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Found 425 matching passages in 174 documents.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 31, 2023
Knox v. State of Georgia
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a lawsuit by five University System professors challenging Georgia's 2017 'campus carry' law was moot, because the Board of Regents itself adopted a policy allowing guns on campus consistent with that law.
5 See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. I, Sec. I, Par. VIII (“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, but the General Assembly shall have power to prescribe the manner in which arms may be borne.”); Ga. L. 1994, p. 1012, § 4 (adding public or private technical schools, vocational schools, colleges, universities, and other institutions...
10 In pertinent part, OCGA § 16-11-127.1 (c) (2017) as amended provided: The provisions of this Code section [making it unlawful for any person to carry or possess any weapon while within a school safety zone, at a school function, or on a bus or other transportation furnished by a school] shall not apply to: ... (20) (A) Any weapons carry license holder...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 19, 2023
Roberts v. Cuthpert
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man who successfully sued for a weapons carry license can pursue recovery of his attorney fees from the probate judge who denied him, because Georgia law waives sovereign immunity for such claims.
2. The General Assembly waived sovereign immunity when it enacted OCGA § 16-11-129 (j). “The doctrine of sovereign immunity, as enshrined in our Constitution, bars suits against the State and its employees in their official capacities unless a statute or the Constitution itself specifically waives that immunity.” State v. SASS Group, 315 Ga. 893, 893 (885...
After receiving the application, a probate judge must direct the appropriate law enforcement agency in the county, to . . . (1) . . . request a fingerprint based criminal history records check from the Georgia Crime Information Center and Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of determining the suitability of the applicant and return an appropriate...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 6, 2023
Kuhlman v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man convicted of federal health care fraud cannot get his gun rights restored under a narrow Georgia statute, but that Georgia's sovereign immunity does not block his lawsuit and his constitutional claims must still be considered by the trial court.
1. In 2011, Kuhlman pled guilty in federal court to one count of health care fraud under 18 USC § 1347. In 2014, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of extended supervision that was terminated early in February 2019. In 2021, Kuhlman applied to the Board for relief pursuant to subsection (d) of OCGA § 16-11-131. Under that...
7 One United States Court of Appeals considered the federal statute prior to the 1986 amendment. See United States v. Meldish, 722 F2d 26, 27-28 (2d Cir. 1983). Coleman, 609 F3d 699, 703-706 (II) (A) (5th Cir. 2010); United States v. Schultz, 586 F3d 526, 529-530 (II) (A) (1) (7th Cir. 2009); United States v. Stanko, 491 F3d 408, 413-419 (II) (8th Cir....
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 31, 2023
Copeland v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Matthew Copeland's felony murder conviction for shooting Carlos Glenn, finding the jury could reject his self-defense claim and that his lawyer's error over evidence rules did not change the trial's outcome.
3 It is not clear that Copeland would have been entitled to claim self- defense in the first place. Justification is generally not available as a defense to someone who commits a crime while otherwise engaged in the commission of a felony, see OCGA § 16-3-21 (b) (2), and here, there was undisputed evidence that Copeland was carrying a gun on the day of the...
316 Ga. 452 FINAL COPY S23A0281. COPELAND v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
Bowman v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Torry Bowman's murder conviction in a Fulton County bar shooting, rejecting his challenges to jury instructions and to how the trial court handled his stipulation about a prior felony conviction.
PINSON, Justice. Appellant Torry Bowman and his friend, Maurice Goodman, got into an argument in a bar with brothers Alec and Britian Price. They confronted the Price brothers again outside the bar, and Alec was shot and died as a result of his injuries. Bowman was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with Alec’s death.1 1 The shooting...
Each claim fails. Although the State did not focus on theories of party to a crime or conspiracy during the trial, at least slight evi- dence supported the theories, so the trial court was authorized to give them. The instruction that provocation by words alone is not a defense to murder was an accurate statement of the law. Bowman’s through 9. The jury...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 21, 2023
Haufler v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Chad Haufler's murder conviction, rejecting his claims that the jury should have been instructed on involuntary manslaughter and that his statements to a deputy coroner should have been suppressed.
The record shows that, prior to trial, Haufler requested pattern jury charge 2.10.44, “Involuntary Manslaughter, Statutory Definition.”6 Although it is not clear from his written request whether Haufler was seeking a felony or misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter charge, at the various jury charge conferences 6 This pattern charge states: “For involuntary...
315 Ga. 712 FINAL COPY S23A0054. HAUFLER v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
Sosebee v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's felony murder conviction and life-without-parole sentence for a car chase death, rejecting his arguments that a lenity rule required a lighter sentence and that his punishment was unconstitutionally cruel.
The rule of lenity applies when a statute establishes, or multiple statutes establish, different punishments for the same offense and, consequently, “uncertainty develops as to which penal clause is applicable[.]” Brown v. State, 276 Ga. 606, 608 (2) (581 SE2d 35) (2003) (citation and punctuation omitted). See also Peacock v. State, 314 Ga. 709, 723 (5)...
2 See Green v. State, 311 Ga. 238, 242 (1) (857 SE2d 199) (2021) (“When presented with a question of statutory interpretation, we begin by examining the statute’s plain language, reading the text in its most natural and reasonable way, as an ordinary speaker of the English language would. Thus, when considering the meaning of a statute, we must afford the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
Kimbro v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder and rape convictions in a 2009 motel killing solved years later through DNA matching, rejecting claims about trial delay, closing argument, and his lawyer's performance.
The evidence presented at trial and summarized above authorized the jury to reasonably infer that Kimbro had sex with Shepherd “forcibly and against her will,” see OCGA § 16-6-1 (a) (defining “rape”), just before he strangled and killed her, see OCGA § 16-5-1 (a) (defining “malice murder”), and that he was therefore guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of rape...
We see no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s decision to deny Kimbro’s motion. As discussed above, the court fashioned appropriate, alternative remedies by allowing trial counsel time to interview witnesses and by offering the services of the court’s IT staff. The record shows that during the trial, the court paused the proceedings to provide trial...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 19, 2023
Chambliss v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Monroe County man's felony murder conviction for shooting his girlfriend, rejecting his claims of insufficient evidence, jury instruction errors, and ineffective counsel.
(ii) Chambliss also contends that the trial court should have instructed the jury on felony (or “unlawful act”) involuntary man- slaughter. See OCGA § 16-5-3 (a) (“A person commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of an unlawful act when he causes the death of another human being without any in- tention to do so by the commission of...
4 Under OCGA § 16-5-60 (b), [a] person who causes bodily harm to or endangers the bodily safety of another person by consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his or her act or omission will cause harm or endanger the safety of the other person and the disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 24, 2023
STATE OF GEORGIA v. SISTERSONG WOMEN OF COLOR REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE COLLECTIVE
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Georgia's six-week abortion ban cannot be struck down as having been unconstitutional when passed just because it conflicted with Roe v. Wade, which the U.S. Supreme Court later overruled in Dobbs.
3 As amended, OCGA § 16-12-141 (b) reads: No abortion is authorized or shall be performed if an unborn Act amended OCGA § 31-9B-3 to require a physician who performs an abortion after detecting a heartbeat to report to the Department of Public Health which exception to Section 4’s ban on abortions justified the procedure.4 In 2019, many of the Appellees in...
32 As noted in the majority opinion, the 2019 Act amended OCGA § 16- 12-141 (b), among other provisions, to prohibit abortions “if an unborn child has been determined in accordance with Code Section 31-9B-2 to have a detectable human heartbeat[,]” with specified exceptions. See Majority Op. at 528 (1); Ga. L. 2019, p. 711, § 4. Before the 2019 amendment,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 2, 2023
Regan v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia struck down as applied a felony child molestation sentence, ruling that a 17-year-old defendant should have qualified for a misdemeanor sentence like those convicted of aggravated child molestation against a same-age victim.
(c) My disagreement with the majority extends to its assessment of the rationality of the differences articulated in the statutory scheme. Appellant’s actual conduct in this case supported a charge of child molestation, to which he pleaded guilty and for which he was sentenced. If I were to consider my own personal view or the apparent view expressed...
See, e.g., OCGA § 16-6-3 (c) (statutory rape) (“If the victim is at least 14 but less than 16 years of age and the person convicted of statutory rape is 18 years of age or younger and is no more than four years older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”); OCGA § 16-6-5 (c) (enticing a child for indecent purposes) (“If the victim...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 24, 2023
Bell v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a woman's conviction for felony contributing to the dependency of a minor, ruling there was not enough evidence that her actions caused her infant daughter's death after her boyfriend killed the child.
5 OCGA § 15-11-2 (22) also defines a “dependent child” as a child who “[h]as been placed for care or adoption in violation of law” or “[i]s without his or her parent, guardian, or legal custodian.” The phrase “resulted in the serious injury or death of a child” in OCGA § 16-12-1 (d.1) (1) has not been previously interpreted by this Court. It is well...
317 Ga. 519 FINAL COPY S22G0747. BELL v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 16, 2023
O'neal v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Ryan O'Neal's murder conviction for the shooting of Joseph Jackson during a drug deal turned robbery, rejecting his claims about insufficient evidence, jury instructions, and his lawyer's performance.
showed that O’Neal’s phone communicated with Akhemu’s and Quentin’s phones before and after the shooting and communicated with Akhemu’s phone multiple times after Akhemu set up the meeting with Jackson. Phone records also showed that O’Neal’s phone called McCabe’s phone several times after the shooting, when, according to Quentin, Akhemu asked O’Neal to...
(a) O’Neal first contends that the State failed to prove that he killed Jackson with malice aforethought or an intent to kill. “A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being.” OCGA § 16-5-1 (a). “The State, of course, must prove malice beyond a...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 19, 2023
Beard v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's felony murder conviction for shooting his wife, rejecting claims that jury instructions were flawed and that his trial lawyer's mistakes cost him a fair trial.
A person who uses threats or force in accordance with Code Section 16-3-21, relating to the use of force in defense of self or others, Code Section 16-3-23, relating to the use of force in defense of a habitation, or Code Section 16-3-24, relating to the use of force in defense of property other than a habitation, has no duty to retreat and has the right to...
3 The involuntary manslaughter statute, OCGA § 16-5-3, says: (a) A person commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of an unlawful act when he causes the death of another human being without any intention to do so by the commission of an unlawful act other than a felony. A person who commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 11, 2023
Priester v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Paulding County man's murder conviction for a shooting outside a house after a football-game rivalry, rejecting claims about the evidence, missing jury instructions, and his lawyer's performance.
§ 17-8-58. See also Reese v. State, 317 Ga. 189, 195 (891 SE2d 835) (2023). To succeed on his claims, Priester must prove that all four prongs of the plain error test are met. First, there must be an error or defect—some sort of deviation from a legal rule—that has not been intentionally relinquished or abandoned, i.e., affirmatively waived, by the...
A person is justified in threatening or using force against another when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes that such threat or force is necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person against such other’s imminent use of unlawful force; however, except as provided in Code Section 16-3-23, a person is justified in using force...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 7, 2023
SILLAH v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia largely upheld the murder convictions of Darnell Sillah and Andrew Murray for killing a Gwinnett County teenager, but ruled that two of Sillah's conspiracy convictions should have merged into the completed crimes.
Contrary to the State’s argument, the conspiracy was not “nipped in the bud.” A new conspiracy did not arise simply because the object of the conspiracy — to rob and burglarize Sampleton — was not carried out on December 17. See Waldrip v. State, 267 Ga. 739, 747 (10) (b) (482 SE2d 299) (1997) (“[T]he character and effect of a conspiracy are not to be...
315 Ga. 741 FINAL COPY S22A0939. SILLAH v. THE STATE. S22A1175. MURRAY v. THE STATE.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 18, 2023
Williams v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Coffee County man's malice murder conviction, rejecting his claim that video and witness evidence showed he acted in self-defense when he shot an unarmed-at-the-moment victim.
3 OCGA § 16-5-1 (e) (1) provides that “[a] person convicted of the offense of murder shall be punished by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, or by imprisonment for life.” because it incorrectly concluded that he was a recidivist who was ineligible for parole under OCGA § 17-10-7.4 Appellant further argues that OCGA § 17-10-7 is inapplicable...
316 Ga. 147 FINAL COPY S23A0314. WILLIAMS v. THE STATE
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 7, 2023
In the Matter of W. McCall Calhoun, Jr
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended attorney W. McCall Calhoun, Jr. from practicing law pending his appeal of federal convictions tied to the January 6, 2021 Capitol breach, rejecting his argument that a bench trial verdict does not count as a conviction under bar rules.
Calhoun argues that the Special Master’s finding that he is in violation of Rule 8.4 (a) (3) is wrong because the Special Master did not analyze whether his misdemeanors involved “moral turpitude” or underlying conduct related to his fitness to practice law. Rule 8.4 (a) (3). Next, Calhoun argues that he cannot be disciplined for committing a felony based...
1. The Facts. In her report, the Special Master laid out the underlying facts as follows. On March 20, 2023, in connection with the January 6, 2021 “breach and siege of the U.S. Capitol” following the 2020 Presidential Election, Calhoun, following a bench trial, was found guilty of the following criminal offenses: (1) 18 USC § 1512 (c) (2) and 18 USC § 2,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 21, 2023
Gonzales v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a man's felony murder and aggravated battery convictions in the death of his girlfriend's three-year-old son, but ruled his separate aggravated battery sentence should have merged into the murder sentence.
10 OCGA § 16-5-70 (b) provides that “[a]ny person commits the offense of cruelty to children in the first degree when such person maliciously causes a child under the age of 18 cruel or excessive physical or mental pain.” 11 OCGA § 16-5-24 (a) provides that “[a] person commits the offense of aggravated battery when he or she maliciously causes bodily harm...
The State also presented testimony from two of Samuel’s babysitters, Sandra McPhearson and Shannon Wright. McPhearson testified that in early January 2011 she started babysitting Samuel in her home four days a week while Jocelyn was at work; that on the first day she cared for him, he had two bruises on his cheeks; that on another occasion, she observed...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 18, 2023
Clark v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld William Clark's felony murder conviction, finding the evidence and jury instructions sufficient and clarifying that trial courts weighing a juvenile's Miranda waiver must consider all circumstances rather than a fixed nine-factor checklist.
death, either directly or as a party to the crime, while in the commission of an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (c). See also Mathews v. State, 314 Ga. 360, 365 (877 SE2d 188) (2022) (“‘[F]elony murder requires only that the defendant possessed the requisite criminal intent to commit the underlying felony—in this case, aggravated...
315 Ga. 423 FINAL COPY S22A0950. CLARK v. THE STATE.
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