Jones v. The State

The evidence supported defendant's convictions for rape, aggravated child molestation, and incest for acts he committed against his niece, and the trial court was not required to conduct a competency hearing because defendant did not engage in any irrational behavior prior to the start of the trial, his demeanor did not exhibit incompetence, his attorney stated he was competent and there was no evidence of a prior medical opinion that his previous mental health diagnoses rendered him incompetent to stand trial.

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McFadden, Presiding Judge.After a jury trial, Kiel Jones was convicted of rape, aggravated child molestation, and incest. Jones appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, the denial of an oral request for a pretrial competency evaluation, the effectiveness of his trial counsel, the appointment of a public defender to assist his visually impaired defense counsel, purported bias by the trial court, the trial court’s participation during voir dire, and the sentence imposed for incest. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.1. Sufficiency of the evidence.

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a criminal conviction, we do not weigh the evidence or resolve conflicts in witness testimony, but instead determine whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Tinson v. State, 337 Ga. App. 83 (1) (785 SE2d 914) (2016). So viewed, the evidence shows that when Jones’ niece was 11 years old, he forcibly inserted his penis into her vagina, placed his penis on her lips, and ejaculated on her stomach. “The evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find the essential elements of the crimes of [which Jones was convicted] beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. at 85-86 (1). See OCGA §§ 16-6-1 (a) (1) (rape), 16-6-4 (c) (aggravated child molestation by act of sodomy), 16-6-22 (a) (6) (incest between uncle and niece).2. Competency hearing. Jones contends that the trial court erred in denying his counsel’s pretrial request for a competency evaluation of Jones. We disagree.

Jones v. The State

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