Watson v. State

The defendant failed to overcome the strong presumption that his trial counsel acted reasonably in not calling his mother and aunt as witnesses, since neither trial counsel nor either proposed witness testified at the new trial hearing.

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A Meriwether County jury convicted Steven Jesse Watson of two counts of aggravated child molestation OCGA § 16-6-4 c and three counts of child molestation OCGA § 16-6-4 a. Watson appeals from the trial court’s order denying his motion for a new trial, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial because his trial counsel failed to call his mother and aunt as witnesses and to challenge the credibility of the victim and the victim’s brother. Concluding that Watson failed to establish that his trial counsel’s performance was deficient, we affirm. “The trial court’s findings with respect to effective assistance of counsel will be affirmed unless clearly erroneous.” Citation omitted. Harvey v. State , 284 Ga. 8, 10 4 660 SE2d 528 2008.

The victim’s mother testified at trial that she formerly dated and lived with Watson. Watson, who lived in Luthersville at the time, visited the victim’s mother in Brunswick several times between September and December 2001. The victim was born December 4, 1987 and was 13 years old when her mother first met Watson. Shortly after Christmas in 2001, the victim’s mother, the victim, and the victim’s brother moved from Glynn County to Meriwether County to live with Watson, who resided in his mother’s trailer. In April or May of 2002, Watson and the victim’s family moved to a trailer about half a mile away. The victim’s mother and Watson were evicted from that trailer in approximately December 2003 and subsequently resided in a trailer on Watson’s mother’s property until June 2004, when the relationship between Watson and the victim’s mother ended.

Watson v. State

The defendant failed to overcome the strong presumption that his trial counsel acted reasonably in not calling his mother and aunt as witnesses, since neither trial counsel nor either proposed witness testified at the new trial hearing.

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