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  • Andrews v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-15
    Practice Area: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Hunstein
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Sydney Rene Strickland (Strickland Webster, LLC), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Paula Khristian Smith, Christopher M. Carr, S. Taylor Johnston (Department of Law), Atlanta; Amelia Greeson Pray, D. Victor Reynolds, Michael Scott Carlson (Cobb County District Attorney's Office), Marietta, for appellee.
    Case Number: S17A1728

    The trial court did not err in finding that defendant freely and voluntarily spoke to police and thus properly denied his motion to suppress his custodial statements in his murder trial for killing a cab driver.

  • White v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-15
    Practice Area: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Boggs
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Ivars Lacis (Lacis Law, LLC), Peachtree City, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Paula Khristian Smith, Jason Matthew Rea, Christopher M. Carr (Department of Law), Atlanta; Benjamin David Coker, Brittany Ashton Fallin, Marie Greene Broder (Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office), Thomaston, for appellee.
    Case Number: S17A1588

    The trial court did not reversibly err in its jury instruction on reasonable doubt because, when viewing the charge as a whole, the jury instruction did not mislead the jury as to the standard of proof required by due process.

  • The State v. Herman

    Publication Date: 2018-02-15
    Practice Area: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Presiding Judge Miller
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Joseph Black (Assistant District Attorney), Statesboro; Richard Mallard (District Attorney), Statesboro, for appellant.
    for defendant: Renata Newbill-Jallow (Public Defender Ogeechee Judicial Circuit), Statesboro, for appellee.
    Case Number: A17A1978

    The trial court erred in granting defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained during a traffic stop because the open-air dog sniff did not unconstitutionally prolong the stop since an officer was still in the process of running a check of the driver's license, which is part of the mission of a traffic stop.

  • In The Interest Of T. W., a child.

    Publication Date: 2018-02-14
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Judge Reese
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Willymena Joseph (Georgia Public Defender Council), Brunswick, for appellant.
    for defendant: Jacquelyn Johnson (District Attorney), Brunswick; Thomas Buscemi (District Attorney's Office, Brunswick Judicial Circuit), Brunswick, for appellee.
    Case Number: A17A1681

    The Court reversed the adjudication of delinquency to the extent it was based upon a finding that juvenile had participated in criminal street gang activity because evidence showing that juvenile was with gang members and accepted a gun from a gang member was legally insufficient to support the ruling.

  • Roberts v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-14
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Chief Judge Dillard
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Brandon Lewis (Attorney at Law), Norcross, for appellant.
    for defendant: Anna Cross (County District Attorney's Office), Decatur; Sherry Boston (DeKalb County District Attorney), Decatur, for appellee.
    Case Number: A17A1608

    The evidence supported defendant's convictions for violating the Georgia RICO Act, identity fraud, financial-transaction-card fraud and exploitation of an elder person arising out of a scheme in which she called senior citizens, claimed that she was a representative of a power company, and informed them that their utility bill had not been paid and that their power would be cut off if they did not provide her with credit card, bank account or other personal and financial information, which she then used to obtain cash or buy things.

  • Jordan v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-14
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Judge McMillian
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: David Walker (Appellate Division-GPDC), Macon, for appellant.
    for defendant: Benjamin Coker (District Attorney), Thomaston; Brittany Fallin (Upson County District Attorney's Office), Thomaston, for appellee.
    Case Number: A17A1580

    The evidence supported defendants' convictions for armed robbery and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to postpone the proceedings until a new jury venire could be convened after defendants failed to timely return to court after lunch and the trial court issued bench warrants for their arrest in the presence of the prospective jurors.

  • In The Interest Of J. F., a child.

    Publication Date: 2018-02-12
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Chief Judge Dillard
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: G. Stepp (G. Richard Stepp, P.C.), Lawrenceville, for appellant.
    for defendant: Daniel Porter (District Attorney Gwinnett Justice & Administrative Center), Lawrenceville; Nhan-Ai Simms, Pareesa Amjadi (Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office), Lawrenceville, for appellee.
    Case Number: A16A0395

    The trial court properly denied juvenile defendant's motion to dismiss the case against him with prejudice because when State fails to file a delinquency petition within the required 30 days or to seek and receive an extension of that deadline, the case must be dismissed without prejudice.

  • Lester v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-12
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Judge Rickman
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Kevin A. Anderson, for appellant.
    for defendant: Paul L. Howard, Jr., District Attorney, F. McDonald Wakeford IV, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.
    Case Number: A17A1007

    The Court affirmed defendant's conviction for aggravated assault for striking his former girlfriend in the face with a pool stick, ultimately resulting in the loss of her eye, as the trial court did not abuse its discretion in barring defendant's counsel from asking certain questions during voir dire and did not err in denying defendant's motion to strike the venire after State displayed demonstrative versions of a pool stick in the courtroom during voir dire.

  • West v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-12
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Judge Ray
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: A17A2020

    The trial court properly granted State's motion in limine seeking to prohibit any testimony or evidence about defendant's belief that the victim was over the age of consent in his trial on two counts each of child molestation and statutory rape because a defendant's knowledge of the age of the victim is not an essential element of either crime and, therefore, it was no defense that the accused reasonably believed that the victim was of the age of consent.

  • Whaley v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-09
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Judge Rickman
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: The Merchant Law Firm, Ashleigh B. Merchant, John B. Merchant III, for appellant.
    for defendant: D. Victor Reynolds, District Attorney, Amelia G. Pray, John S. Melvin, Assistant District Attorneys, for appellee.
    Case Number: A17A0848

    The evidence supported defendant's conviction on one count of violation of Georgias RICO Act for acquiring money and property through a pattern of racketeering activity in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-14-4 (a) and the trial court did not plainly err in admitting extrinsic act evidence of defendant's prior guilty plea to theft by taking.