Williams v. State

Darry Williams appeals from his aggravated assault with intent to rape conviction. Williams contends that the appointment of the trial judge violated the Georgia Constitution and that the trial court erred: 1 in its charge to the jury; 2 by admitting the victim’s allegedly mistaken identification; 3 by failing to recuse after allegedly demonstrating bias; and 4 by denying his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. A recitation of the evidence presented below will aid our analysis of these issues. The victim testified that Williams attempted to rape her in the West End MARTA station parking lot when she was on her way to work around 5:30 a.m. When she opened her driver’s side door, Williams “jumped out of nowhere.” He put a knife to her throat and ordered her to stop screaming. He then told her that she “was going to give him py or he was going to take it.” When she replied that she was menstruating, he stated that she would have to give him oral sex.

Williams then took away her car keys, reached over her to unlock the passenger door, pushed her legs back inside the car, and closed the driver’s door. When Williams walked around to the passenger side of her car, the victim jumped out of her car and started screaming and running toward the street. When the victim flagged down a sheriff’s officer at a nearby intersection, she pointed Williams out to the officer as Williams “was just walking off like he hadn’t done anything.” When the officer ordered Williams to “come here,” Williams ran away and threw a knife into some bushes. Williams escaped after a brief “tussle.” The officer retrieved the knife, and the victim identified it as the one used by Williams.