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Arnold v. State

The defendant failed to overcome the strong presumption that defense counsel discharged her duties to him with regard to adequately investigating his mental health in an objectively reasonable manner.

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Jesse Lamar Arnold was tried by an Athens-Clarke County jury and convicted of the aggravated stalking and aggravated assault of his estranged wife, Lakeisha, and the murder of Eric Mattox. Arnold appeals, contending only that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel because his lawyer, he says, did not adequately investigate his mental health in her preparation for trial. We find no merit in this contention and affirm the judgment below.1

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that Arnold and Lakeisha separated in August 1999. Shortly after the separation, Lakeisha went to court and obtained a protective order, which “enjoined and restrained Arnold from having any contact with Lakeisha directly, indirectly, or otherwise at any time, at any location.” Early on the morning of December 15, 1999, Arnold found Mattox and Lakeisha asleep—both unclothed from the waist down—in the backseat of her car. Arnold fired several shots from a .40 caliber handgun, four of which struck Mattox, and two of which struck Lakeisha. One of the shots that struck Mattox—a shot to his head, fired from close range—proved to be fatal. After the shooting, Arnold went to the home of his mother-in-law, where he admitted to the shooting, and he later surrendered to law enforcement. Although Arnold does not dispute that the evidence is sufficient to sustain his convictions, we have independently reviewed the record, and we conclude that the evidence adduced at trial, including the eyewitness testimony of Lakeisha, was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Arnold was guilty of the crimes of which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307, 319 III B 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979. See also Ross v. State, 279 Ga. 365, 366 1 614 SE2d 31 2005; Thrasher v. State, 265 Ga. 401, 402 1 456 SE2d 578 1995.

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