Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

Anthony Bostic appealed his convictions and sentences for: the malice murder of Brian Patterson; the aggravated assaults of Quantavious Robinson, Dwayne Branker, Twahnica Mills, Latavia Hollinger, Anastecia Davis-Romero, Sandricka Meyers, Brittany Head, Isaiah Chandler, and Matthew Dowdy; and the possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Patterson, in company with Branker and Robinson, walked from a store to a pizza parlor to purchase a pizza. While in the parlor, Patterson saw Bostic and Eric Mathews outside in a car. Patterson made a derogatory comment regarding Bostic and Mathews; Patterson and Branker went outside the parlor and Robinson stood in the doorway. Mathews, who was driving the car, pulled into the parking lot of the parlor; from a window of the car, Bostic fired several shots toward Patterson and his companions, missing Branker, striking Robinson once in the foot, and fatally striking Patterson once in the chest. Bullets entered the pizza parlor, shattering the front glass. Inside the pizza parlor, customer Dowdy was walking toward the exit, and employees Head, Mills, Meyers, Hollinger, Chandler, and Davis-Romero were working, all of whom retreated further into the pizza parlor when the shots were fired. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Bostic v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Anthony Bonner was tried by jury and convicted of the murder of Terry Adams, the aggravated assault of Kenneth Perkins, and theft by receiving a stolen vehicle. On appeal, he argued that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and that the trial court erred when it reprimanded his lawyer in the presence of the jury. Upon review of the records and briefs, the Supreme Court found no reversible error and affirmed. View "Bonner v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Kenneth Scott was convicted of trafficking in cocaine and related charges after he was found in possession of packets of powder cocaine, a "slab" of cocaine, crack cocaine packaged for resale, packages of marijuana, a mirror and a cutting tool, and several loaded handguns. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to the Court of Appeals in "Scott v. Georgia," (Case No. A12A2293) to consider whether former OCGA 16-13-31 (a) (1) required proof that the defendant had knowledge of the weight of the drug. Finding that the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that proof of the knowledge of the weight or quantity of cocaine was not an element of the offense, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded. View "Scott v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Pedro Lee Walker appealed his convictions and sentences for malice murder and armed robbery in connection with the death of Christopher Shuman. On appeal, Walker argued that the State did not adequately show the chain of custody of the blood-stained shoes from which blood samples that matched Shuman's DNA were taken, and therefore the DNA test results should not have been admitted at trial. Further, Walker argued that the trial court erred by denying his motion to admit certain evidence that the jury might have persuaded the jury that another was Shuman's killer. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court and Walker's convictions and sentences. View "Walker v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Mark Reed was convicted of malice murder and other offenses in connection with the 2007 shooting death of Marlon Green. Proceeding pro se, Reed appealed the denial of his motion for new trial on numerous grounds. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Reed v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Antonio Hamm was convicted of murder and related offenses in connection with the 2008 shooting death of J. Remedios Ruiz-Mendieta. Appellant appealed the denial of his motion for new trial, contending that the trial court erred by failing to give certain jury instructions requested by defense counsel. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hamm v. Georgia" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider whether the Court of Appeals properly applied the principle of "priority jurisdiction" when it held that the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction to terminate Emmanuel Alizota's parental rights and erred in granting Ryan and Melissa Stanfield's petition for the adoption of S.K. The Court of Appeals determined that because the juvenile court had previously exercised jurisdiction over a deprivation proceeding involving Alizota and S.K. and had entered a temporary long-term custody agreement, the doctrine of priority jurisdiction deprived the superior court of jurisdiction over the termination proceeding. Based on that, the Court of Appeals vacated the superior court’s order and declined to consider Alizota's appeal on the merits. The Supreme Court found that the Court of Appeals erred in holding the superior court lacked jurisdiction over the termination proceeding. View "Standfield v. Alizota" on Justia Law

Anthony Hargis was tried by jury and convicted of several crimes relating to the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Hargis appealed, asserting seven claims of error, among which: the trial judge was disqualified by her receipt of an ex parte communication and, therefore, should have recused; and that the trial court erred when it denied a motion to suppress evidence of a similar transaction. The Court of Appeals agreed that the trial judge should have recused, and that the motion to suppress should have been granted. The appellate court reversed the judgment of conviction on those grounds without reaching the other claims of error. On the petition of the State, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to review the decision of the Court of Appeals. The Court concluded that the Court of Appeals erred with respect to both recusal and the motion to suppress. View "Georgia v. Hargis" on Justia Law

Appellant Tyrone Wright was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the 2009 shooting death of Cedric Finley. The victim allegedly stole crack cocaine and cash from appellant the night before the shooting. Appellant appealed the denial of his motion for new trial and his conviction and sentence, arguing insufficiency of the evidence, improper denial of his motion to suppress, and ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Wright v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Karmbi Young was convicted of malice murder and other related crimes relating to the shooting death of Rickey Gibson. He appealed the denial of his motion for new trial in which he claimed the trial court erred by admitting evidence pertaining to a witness' identification of him shortly after the crimes and the same witness' in-court identification. Finding no error in the trial court's denial of the motion for new trial, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Young v. Georgia" on Justia Law