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Found 297 matching passages in 141 documents.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 15, 2021
Lofton v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Hakim Lofton's murder conviction, ruling that circumstantial evidence including phone and cell tower records was sufficient and that police reliance on then-existing law to obtain his cell records without a warrant did not require throwing out the evidence.
13 In addition to challenging the release of cell phone records under 18 USC § 2702 (c) (4), Registe also argued that the release failed to comply with OCGA § 16-11-66.1 (d), which provides: “A subpoena for the production of stored wire or electronic communications and transactional records pertaining thereto may be issued at any time upon a showing by a...
As with GPS information, the time-stamped [cell-site location] data provides an intimate window into a person’s life, revealing not only his particular movements, but through them his familial, political, professional, religious, and sexual associations. These location records hold for many Americans the “privacies of life.” And like GPS monitoring, cell...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 21, 2021
Moon v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Chatham County man's murder convictions because the trial judge improperly removed a holdout juror during deliberations without a sound legal basis for doing so.
from Pickels’s apartment in Frazier Homes in Chatham County. Before Pickels could get out, a masked gunman crept up to the car and opened fire with an SKS or AK-47-type rifle. The gunman walked around the Buick, firing into it repeatedly. As Biancosino tried to drive away, the gunman kept firing. Biancosino’s Buick rolled to a stop after it crashed through...
A few days after the shooting, the police searched the Sonic and Williams’s home. They found a camouflage mask in the car. Saliva found inside the mask tested positive for Grant’s DNA. The police found Moon’s fingerprints on the exterior of the car and on a soda can in the car’s console. The police also found receipts in the car indicating that Grant had...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 10, 2021
Vivian v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Nathaniel Vivian's convictions for felony murder, armed robbery, and related crimes in the shooting death of Daniel Zeitz, rejecting his self-representation and ineffective-counsel claims, but sent the case back for resentencing because he was wrongly sentenced on two felony murder counts for one victim.
To prevail on such claims, a defendant must show that his trial counsel’s performance was deficient and that, but for such deficient performance, there is a reasonable probability that the result of the trial would have been different. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (III) (104 SCt 2052, 80 LE2d 674) (1984). To prove deficient performance,...
The State introduced the two cell phones into evidence through the testimony of a Sandy Springs Police investigator. The prosecutor asked the investigator how he recognized the two exhibits containing the cell phones, and the investigator replied that he recognized them through handwritten labels noting the case number and descriptions reading “Dixon Cell...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 3, 2021
State v. Walden
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a ruling that had suppressed statements a Newton County woman made to investigators before receiving Miranda warnings, finding video evidence showed she was not in custody at the time.
Whether a defendant was in custody for purposes of Miranda is a mixed question of fact and law. See Troutman, 300 Ga. at 617. We apply de novo the relevant legal principles to the facts, and we accept the trial court’s findings on disputed facts and credibility of witnesses unless clearly erroneous, and construe the evidence most favorably to uphold the...
Shortly thereafter, Deputy Sydnor received instructions over his radio to “detain” Walden, stop talking to her, and bring her in to the sheriff’s office. It does not appear from the video recording that Walden noticed the instruction that she be “detained,” however, because she was talking in a focused and intense manner when that message came across the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 17, 2021
Griffin v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's murder conviction, rejecting claims that jurors improperly reviewed cell phone texts during deliberations and that his lawyer was ineffective for not blocking that review.
Eventually, Griffin was arrested at the hotel, and he had another cell phone in his possession that he later denied owning. When Griffin was being booked into jail, he named Rufus and Robby Griffin from Alabama as his emergency contacts. While in jail, Griffin made two calls to the number shared by Rufus and Robby, and this phone number was found in the...
7 There was testimony that Griffin had been working as a prostitute. 8 Griffin’s counsel objected on the ground that the State had not shown a proper chain of custody, but the objection was overruled. No other objections were raised. Following the admission of the cell phone, which had been charged prior to trial, Griffin made no objection to its being sent...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 19, 2021
Acosta v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Forsyth County man's murder conviction in the death of a six-year-old boy, ruling his pre-arrest statements to police were properly used and that he was not entitled to a lesser-charge jury instruction.
10 Because of his age, Bryan’s brother was interviewed separately by a forensic interviewer. participated in the interviews of Acosta, and they stated that because Acosta was not a suspect and was not under arrest, they did not inform him of his rights under Miranda before the first interview. The doors to the interview rooms did not have locks, and Acosta...
During the interview, Acosta told investigators that he had seen one of Bryan’s uncles strike the child, and after Detective Whirlow and Sergeant Franco completed the interviews with Acosta and Moreno, the investigators left to interview Bryan’s uncles at another location. Before the investigators left, they asked Acosta and Moreno if the couple would mind...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 5, 2021
COLLINS v. THE STATE (Three Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder convictions of three men tried together in the shooting death of Milton Carl Kelley, rejecting challenges to jury instructions, denial of a separate trial, and claims that their lawyers performed poorly.
About 20 minutes after Collins and Love arrived at the cul-de- sac, they ran back to Smallwood’s car, breathing heavily and telling her to “go, go, go”; one of them said not to ask any questions. Upon their return to the duplex, Collins and Love first went to Collins and Burdine’s side of the duplex and then about 30 minutes later to Christiansen’s side....
Detectives interviewed all three co-defendants, beginning with Collins, who at first denied — but later admitted — that he had a cell phone and confirmed the number. Collins denied any involvement in Kelley’s murder and said that he had been at home all day, went to his girlfriend’s house that evening, and stayed there for the rest of the night. Burdine...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 1, 2021
BUTLER v. THE STATE (Two Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder and gang convictions of Demarco Butler and Antonio Avery, ruling the evidence was enough to convict and that gang evidence and a police interview were properly admitted at trial.
According to McGhee, she and Poole then went back to Butler’s house. Butler and Avery were there, and in the house McGhee noticed two guns, one of which she identified as a shotgun. The women demanded to know what had happened, and Butler eventually responded, “he tried to grab the gun and got shot.” Avery warned McGhee not to call the police, or she would...
(a) The evidence presented at trial showed, among other things, that: McGhee and Poole had connected with the victims through a dating website they used for prostitution and made plans to meet with them on the night of the crimes; Butler and Avery, both convicted felons, met with McGhee and Poole before the women left to meet the victims, gave McGhee a gun,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 2, 2021
Stafford v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's felony murder conviction, finding that even though some evidence was wrongly admitted at trial, it did not affect the outcome given the strength of the other evidence against him.
Clark testified that after jumping over the fence, he and Spencer went in one direction and Appellant went in an opposite direction. Spencer and Clark shed their outer clothing, placed the clothes in the backpack, and disposed of the backpack in an alleyway. They then walked to a nearby Krispy Kreme, where they called an Uber to take them back to the...
Javon Farquharson, who regularly bought and resold electronics, testified that on the day after the burglary, Appellant and Coleman tried to sell him an iPad and iPhone. They also showed Farquharson a wallet containing an ID card and a red debit or credit card. Farquharson heard Appellant mention that the group “hit a little lick last night” and “I stepped...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 19, 2021
Miller v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Keontay Miller's malice murder conviction in the shooting death of Tellis Fort, finding the evidence, including DNA on the guns and cell phone records, was sufficient to support the verdict.
On May 15, the morning after Fort’s death, Miller’s mother brought Miller and Dennard to the Cordele Police Department because she had heard Miller’s name mentioned in connection with the shooting and wanted to “clear his name.” Police interviewed Miller and Dennard and obtained cell phone numbers and DNA samples from both men. Miller and Dennard...
After giving statements to the police on May 15, Miller and Dennard left town and could not be located by the police. On June 3, officers from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office found the two men in a motel room in St. Marys, Georgia, but they were not registered under either of their names. Both men were placed under arrest. Miller and Dennard were then...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 17, 2021
Waller v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Muscogee County man's convictions for felony murder and gun possession in a fatal robbery of a man carrying $40,000 in a backpack, but ordered his separate armed robbery conviction erased because it duplicated the same crime.
Following the interview with Clark, police officers obtained his cell phone. Police officers then executed search warrants to obtain records connected to Clark’s cell phone, and later, to the cell phones used by Appellant and Powell on June 15. After additional investigation, police officers asked Clark to return to police headquarters for a second...
Additionally, the evidence in this case was sufficient to prove that at a minimum, Appellant was a participant in the armed robbery of Dicks, and “[i]t is certain that a participant in a crime may be convicted for the crime although he or she is not the one who directly committed the crime.” Battle, 301 Ga. at 701 (5) (citing OCGA § 16-2-21). Thus, we...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 11, 2021
Johnson v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Sharod Johnson's murder conviction for a fatal Ingles grocery store armed robbery, rejecting his claims about a witness's silence on the stand and about phone, house, and car searches.
4. Johnson also contends, in several enumerations of error, that the trial court erred when it admitted certain evidence obtained from a search of his cell phone. The record shows that, after the Ingles robbery, Johnson voluntarily came to the police station for an interview, which began shortly after midnight on September 6. While Johnson — who was not...
At trial, the State presented evidence — over Johnson’s objection — that Adside was contacting Johnson’s phone repeatedly after the Ingles robbery and that, in the afternoon following the robbery, officers used Adside’s number to track Adside’s phone to the Mall of Georgia, where Adside and two other people (Jackson and McMillan) were arrested as they...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 3, 2021
Outlaw v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Gwinnett County man's murder conviction, rejecting arguments that police should have had a search warrant for his cell phone records and that his jailhouse statements to his girlfriend were improperly used against him.
About three weeks after the murder, on April 24, Appellant’s girlfriend Fort visited him in jail. A detective had provided her with a small audio-recording device, which she hid in her clothing and used to record the meeting with Appellant; the audio recording of the meeting was played for the jury during the trial. The recording reflects that Appellant...
(a) On April 10, 2014, seven days after Rabotte’s body was found, the State filed motions that requested court orders requiring Verizon and MetroPCS to disclose Appellant’s cell phone records, including CSLI, from March 27 through April 5, 2014. The motions detailed the facts of the investigation into Rabotte’s murder and said that the records would be...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 2, 2021
George v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that police cannot seize items outside a search warrant's scope just because those items are 'relevant,' and instead must meet the stricter plain view doctrine before taking such evidence.
For the plain view exception to apply, the item in question must be clearly visible, and the officer may not manipulate or disturb it in order to acquire probable cause to believe the item is evidence of a crime. In Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U. S. 321 (107 SCt 1149, 94 LE2d 347) (1987), the United States Supreme Court held that moving a piece of stereo...
George filed a pretrial motion to suppress, asserting, among other things, that the seizure of non-electronic items, such as measuring tapes, a bag, notepads, and other papers, exceeded the scope of the search warrant. The trial court denied the motion, and with respect to this specific assertion found that the items taken during the search did not exceed...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 5, 2021
Overstreet v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Ben Hill County man's convictions for murder and gang crimes in a lottery winner's shooting death, rejecting claims about weak evidence, prejudicial testimony, and his lawyer's failure to seek a new trial location.
Hendricks went outside with C. B. and one of her other children and asked a neighbor for help.4 Hendricks called 911 from her 4 The third child was still asleep in a bedroom inside the house. neighbor’s phone, and then the neighbor drove Hendricks and the children to a nearby convenience store and waited for the police to arrive. Two other neighbors, Jan...
Dyous testified that a few minutes after she dropped off Overstreet, Jordan, and Baker, Baker called her and told her to come back and pick them up. As Dyous drove back to the location at which she dropped them off, she saw Overstreet, Jordan, and Baker walking down the road. Baker got in her car while Overstreet and Jordan continued on foot. Baker then...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 8, 2021
Nelson v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the denial of a murder defendant's motion to suppress cell phone and laptop evidence, ruling that his long incarceration and failure to ask for the devices back weakened his privacy interest despite a two-year delay.
In reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a defendant’s motion to suppress evidence, the trial court’s decision with regard to questions of fact and credibility must be accepted unless clearly erroneous; we will not disturb the trial court’s findings based on conflicting evidence if there is any evidence to support them. See State v. Rosenbaum, 305 Ga. 442,...
and private interests in this context, considering (1) the significance of the interference with the person’s possessory interest; (2) the duration of the delay; (3) whether or not the person consented to the seizure; and (4) the government’s legitimate interest in holding the property as evidence. See id. (citing United States v. Laist, 702 F3d 608,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 17, 2021
Jones v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Toombs County man's felony murder conviction for beating his girlfriend to death, ruling the evidence was sufficient and that her diary entries and evidence of a prior attack on an ex-girlfriend were properly admitted.
NAHMIAS, Presiding Justice. Appellant Alpherd Jones was convicted of felony murder in connection with the beating death of his girlfriend, LaShanda January. In this appeal, he contends that the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of January’s diary entries under OCGA...
About six hours later, at 10:26 p.m., Appellant called 911 and said that January was vomiting blood. When paramedics arrived at the motel room, January was lying on the bed, unresponsive. There was bruising around her eyes and on the side of her head; her face was swollen; her eyes were dilated; and there was dried, vomited blood on the bed. Both paramedics...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 10, 2021
Thornton v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld William Denzel Thornton's murder and armed robbery convictions in the stabbing death of Jullisa Cooke, rejecting his claims about insufficient evidence, trial errors, and a denied request for a trial continuance.
As to the 911 call, Thornton argues that the recording did not have any probative value because Kimani already testified about the substance of his 911 call and the recording was presented only to show Kimani’s grief, which Thornton argues served only to inflame the jury’s passions. But as Thornton concedes, the 911 call was largely cumulative of Kimani’s...
2 Thornton makes no argument that all the evidentiary errors we assume today, though individually harmless, nevertheless harmed him when considered cumulatively, and no such cumulative prejudice is apparent to us on this record. See State v. Lane, 308 Ga. 10, 18 (1) (838 SE2d 808) (2020) (“[A] 3. Thornton argues that the trial court erred in denying his...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 21, 2021
Washington v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, ruling that his lawyer's decision not to object to hotel surveillance and dashcam video evidence was a reasonable trial strategy, not a legal error.
Detective Scott Demeester, who was qualified as an expert in cell phone data interpretation and cell-site analysis, testified regarding data recovered from the defendants’ cell phones. A cell phone associated with Washington called and texted Jackson’s cell phone several times in the days leading up to the shooting. At 6:39 p.m. on January 5, Washington...
Siders, the only defendant to testify at trial, told the jury that he knew Jackson through his cousin and that he used to purchase drugs from Jackson. Siders also testified that he and Washington were part of a musical group that Graham managed and that they met in South Carolina on January 5, 2016, to work in a music studio. That evening, they decided to...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 5, 2021
Thomas v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, ruling his trial lawyer was not constitutionally deficient for dropping a motion to suppress evidence found in his car.
Dennis had spent the evening at a friend’s house. He came back 2020. Thomas filed a motion for an out-of-time appeal on June 8, 2020, which the trial court granted that day. Thomas filed a notice of appeal on June 12, 2020. This case was docketed to this Court’s term commencing in December 2020 and submitted for a decision on the briefs. to the apartment...
Later that day, a detective from the Hapeville Police Department obtained a court order directing Thomas’s cell phone service provider to release to the police certain data associated with Thomas’s cell phone, including cell-site location information (“CSLI”).4 The detective then worked with the service provider to track Thomas’s cell phone using CSLI as...
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