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Found 280 matching passages in 129 documents.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 19, 2024
In THE MATTER OF ESTON WILLIAM HOOD, JR. (Two Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended attorney Eston William Hood, Jr. for two years, rejecting a recommended one-year suspension as too lenient given his admitted false statements to opposing counsel, courtroom staff, and the State Bar itself.
16 The Special Master also determined that ABA Standard 9.32 (d) (good- faith effort to make restitution) applied in mitigation because, in 2023, Hood fully refunded the attorney fee and filing fee to his client in SDBD No. 7470. But we decline to apply this mitigating factor because Hood did not make the reimbursement until long after the disciplinary...
We have carefully reviewed the entire record in this case and conclude that a one-year suspension is an insufficient level of discipline under the facts of this case. This Court has repeatedly recognized that “making false statements to the Bar during the disciplinary process is a very serious matter which typically results in, at least, a significant...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 11, 2024
Hill v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Newton County man's malice murder conviction for strangling his girlfriend, rejecting his challenges to the evidence, the trial court's handling of mistrial motions and jury selection, and his lawyer's performance.
(b) On appeal, Hill argues that the trial court abused its discretion in denying each motion for mistrial, contending that each piece of testimony discussed above, individually and when viewed collectively, deprived him of a fair trial. “Whether to grant a motion for mistrial is within the trial court’s sound discretion, and the trial court’s exercise of...
9 Although, as noted above, trial counsel did not move to strike six of the jurors about which Hill complains in Division 4, Hill argues only that counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to move to strike five of those jurors; he does not include one of the jurors in this ineffective-assistance claim. so patently unreasonable that no competent...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 5, 2024
In the Matter of John Carl Huber
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney John Carl Huber by accepting his voluntary surrender of license, backdated to May 12, 2021, after his felony convictions for aggravated assault, burglary, and other crimes.
1 Rule 8.4 (a) (2) provides that it shall be a violation of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct for a lawyer to be convicted of a felony. a petition for a writ of certiorari, which we denied. See Case No. S23C1147 (denied February 6, 2024). The trial court then entered an amended sentencing order merging the two counts. Huber remained incarcerated...
320 Ga. 314 FINAL COPY S24Y1132. IN THE MATTER OF JOHN CARL HUBER.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 15, 2024
Espinosa v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the denial of a man's request to withdraw his guilty plea for stabbing his girlfriend's 15-year-old son to death, rejecting his claim that his lawyer should have advised him of an insanity defense.
At the hearing, plea counsel testified that he had practiced in Georgia since 2007. He had worked both as a public defender and in private practice as a criminal defense attorney and had handled thousands of felony cases. Counsel explained the way he typically handled a murder case, i.e., meeting with the client, requesting discovery, taking discovery to...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 17, 2024
Gallegos-Munoz v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia clarified that a 1989 rule requiring judges to first find prior sexual-abuse accusations 'probably false' before letting a jury hear about them no longer applies under the state's 2013 Evidence Code.
To clarify the consideration of prior-accusation evidence in sex offense trials governed by Georgia’s 2013 Evidence Code, we undertake the following analysis: (a) we summarize our holding in Smith under the previous Evidence Code that Georgia’s rape-shield statute does not bar prior-accusation evidence in sex offense trials and the announcement in Smith of...
(a) Our holdings in Smith. “The main issue on appeal” in Smith was “whether [former] OCGA § 24-2-3, commonly referred to as [Georgia’s] rape-shield law, bar[red] admission of testimony regarding the victim’s alleged past false accusations against persons other than the defendant.” Smith, 259 Ga. at 135-136. We held that the rape-shield statute, which is now...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · July 2, 2024
In the Matter of Curtis Lee Allen
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected an attorney's request to match a ten-day Florida suspension because he failed to attach key Florida disciplinary documents and did not prove he had stopped practicing law during that suspension.
when an attorney requests entry of a suspension or voluntary surrender order nunc pro tunc, it is the lawyer’s responsibility to demonstrate that they voluntarily stopped practicing law, the date on which their law practice ended, and that they complied with all the ethical obligations implicated in such a decision, such as assisting clients in securing new...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 16, 2024
In the Matter of Paul Jason York
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected a lawyer's proposed three-year suspension for forging a judge's and prosecutor's signatures, finding it improper to let him resume practicing law while related felony forgery charges remain pending.
substance abuse problems have been addressed, (b) providing proof that he is in compliance with the PDA, and (c) providing proof that he complied with his obligations to attend counseling and support meetings pursuant to the second condition. Moreover, the Special Master noted that if York is convicted of a crime arising from the same facts as this...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 27, 2024
White v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Erica White's murder and RICO convictions for the codeine poisoning death of her disabled two-year-old son, rejecting claims about improper evidence, severance, indictment defects, ineffective counsel, and withheld evidence.
the expert could not rule out the possibility that it was White’s signature. Pretermitting whether trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to present the testimony of a handwriting expert at trial, White “has not shown that there is a reasonable probability that the expert’s testimony would have made a difference in h[er] trial.” Parker v. State, 305...
White contends that Count 16 should have been quashed based on a special demurrer because Part III of Count 16 did not allege (1) whether the alleged RICO activity was committed in furtherance of an incident, scheme, or transaction; and (2) of which alleged factual incident, scheme, or transaction the alleged racketeering activity is alleged to be in...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 15, 2024
In the Matter of Curtis Lee Allen
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Florida-based lawyer's corrected request for reciprocal discipline, imposing a ten-day suspension backdated to match his earlier Florida suspension and reinstating him immediately.
Based on those facts, Allen requested, as substantially similar discipline, that this Court suspend his license to practice law in Georgia for ten days, nunc pro tunc and concurrent with his ten-day Florida suspension, and that the Court allow his reinstatement upon the entry of its opinion. But this Court rejected his original petition because Allen...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 11, 2024
OMSTEAD v. BPG INSPECTION, LLC
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a home inspection company's contract clause barring lawsuits more than one year after an inspection is enforceable, even against a wrongful death claim that arose after the year ran out.
But these sorts of distinctions are difficult for a court to draw in any principled manner, and I don’t see a clear legal basis under because the plaintiff did not raise it below. But it’s not clear to me that a too- short limitations period must always be assessed under only unconscionability, rather than assessed through a public policy lens as an...
claims. She later added a count for gross negligence.4 BPG moved for summary judgment, seeking to enforce the Inspection Agreement’s limitations on liability, including its one-year limitation. Omstead filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, asking, among other things, that the trial court hold that the one-year limitation provision was void as against...
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.
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...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 13, 2024
Garrison v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that prosecutors do not have to prove COVID-19 judicial emergency orders extended a deadline to charge a DUI defendant, but sent her case back because the wrong legal test was used to admit breath-test-style field sobriety evidence.
failed altogether to consider the proposed expert’s qualifications. See Spencer v. State, 302 Ga. 133, 136 (805 SE2d 886) (2017); Duncan v. State, 305 Ga. App. 268, 270-271 (2) (699 SE2d 341) (2010); Hawkins v. State, 223 Ga. App. 34, 38 (1) (476 SE2d 803) (1996); Cherry v. State, 345 Ga. App. 409, 412 (2) (813 SE2d 408) (2018). This reliance was misplaced...
We also granted certiorari to determine whether admission of horizontal gaze nystagmus (“HGN”) test evidence must be assessed according to the new standard imposed by a recent amendment to OCGA § 24-7-702. We conclude that it must be, that this new standard was not applied below, and that if the evidence was not admissible under the new standard, the trial...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 5, 2024
Jennings v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Savanna Jennings's murder conviction for helping orchestrate the killing of her grandfather, rejecting her claims about improper evidence and ineffective defense lawyering.
(i) Jennings contends that her trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to preserve her objection to the exclusion of Lieutenant Scott’s testimony, but as shown above, Jennings preserved her objection. Thus, we conclude that counsel did not perform deficiently. See Salvesen, 317 Ga. at 321 (4). (ii) Pretermitting whether Jennings’s trial counsel...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 1, 2024
In THE MATTER OF JOHN L.G. HERBERT, JR. (Four Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney John L. G. Herbert, Jr. after he defaulted on disciplinary charges accusing him of taking about $850,000 entrusted to him by overseas real estate investors.
7 This Rule provides, in pertinent part, that “[a]ll funds held by a lawyer for a client and all funds held by a lawyer in any other fiduciary capacity shall be deposited in and administered from a trust account.” 8 This Rule provides, in pertinent part, that “[n]o funds shall be withdrawn from such trust accounts for the personal use of the lawyer...
11 This Rule provides: (1) A lawyer shall designate all trust accounts, whether general or specific, as well as all deposit slips and checks drawn thereon, as an “Attorney Trust Account,” “Attorney Escrow Account” “IOLTA Account” or “Attorney Fiduciary Account.” The name of the attorney or law firm responsible for the account shall also appear on all...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 22, 2024
MOORE v. WHITE, WARDEN
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the denial of habeas relief to a man convicted of first-degree burglary, agreeing with the state that his appellate lawyer should have challenged the indictment for failing to allege he entered a dwelling.
indictment. In this respect, he argued that although OCGA § 16-7-1 (b) says, as pertinent here, that a person commits the crime of first- degree burglary when he, without authority and with the intent to commit a felony, enters a “dwelling house of another” or a building “designed for use as the dwelling of another,” the indictment alleged that he committed...
2. In reviewing the denial of a petition for habeas corpus, although we “‘accept[ ] the habeas court’s factual findings and credibility determinations unless they are clearly erroneous,’” we “‘independently apply the law to the facts.’” Ward v. Medina, 316 Ga. 345, 349 (888 SE2d 84) (2023) (citation omitted). A petitioner seeking habeas relief bears the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 5, 2024
McCullum v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Samuel Earl McCullum's convictions for the 1998 rape and murder of Monica Blackwell and the 1999 rape of another woman, rejecting his arguments that the evidence was insufficient and that pretrial delay and joinder violated his rights.
7 In Musacchio v. United States, 577 U.S. 237 (136 SCt 709, 193 LE2d 639) (2016), the United States Supreme Court reiterated that, under Jackson v. Virginia, a challenge to the constitutional sufficiency of the evidence looks to “whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the pros- ecution, any rational trier of fact could have found...
MCMILLIAN, Justice, dissenting in part. Under the well-established standard of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979), this Court deter- mines whether evidence is sufficient as a matter of constitutional due process by examining whether “any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 31, 2024
Whitaker Farms, LLC v. Fitzgerald Fruit Farms, LLC
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that statements a farm owner made during settlement talks cannot be used to prove liability for punitive damages, reversing a Court of Appeals decision that had allowed such evidence at a peach farm trespass trial.
We also note that Rule 408 (c) is virtually identical to a provision in both the 1975 and 2006 versions of Federal Rule of 5 Federal Rule of Evidence 408 (2006) provided: (a) Prohibited Uses.—Evidence of the following is not admissible on behalf of any party, when offered to prove liability for, invalidity of, or amount of a claim that was disputed as to...
“state of mind” toward the plaintiff to help establish that punitive damages should be awarded? See OCGA § 24-4-408 (a), (c). As set forth below, we resolve this case by rejecting the Court of Appeals’s application of Rule 408 (c), and therefore we answer the second question and need not address the first question posed. 2. (a) Rule 408 was enacted in 2011...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 16, 2024
Henderson v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder conviction of a DeKalb County man who stabbed his 15-year-old sister to death, ruling that evidence of a prior knife assault on another sister was properly admitted and that no voluntary manslaughter instruction was warranted.
2. Henderson contends the trial court erred in refusing to charge the jury on the offense of voluntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of another person under circumstances that would otherwise be murder when the killer “acts solely as the result of a sudden, violent, and irresistible passion resulting from serious provocation sufficient...
“A trial court is required to grant a defendant’s request for a charge on voluntary manslaughter if there is any evidence, however slight, supporting the theory of the charge.” O’Neal v. State, 316 Ga. 264, 268 (3) (888 SE2d 42) (2023). “It is a question of law for courts to determine whether the defendant has presented sufficient evidence to warrant a...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 6, 2024
KENNESTONE HOSPITAL, INC. v. EMORY UNIVERSITY
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a certificate of need to operate a general acute care hospital is a private right, not a public one, because it lets an individual owner use property in a specific way.
1. Background (a) Certificates of Need The CON Act was originally enacted in 1979 to help address the General Assembly’s concerns about health care services in Geor- gia. The Act was meant to ensure that health care services and fa- cilities are “developed in an orderly and economical manner,” that “only those health care services found to be in the public...
Some facilities and services are exempt from CON require- ments. See OCGA § 31-6-47. Health care services that predated the CON Act are not new, so they are “grandfathered.” See HCA Health Svcs., Inc. v. Roach, 263 Ga. 798, 801 (3) (a) (439 SE2d 494) (1994), overruled in part on other grounds by Marsh v. Clarke County School Dist., 292 Ga. 28, 29-30 (732...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 22, 2024
BAKER v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder convictions of Prentice Baker and Verlaine Laguerre, rejecting arguments that jurors needed a special warning about a witness who may have been an accomplice and that a lawyer's failure to object to fearful testimony was ineffective.
2 Baker’s counsel attacked Ellis’s credibility at length, referred to Wimby’s testimony that Ellis “set [the murder] up,” and characterized Ellis as “a potential suspect” during opening statements and closing arguments. And in closing argument, Laguerre’s counsel told the jury that “nothing that [Ellis] says should make you feel good about making a decision...
(c) Ballistics and Autopsy Evidence Cara McCarthy, an expert in firearms and ballistics analysis, received and analyzed evidence collected from the crime scene. She identified 14 .223-caliber cartridge cases, which she determined were all fired from the same weapon. McCarthy explained that .223- caliber bullets are typically fired from a rifle or long gun...
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