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Found 282 matching passages in 127 documents.
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.
(e) What constitutes a “lawful act” under OCGA § 16-5-3 (b). “A ‘crime’ is a violation of a statute of this state in which there is a joint operation of an act or omission to act and intention or criminal negligence.” OCGA § 16-2-1 (a). Conversely, a lawful act is something that is not a crime within the meaning of the laws of this state. Whether a...
A review of selected cases on involuntary manslaughter provides some guidance for determining whether there is slight evidence of the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner to support an instruction on OCGA § 16-5-3 (b). For example, if the uncontradicted evidence shows that the defendant was not in lawful possession of the weapon that caused the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 20, 2022
Jones v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed a man's murder conviction for a fatal 2015 shooting in Augusta, ruling that a shotgun shell found in his back yard was properly seized while officers executed a valid arrest warrant.
Nevertheless, the undisputed evidence also demonstrates that, at the time the officers went to execute the arrest warrant, they did not have a search warrant for Appellant’s residence. “The Fourth Amendment [to the United States Constitution] proscribes all unreasonable searches and seizures, and searches conducted without prior judicial approval are per se...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 30, 2022
In the Matter of Daniel Kirkland McCall
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected an attorney's proposed six-month suspension for neglecting three clients, ruling that his mitigating claims, unpaid refund, and proposed reinstatement conditions did not support accepting the deal as offered.
Looking to the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, which are to be used in determining the appropriate level of discipline, see In the Matter of Von Mehren, 312 Ga. 345, 348 (862 SE2d 547) (2021), McCall notes that he violated his ethical duties to his clients and the profession, and that under normal circumstances, he knew or should have known...
McCall states that while he recognizes the seriousness of this matter and takes full responsibility for his actions and inactions, he believes that a six-month suspension, nunc pro tunc to May 13, 2019, is appropriate here where all of the conduct in the Bar complaints occurred during the time in which he was in the midst of a psychotic episode and was...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 15, 2022
MAYNARD v. SNAPCHAT, INC
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Snapchat's maker can be sued for negligently designing its Speed Filter, rejecting the idea that a manufacturer never owes a safety duty when a third party misuses a product intentionally or unlawfully.
5. Snap and its amici curiae argue that, to the extent that our decisional law does not recognize an exception to a manufacturer’s design duty in every case of intentional, tortious product misuse, Georgia law would be an outlier among American jurisdictions, imposing a significantly greater scope of liability on manufacturers for design defects. We...
In any event, the fact that some manufacturers may have to litigate negligent-design claims involving intentional misuse beyond the motion-to-dismiss stage and may ultimately be liable in proportion to their degree of fault does not offend Georgia public policy. As demonstrated by the Georgia product-liability statute and our decisional law described in...
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.
PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the report and recommendation of Special Master Jack J. Helms, Jr., who recommends that the Court accept the petition for voluntary discipline filed by respondent Trent Lee Coggins (State Bar No. 173299) pursuant to Bar Rule 4-227 (c) after the filing of a formal complaint. Coggins asks that the...
Here, the Special Master concluded that Coggins’s misconduct, although certainly serious, was mitigated by a number of considerations that tended to offset or deemphasize the aggravating factors, including his restitution, general acceptance of responsibility, remorse, and lack of any prior disciplinary history. Thus, the Special Master determined that a...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 3, 2022
Butler v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Cory Butler's malice murder conviction for a home invasion that killed Epsie Ewing, rejecting his claims about insufficient evidence, an invalid jury trial waiver, and ineffective legal help.
Here, the record shows that the State initially sought the death penalty in this case, filing a notice of intent (and later an amended notice) to seek the death penalty. On March 13, 2013, Butler and the State entered into a consent agreement, signed by both parties, whereby the State withdrew its notice of intent to seek the death penalty and Butler waived...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 3, 2022
Palencia v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the Court of Appeals wrongly excused a trial judge's failure to instruct jurors that accomplice testimony must be corroborated, in a home invasion and rape case.
the relationship between the defendant and the witnesses who testified at trial. If there is even slight evidence that could support a finding that a witness was an accomplice and that witness provides testimony that links the defendant to the crime, it is error for the trial court to instruct the jury that the testimony of a single witness is sufficient to...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 17, 2022
Perkins v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Andreas Perkins's murder and other convictions from a fatal home invasion, rejecting challenges to the evidence, a mistrial denial, admitted photographs, and his lawyer's performance.
Moreover, the jury was authorized to conclude that Perkins was part of the group of men who shot at or toward J. R. and Glover. To that end, the State presented evidence that Perkins and his co- defendants were discussing plans to commit a robbery hours before the crimes; that after the crimes, the same four men were seen running out of Glover’s apartment...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 29, 2022
Eaker v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Cherokee County man's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that his lawyer should have pursued an accidental-gun-malfunction defense and that new evidence justified a new trial.
Eaker also points to his expert’s testimony at the motion-for- new-trial hearing that the five bullet wounds to Audra’s head “arced” “up her head” “in almost a straight line,” as well as his testimony that the three bullets that missed Audra hit the roof, sun visor, and windshield of the car, as evidence that should have alerted trial counsel to the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 8, 2022
Junior v. Graham
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a car accident victim can collect attorney fees and litigation expenses under two separate Georgia laws without one recovery canceling out the other, reversing the Court of Appeals of Georgia.
BETHEL, Justice. This case involves the harmonization of two statutory provisions. The first, OCGA § 13-6-11, authorizes a jury in a civil suit to assess as damages certain legal expenses of a prevailing party when that party has specifically requested them and when the jury finds that the opposing party “has acted in bad faith, has been stubbornly...
1 The facts relevant to our analysis are not in meaningful dispute. but before trial, Junior served Graham with a document styled “Plaintiff’s Offer to Settle Tort Claim to Defendant Pursuant to OCGA § 9-11-68.” Junior’s offer proposed to settle all of his claims against Graham for $600,000. The offer was rejected by operation of law after Graham failed to...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 19, 2022
Awad v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that prosecutors cannot tell a jury that a DUI suspect refused to give a urine sample, extending a rule that already protected refusals to take breath tests under the state constitution.
The State has the burden of proving that evidence challenged in a motion to suppress is admissible. See Kennebrew v. State, 304 Ga. 406, 409 (1) (819 SE2d 37) (2018) (holding that, on a motion to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search, the State has the burden of showing that an exception to the warrant requirement applies); State v. Hinton,...
OCGA § 40-5-67.1 (b) (2) (2016). 2 Although it was stipulated below that the police officer asked Awad to submit to a urine test, the record did not reveal the details of how Awad’s urine would have been collected. At oral argument before this Court, however, the State conceded, and Awad agreed, that the collection method at issue here would have involved...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 22, 2022
Mobley v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Walton County man's murder conviction, ruling the trial judge was right to refuse a voluntary manslaughter instruction because being shot while unlawfully breaking into a home is not the kind of provocation the law requires.
Mobley contends that the trial court erred by refusing his request for a jury instruction on voluntary manslaughter as a lesser offense of murder.3 Mobley points to the physical evidence showing that Katelyn shot at him six times, “and one of [the shots] hit [him] in the thigh — a very sensitive area of the body,” and to evidence that this “volley of fire”...
Pertinent to Mobley’s argument on appeal, the evidence presented at trial showed the following. At 12:12 a.m. on January 16, 2018, Katelyn Mobley called 911 and reported that her husband, from whom she was separated, had forced himself into her home and taken their nine-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son outside to his truck. She told the dispatcher...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 15, 2022
McInerney v. McInerney
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Georgia's forum non conveniens law can be used to transfer or dismiss a divorce case without violating the state constitution's rule that divorce cases be tried where the defendant lives.
Kristine further argues that the court did not require Jeffrey to present evidence and that he failed to do so as to several of the factors enumerated in OCGA § 9-10-31.1 (a), that the burden was improperly shifted onto her as a result, and that the court improperly weighed the statutory factors. We agree that the trial court incorrectly analyzed some of...
In OCGA § 9-10-31.1 (a), the General Assembly has done just that. The statute sets forth certain circumstances in which a party may move the trial court to transfer to another proper venue in Georgia by invoking the doctrine of forum non conveniens. See OCGA § 9-10-31.1 (a). This is a valid exercise of the power granted to the General Assembly under...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 4, 2022
Beamon v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Vernon Beamon's murder convictions for a 2016 DeKalb County double killing, finding the circumstantial evidence tying him to the crimes was strong enough for the jury to convict, and ruled his two firearm convictions did not have to merge.
Any person who is on probation as a felony first offender pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42, who is on probation and was sentenced for a felony under subsection (a) or (c) of Code Section 16-13-2, or who has been convicted of a felony by a court of this state or any other state; by a court of the United States including its territories,...
Any person who shall have on or within arm’s reach of his or her person a firearm . . . during the commission of, or the attempt to commit . . . [a]ny crime against or involving the person of another; . . . [t]he unlawful entry into a building or vehicle; . . . [a] theft from a building or theft of a vehicle; . . . [a]ny crime involving the possession,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 25, 2022
In the Matter of William D. Thompson, Jr
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an amended petition from an attorney seeking reciprocal discipline for trust account mismanagement in Florida, imposing a one-year suspension retroactive to January 2020.
Based on his misconduct, Thompson was found to have violated the following Florida Bar rules: Rule 4-1.15 (safekeeping property — compliance with trust account rules); Rule 4-8.4 (a) (misconduct — a lawyer shall not violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, including through the acts of another); Rule 5-1.1 (governing trust accounts);...
Thompson states that this Court has the authority to impose discipline substantially similar to his one-year Florida suspension, with reinstatement being conditioned on proof of reinstatement in Florida. See In the Matter of Podvin, 304 Ga. 378 (818 SE2d 651) (2018) (imposing 18-month suspension with proof of reinstatement in Florida as reciprocal...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 23, 2022
Inquiry Concerning Judge Terrinee Lynette Gundy
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a discipline agreement suspending Atlanta Municipal Court Judge Terrinee Lynette Gundy for 90 days without pay and publicly reprimanding her for chronic tardiness, absenteeism, and unlawfully keeping arrestees in jail.
But Judge Gundy refused, as she was attempting to hurry through the calendar. As the defendants remained in custody for several days, an attorney with the Public Defender’s Office for the City of Atlanta filed an emergency petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to compel the release of the defendants; a hearing in Superior Court on the motion was set...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 20, 2022
BARNHILL v. ALFORD
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a grandmother could still seek visitation with her granddaughter even after the child's stepmother adopted her, and upheld the grandparent visitation law's clear-and-convincing-evidence standard as constitutional.
As discussed above, in the Barnhills’ motion attacking the constitutionality of OCGA § 19-7-3 (c) (1), (c) (3), and (c) (5), the Barnhills argue that these paragraphs are unconstitutional on their face because they: (1) ignore the best interests of the child; (2) violate the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and...
OCGA § 19-7-3 (c) (1) provides in pertinent part that the court may grant any family member of the child reasonable visitation rights if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the health or welfare of the child would be harmed unless such visitation is granted and if the best interests of the child would be served by such visitation. The mere...
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.
(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...
The question posed by the district court assumes that the person assisting with the loading is not also the operator of the vehicle. The phrase “[n]o person shall . . . load for operation” does not limit the duty imposed by the statute to secure a load and any covering thereon to the operator of the vehicle or a person primarily responsible for loading. “No...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 19, 2022
Davenport v. Ward, Comr
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Floyd County man's aggravated assault conviction should have merged into his armed robbery conviction because both charges came from the same armed robbery of a Kroger shopper at gunpoint.
[Roebuck] said he popped the trunk release lever, and then he turned to open his door. It was at that time, as soon as he turned, he noticed a black male, [Davenport], in front of him with a gun pointed at him. [Roebuck] said he looked at the gun, and [Davenport] said, “Yeah, it’s loaded.” [Roebuck] said the only other statement that [Davenport] made was,...
Davenport filed a timely notice of appeal and a timely application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal. On September 21, 2021, this Court granted Davenport’s application as to the merger claim.4 2. The State concedes the merger error alleged by Davenport, and we agree that both the trial court and the habeas court erred in their determinations...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 8, 2022
Burns v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that 2016 changes to Georgia's grand jury notice laws for police officers are procedural, not substantive, so they applied to an Atlanta officer's 2018 indictment even though the shooting happened before the law changed.
(h) At any time during the presentation of evidence or during deliberations, the grand jury may amend the indictment or instruct the district attorney to cause a new indictment to be drawn as in any other case. In such case, a copy of the amendment or new indictment, if it relates to the accused public official, shall be provided to the accused public...
because the trial court reached the right result, we affirm the court’s judgment. See Merchant Law Firm v. Emerson, 301 Ga. 609, 614 (1) (c) (800 SE2d 557) (2017) (affirming a trial court’s judgment as “right for any reason”). As an initial matter, we note that the framing of this case as one about the retroactive application of the 2016 amendments is...
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