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  • 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.

  • The State v. Williams

    Publication Date: 2018-02-08
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals | Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Judge Branch
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: William Callaway (Callaway Neville & Brinson), Claxton; Richard Mallard (District Attorney), Statesboro, Keith McIntyre (Chief Assistant District Attorney), Statesboro, for appellant.
    for defendant: Robert Persse (Office of the Public Defender, Eastern Judicial Circuit), Savannah, for appellee.
    Case Number: A15A1858

    The Court of Appeals remanded the case to the trial court for clarification on the specific findings that formed the basis for the trial court's legal conclusions with regard to its grant of defendant's motion to suppress the admission of a statement he made to police after his arrest for obstruction.

  • Tezeno v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-08
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Judge Bethel
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Jessica A. Seares, for appellant.
    for defendant: Paul L. Howard, Jr., District Attorney, Joshua D. Morrison, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.
    Case Number: A17A1011

    The Court vacated defendant's convictions for two counts of aggravated child molestation, two counts of sodomy, one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes and one count of solicitation of sodomy and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings after finding that defendant's trial counsel was ineffective in several respects.

  • Kea v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-05
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Presiding Judge McFadden
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Darrell Reynolds (Darrell B. Reynolds, P.C.), Decatur, for appellant.
    for defendant: Stephen Putnam (Clayton County Solicitor General), Jonesboro; Tasha Mosley (Solicitor General), Jonesboro, for appellee.
    Case Number: A17A1555

    The evidence did not support defendant's conviction for use of a license plate to conceal the identity of a vehicle pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 40-2-5 subsection (a) because the revalidation decal on defendant's vehicle was stolen from another vehicle, not the license plate, and that statute only covers license plates, not revalidation decals; however, the evidence did support defendant's convictions for sexual battery and pandering.

  • Hayes v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-02-05
    Practice Area: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Chief Judge Dillard
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Marion Hayes (GA State Prison), Reidsville, for appellant.
    for defendant: Joshua Morrison (Fulton County DA's Office), Atlanta; Paul Howard (District Attorney), Atlanta, for appellee.
    Case Number: A16A0588

    The Court of Appeals affirmed defendant's convictions and sentences on his Alford plea to burglary and other offenses as the trial court did not participate in plea negotiations in violation of Uniform Superior Court Rule 33.5 (A) and its colloquy with defendant, in which it advised him of the maximum sentence that he could face upon conviction, was permissible.