Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

Following a joint trial with co-defendant Shelton Jackson, Jarvis Mathews was convicted of felony murder, aggravated assault, and possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony for the 2001 fatal shooting of Grant Reynolds, and the non-fatal shootings of Larentae and Robert Mumphery. Finding no reversible error in the trial court judgment, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. View "Mathews v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Shakur Wright pleaded guilty to the malice murder of Benjamin Thompson and to other related offenses. Ten days after sentencing, Wright, through new counsel, filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The motion was timely filed in the same term of court as his conviction. Wright argued that his plea counsel was ineffective for allegedly failing to inform him before sentencing of the more stringent “manifest injustice” standard for withdrawing a guilty plea after sentencing. After the court denied Wright’s motion, Wright appealed, arguing that his plea counsel’s alleged ineffective assistance resulted in an “unnecessary burden” on him. Finding no abuse of discretion in the superior court’s ruling, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed its order denying Wright’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. View "Wright v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Nikita Moore appealed her conviction for malice murder arising out of the 2010 death of her two-year-old son, Ma’Kel Moore-Tompkins. On appeal, Moore claimed the circumstantial evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support her murder conviction because it failed to exclude every reasonable hypothesis other than her guilt. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Moore’s conviction. View "Moore v. Georgia" on Justia Law

A municipal court judge believed Carey Phillips’s traffic citation gave rise to “quasi-bond” conditions that it could — and did — modify in order to restrict Phillips’s driving privileges. Phillips disagreed, but instead of appealing the municipal court judge’s order, he sought pretrial habeas relief against the municipal court judge and the City of Atlanta Solicitor. Counsel for the respondents did not attempt to defend the judge’s order on the merits, arguing only that Phillips’s habeas petition was procedurally improper on several grounds. The habeas court denied relief, partly on the ground that Phillips had an adequate remedy at law and so could not seek habeas. To this the Georgia Supreme Court agreed and affirmed, though identifying a different legal remedy than did the habeas court. View "Phillips v. Jackson, et al." on Justia Law

Lorenzo Payne appealed his conviction for the 2005 shooting death of Quartez Armour. Armour was shot for allegedly cheating Payne in a putative drug deal. Payne argued the trial court erred in instructing the jury, and that his trial counsel was ineffective. Finding no errors, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Payne’s conviction. View "Payne v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Vincent Ellington was convicted by jury for the 2016 shooting death of Jeremy Fulton. On appeal, Ellington challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, and argued the trial court erred when it limited his cross-examination of one of the State’s witnesses. Finding only that the Ellington’s conviction for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony should have merged for sentencing purposes into his conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon during the commission of a felony, the Georgia Supreme Court remanded this case for recalculation of Ellington’s sentence. His convictions were otherwise affirmed. View "Ellington v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Woodrow Carter was convicted in 2016 for the death of James Mills. On appeal, Carter contended the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction, and the trial court erred in instructing the jury. Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Carter’s conviction. View "Carter v. Georgia" on Justia Law

A jury found appellant Kelvin Brown guilty of malice murder and other crimes related to the shooting death of Cornelius Miller. He appealed, contending that: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the prosecutor failed to lay a proper foundation before the trial court allowed him to treat witness Tyeesha Gray as a hostile witness; and (3) the trial court erred in allowing two witnesses to testify despite lacking personal knowledge about the shooting. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Brown’s convictions. View "Brown v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant James Patterson was convicted of felony murder in connection with the 2018 beating death of Jeffrey Burke. In this appeal, Appellant contended: (1) he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel; (2) the trial court erred in permitting a witness to be impeached under OCGA § 24-6-609; and (3) a new trial was warranted due to newly discovered evidence. Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s convictions. View "Patterson v. Georgia" on Justia Law

Appellant Leonard Holland challenged his convictions for malice murder and other crimes in connection with the 2002 shooting death of James Jones. Appellant contended the trial court erred: (1) by ruling that Appellant’s video-recorded statements could be used for impeachment purposes; (2) by admitting Appellant’s written statements allegedly made in violation of Miranda; and (3) by admitting Appellant’s written statements as similar-transaction evidence. Appellant further contended he was denied the effective assistance of counsel in two respects an d that the cumulative prejudicial effect of the trial court’s and trial counsel’s errors entitles him to a new trial under Georgia v. Lane, 838 SE2d 808 (2020). Finding no error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Holland’s convictions. View "Holland v. Georgia" on Justia Law