It is undisputed that Redding first raised the speedy- trial issue one year...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 10, 2025
State v. Embert
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Dougherty County woman's 2019 murder trial was not automatically void just because one juror turned out to be an ineligible felon, undoing the trial court's decision to dismiss her case on speedy trial grounds.
state or before the federal government?” The record contains no indication that either the Juror or any other prospective juror raised a hand in response, and the trial judge determined that the panel was “legally qualified.” (a) Order on Motion for New Trial: Following the motion hearing, the trial court granted Embert’s amended motion for new trial on...
In its dismissal order, the trial court first determined that the service of an ineligible juror not only rendered her sentence void, entitling her to a new trial, but also rendered the December 2019 trial void, finding that “there was no jury trial in this case that satisfied Embert’s constitutional right to a speedy trial.” Therefore, the trial court...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · July 1, 2025
Kitchens v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia sent a Bibb County man's murder case back to the trial court after finding the judge miscalculated key facts and misapplied the law in rejecting his claim that the state violated his right to a speedy trial.
(c) Assertion of the Right In considering the assertion-of-the-right factor, a trial court must evaluate whether the defendant “‘has asserted the right to a speedy trial in due course,’” which requires “‘a close examination of the procedural history of the case with particular attention to the timing, form, and vigor of the accused’s demands to be tried...
The court correctly determined that Kitchens’s private letters to his lawyer failed to put the trial court or the State on notice of an assertion of his right to a speedy trial and that, consequently, those “[p]rivileged, off-the-record conversations” did not serve as a sufficient invocation of the right. Henderson, 310 Ga. at 237. But the trial court’s...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 1, 2024
Redding v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Merrick Redding's felony murder conviction for a fourth and final time, ruling his speedy-trial rights were not violated and that any evidence errors at trial were harmless.
LAGRUA, Justice. Following a 2018 jury trial, Appellant Merrick Redding was found guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with the death of Joseph Davis. This is Redding’s fourth appeal to this Court. In his first three appeals, we vacated the trial court’s judgment and remanded for the trial court to apply the correct facts and legal...
Redding for malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault with a “closed fist.” He was reindicted on the same charges on May 22, 2018. At a trial from October 24 to November 5, 2018, the jury found Redding not guilty of malice murder but guilty of the remaining counts. The trial court orally denied the speedy-trial motion at the pretrial conference...
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