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Booker v. State

The trial court's jury instruction on sequestration did not constitute an expression of opinion and did not impermissibly bolster the credibility of the witnesses, since the instruction was a neutral explanation of the sequestration rule applicable to both parties, and was not a comment on the credibility of the witnesses nor a suggestion that any witness had violated the rule.

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This is a home invasion case in which the jury found Patrick Antwon Booker guilty of burglary, armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, kidnapping, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a first offender probationer. The jury acquitted Booker of several offenses, including malice murder, and the trial court declared a mistrial on a felony murder charge after the jury was unable to reach a verdict on that count. The trial court subsequently denied Booker’s motion for new trial. On appeal, Booker contends that the trial court impermissibly bolstered the credibility of the State’s witnesses by explaining the rule of sequestration to the jury. Booker further contends that the trial court’s jury charge on malice murder and felony murder was improper because the court instructed the jury on how to enter a verdict of guilty without also instructing them on how to enter a verdict of not guilty. Lastly, Booker contends that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance for failing to object to the aforementioned alleged errors by the trial court. For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that Booker’s contentions are without merit and therefore affirm.1

Following a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to support the jury’s verdict. See Bryan v. State, 271 Ga. App. 60 1 608 SE2d 648 2004. So viewed, the evidence showed that on September 24, 2008, at approximately 2:00 a.m., a home invasion occurred at a mobile home in Columbia County. There were three victims of the home invasion—a man who died during the incident the “decedent”, his girlfriend, and their infant son.

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