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Found 227 matching passages in 145 documents.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 18, 2020
San Miguel Produce, Inc. v. L.G. Herndon Jr. Farms, Inc
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia answered three certified questions about Georgia's agricultural dealer licensing law, ruling that a produce company acting as a dealer must be licensed and that failing to get a license can bar it from enforcing a business contract in court.
We conclude that the Act is intended as regulation in the public interest. It provides a comprehensive plan, administered by the Department of Agriculture, governing the licensing of dealers in agricultural products and their transactions with Georgia producers. In addition to criminal penalties, the Act provides for investigation of the fitness of a...
a regulatory measure in the public interest and not a mere revenue measure. This Act requires more than the mere obtaining of a business license and a mere reading of the Act discloses without contradiction that it is an enactment for the protection of the public and a recognition that unless such employment agencies are solvent and operated by persons of...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 18, 2020
In the Matter of Howard L. Sosnik
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended a Georgia attorney for six months as reciprocal discipline after New York disciplined him for failing to oversee his law firm's escrow account, which allowed an employee to misappropriate client funds.
PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the petition for voluntary discipline filed by Howard L. Sosnik (State Bar No. 667258) under Bar Rule 4-227 (b), in which he seeks a six-month suspension as reciprocal discipline for a six-month suspension imposed in New York. See In the Matter of Sosnik, 173 AD3d 137 (N.Y. App. Div., May 29, 2019)...
308 Ga. 823 FINAL COPY S20Y1078. IN THE MATTER OF HOWARD L. SOSNIK.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 21, 2020
Nuckles v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a hidden camera video from a nursing home patient's room can be used as evidence against a nurse charged in his death, because the patient counted as an occupier of the property and the nurse had no reasonable expectation of privacy while working there.
2. With regard to her first contention, Nuckles argues that the phrase “owner or occupier of real property,” regardless of its context, is a legal term of art referring only to a person who has ultimate control over the property and is responsible for its maintenance, protection, and guests. Because Dempsey had no such control of, or responsibility for, the...
10 See, e.g., OCGA § 16-1-3 (10) (defining the term “owner” as used in Title 16 as “a person who has a right to possession of property which is superior to that of a person who takes, uses, obtains, or withholds it from him and which the person taking, using, obtaining, or withholding is not privileged to infringe.”). adopted the Security Exception as...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 13, 2020
Davis v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Carlton Davis's felony murder conviction, rejecting his claims about a coerced statement, an improperly admitted letter, and a 14-year delay in deciding his new trial motion.
3. Davis argues that the trial court improperly admitted as evidence at trial a letter that Liberty County jail personnel opened, violating his reasonable expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment. However, because the record shows that opening the letter was for security and maintenance purposes, rather than for prosecutorial purposes, the search...
Franks testified that “[i]n all cases, . . . all mail that comes into the jail is [opened and] monitored for contraband . . . unless it’s marked from an attorney.” He also confirmed that, in this case, what they “essentially . . . were concerned with . . . [was] investigating inside the letter to find out who the letter actually like a suicide. The letter...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 29, 2020
FRAZEN v. DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF ATLANTA
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a trial court's approval of up to $1.25 billion in revenue bonds to help finance The Gulch redevelopment project in downtown Atlanta, rejecting citizens' challenges to the process and the funding structure.
Citing cases such as Tyree v. Jackson, 226 Ga. 690, 694 (2) (177 SE2d 160) (1970), and Titelman v. Stedman, 277 Ga. 460, 461 (591 SE2d 774) (2003), the Intervenors nonetheless contend that they could not have become parties and the trial could not have begun until the trial court entered a written order granting their intervention. The cases cited by the...
IT IS FURTHER DECLARED, ORDERED, AND ADJUDGED, as a matter of fact and law, that both the issuance of the EZ Bonds and the security therefor, are sound, feasible and reasonable, as demonstrated by the evidence adduced at the hearing, including the fact that the bonds will be issued only upon proof of work completed and expenditures made[.] Isolating this...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · July 1, 2020
Middleton v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man convicted of both hijacking a car and receiving that same stolen car cannot legally hold both convictions, because the two verdicts contradict each other. The court also held he did not need to object at trial to raise the problem later.
The common law crime of theft by receiving was codified in Georgia in the Code of 1833, §§ 28 and 29, which distinguished between the principal thief and the subsequent receiver: Sec. 28. If any person shall buy or receive any goods, chattels, money, or other effects, that shall have been stolen or feloniously taken from another, knowing the same to be...
4 See Code 1863, §§ 4382, 4383; Code 1868, §§ 4420, 4421; Code 1873, §§ 4488, 4489; Code 1882, §§ 4488, 4489; Penal Code 1895, §§ 171, 172; Penal Code 1910, §§ 168, 169; Code 1933, §§ 26-2620, 26-2621; Code 1933, § 26-1806. Georgia courts held that a person could not be convicted for both taking and receiving the same property. See Minor v. State, 58 Ga....
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 4, 2020
Hill v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a Chattooga County man's murder conviction because the trial court forced him to sit before the jury in handcuffs, a waist chain, and leg irons without adequate justification or consideration of less restrictive alternatives.
A trial court’s decision to shackle a defendant “‘must be subjected to close judicial scrutiny to determine if there was an essential state interest furthered by compelling a defendant to wear shackles and whether less restrictive, less prejudicial methods of restraint were considered or could have been employed.’” United States v. Durham, 287 F3d 1297,...
The record is mostly silent as to what was included in the trial court’s first security plan and why the trial court came to its security decision. Although the trial court referenced numerous pre-trial meetings and hearings in support of its decision to keep Hill visibly shackled, neither the transcripts of those hearings nor the security plan itself are...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 16, 2020
Crowder v. State of Georgia
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Georgia law allows officials to serve out-of-state property owners by publishing notice in a newspaper in civil forfeiture cases, but courts must first address any due process objections and cannot skip a required ruling on a motion for a more definite statement.
At a hearing in January 2018, Crowder testified that the cash that had been seized belonged to him; that he received it in lump 3 Paragraph (c) (1) of OCGA § 9-16-12 provides that “[a]n answer shall be verified by the owner or interest holder under penalty of perjury” and that it shall set forth the claimant’s name and address; a “description of the...
It also held that “Crowder’s answer failed to comply with the special pleading requirements of OCGA § 9-16-12 (c) (1)” and that, “accordingly, the trial court erred in denying the State’s motion for judgment on the pleadings or, alternatively, in failing to dismiss Crowder’s answer.” Crowder, 348 Ga. App. at 855. Under this ruling, the State would be...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 28, 2020
Westbrook v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a DeKalb County man's murder conviction, rejecting challenges to his warrantless arrest, a phone lineup identification, and a recorded jail phone call used against him at trial.
Here, the trial court found in its order that when police encountered Westbrook at the apartment in which he was living, his appearance matched the description of the murder suspect; that the officers were told by apartment management that the apartment was supposed to be vacant; and that Westbrook told the officers that he was temporarily staying in the...
2. Westbrook contends that the trial court erred by denying his pre-trial motion to suppress evidence. More specifically, he contends that the police did not have probable cause to believe that he was engaged in criminal activity by occupying the apartment in which he was living and that the evidence extracted from his cell phone should have been suppressed...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 16, 2020
In the Matter of James Caleb Clarke III
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia certified James Caleb Clarke III, a former lawyer who surrendered his license in 2002 after admitting he stole money from an estate he managed, as fit to practice law again.
PER CURIAM. This bar admission matter is before the Court on the Application for Certification of Fitness to Practice Law, pursuant to Part A, Section 10 of the Rules Governing Admission to Practice Law in Georgia (“Bar Admissions Rules”), filed by James Caleb Clarke III. In 2002, Clarke voluntarily surrendered his license, which is tantamount to...
On August 28, 2019, Clarke filed his Application for Certification of Fitness, which reflects that following his disbarment, Clarke attended Columbia Theological Seminary and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Divinity in May 2007. Clarke then began serving as a pastor, and currently serves as a senior pastor at a Presbyterian church in Stone Mountain,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · July 15, 2020
In the Matter of Neil Richard Flit
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an Atlanta-area attorney's request to give up his law license after he admitted holding onto client settlement funds for years without paying them out or explaining what happened to the money.
PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the report of the special master, who recommends that the Court accept the petition for voluntary surrender of license filed by Neil Richard Flit (State Bar No. 091307) after the filing of a formal complaint, pursuant to Bar Rule 4-227 (c). In his petition, Flit requested that he be allowed to...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 18, 2020
Johnson v. Williams
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a habeas court's order that had thrown out a Cobb County bank robber's convictions, ruling his appellate lawyer was not ineffective for failing to raise two claims about his trial lawyer's performance.
1. In Williams’ direct appeal, the Court of Appeals summarized the evidence presented at his trial in 2009: [Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdicts], the evidence shows that shortly before noon, Williams, described as a man wearing a mask, black gloves, safety goggles, overalls, a jacket, and a blue fisherman’s hat, walked into a Cobb...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · November 12, 2020
In the Matter of Thomas William Veach
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an attorney's request for an 18-month suspension after he admitted mishandling estate funds and failing to pay a Medicaid lienholder more than $27,000 owed from an estate settlement.
PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on a Petition for Voluntary Discipline filed by Thomas William Veach (State Bar No. 726595) before the issuance of a formal complaint, pursuant to Bar Rule 4-227 (b). In his petition, Veach, who has been a member of the Bar since 1984, admitted to conduct in violation of Rules 1.15 (I) (b) (1) and...
(II) (b), and 8.4 (a) (4) where attorney withdrew $77,000 from client’s estate and deposited it for personal use, but repaid the money before the client became aware that the funds were missing); In the Matter of Duncan, 301 Ga. 898, 899-901 (804 SE2d 342) (2017) (accepting petition for voluntary discipline and imposing a six-month suspension with...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 10, 2020
Thomas v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Houston County man's murder conviction for killing his mentor, rejecting his claims that his confession should have been thrown out and that his trial lawyer failed him.
On the day Mizell was killed, Mizell’s neighbor was notified by a security alarm company that Mizell’s security system was reporting a “low battery” signal. The neighbor went to Mizell’s house and knocked on the door. Hearing no answer, he went inside and found that the house had been ransacked. The neighbor found Mizell lying on his bed with what appeared...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 5, 2020
Glenn v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Georgia's common-law right to resist an unlawful arrest also allows a person to use proportionate force against government property, such as a police car, while trying to escape an unlawful detention.
16 Blackstone wrote: The confinement of a person, in any wise, is an imprisonment. So that . . . arresting or forcibly detaining him in the street, is an imprisonment. . . . To make imprisonment lawful, it must either be by process from the courts of judicature, or by warrant from some legal officer having authority to commit to prison; which warrant must...
18 Blackstone wrote: When a delinquent is arrested by any of the means [authorized], he ought regularly to be carried before a justice of the peace. . . . The justice, before whom such prisoner is brought, is bound immediately to examine the circumstances of the crime alleged: and to this end by statute . . . he is to take in writing the examination of such...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 29, 2020
BOWDEN v. THE MEDICAL CENTER (And Vice Versa)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a class action against a Georgia hospital over its billing rates could not proceed, and that uninsured patients could not sue for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, or racketeering just because the hospital charged its standard rate.
In order to perfect the lien provided for in Code Section 44- 14-470, the operator of the hospital, nursing home, physician practice, or provider of traumatic burn care medical practice: (1) Shall, not less than 15 days prior to the date of filing the statement required under paragraph (2) of this subsection, provide written notice to the patient and, to...
Enterprise then filed an interpleader action against Bowden and TMC, depositing the $25,000 into the court registry. Bowden thereafter filed a cross-claim against TMC, alleging that her hospital bill based on the standard chargemaster rate was grossly excessive and did not reflect the reasonable value of her medical burn care medical practice and the name...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 5, 2020
Premier Health Care Investments, LLC v. Uhs of Anchor, L.P
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a state health agency exceeded its authority when it required a hospital to get a new permit before shifting existing beds into a psychiatric program, because state law does not list bed shuffling as something needing that approval.
More recently, however, we construed “including” in context as a term of expansion. In Wetzel, we held that “including,” as used in a statute prohibiting the electronic furnishing of obscene material to minors, introduced a non-exhaustive list of how someone could make such material available to minors.9 There, we reasoned that “including” was “followed by...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 28, 2020
MASSEY v. DUKE BUILDERS, INC
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a contractor's materialmen's lien against a homeowner's property cannot include profits the contractor expected to earn on unfinished work, but that including such profits only voids the improper portion, not the entire lien.
5 The Masseys make a policy argument that allowing the valid part of a materialmen’s lien to remain enforceable will lead to massively inflated liens being filed because the claimants will not be punished for overstating their claims by losing their entire liens. Dishonest claimants, however, face other penalties, such as a defamation of title action, see...
310 Ga. 153 FINAL COPY S20G0018. MASSEY et al. v. DUKE BUILDERS, INC.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 10, 2020
In the Matter of Melvin T. Johnson
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Melvin T. Johnson after finding he repeatedly neglected clients, mishandled client funds, forged documents, and ignored the State Bar's disciplinary process across five separate cases.
comply with discovery where trial court can otherwise determine willfulness on the part of the party against whom the sanctions are sought). Accordingly, there was no abuse of the special master’s discretion in striking Johnson’s answers and finding him in default as a sanction for failure to engage in discovery. See, e.g., In the Matter of Jefferson, 307...
As did the special master, we look to the American Bar Association’s Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions (1992), see In the Matter of Morse, 266 Ga. 652, 653 (470 SE2d 232) (1996), and find the following aggravating circumstances present: prior disciplinary offenses (a Formal Letter of Admonition and two Investigative Panel Reprimands in 2006); a...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 8, 2020
In the Matter of Dennis W. Hartley
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred a longtime lawyer after Colorado disbarred him for failing to report DUI convictions and mishandling client fees and cases, applying Georgia's rule that mirrors discipline imposed by another state.
1 An emeritus member is subject to discipline in Georgia. See In the Matter of Wayman, 307 Ga. 586 (837 SE2d 261) (2019). clients or otherwise explain the basis for the fees; failed to provide an accounting for those fees; failed to deposit retainer fees in a trust account; failed to refund unearned fees upon discharge; failed to communicate with his...
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