BLACKWELL, Justice. After Mack Pitts was killed in a construction accident at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, his estate and minor children sued the City of Atlanta and several contractors for breaches of contracts concerning the construction project on which Pitts had been working. 1 Although Pitts was not a party to these contracts, his estate and children asserted that he was an intended beneficiary and that they, therefore, had standing to sue for breach of the contracts....
BENHAM, Justice. These appeals from the trial court's denial of the defendants's motions to dismiss the indictment due to an alleged constitutional speedy trial violation are dismissed for failure to follow the interlocutory procedures of OCGA 5-6-34(b). Sosniak v. State, ___ Ga. ___, 734 S.E.2d 362 (2012). Appeals dismissed. All the Justices concur.
HINES, Justice. Brandon Leonard appeals his convictions and sentences for malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, all in connection with the shooting deaths of Thomas Darr and Jim Cates. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. 1 Construed to support the verdicts, the evidence showed that Darr drove his vehicle, with Cates seated in the front passenger seat, to a location on a street outside Leonard's apartment where Leonard was selling illegal drugs....
PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on a Notice of Discipline seeking the disbarment of Joseph Seth Shaw (State Bar No. 638599). The State Bar attempted to serve Shaw personally at the address listed with it, but the sheriff filed a return of service non est inventus. The State Bar then properly served Shaw by publication pursuant to Bar Rule 4-203.1(b)(3)(ii). As Shaw failed to file a Notice of Rejection, he is in default, has waived his rights to an evidentiary...
PER CURIAM. These disciplinary matters are before the Court on the Report and Recommendation of the Special Master, John L. Strauss, who accepted the Amendment to Fourth Amended Petition for Voluntary Discipline filed by Respondent Ricardo L. Polk. In the petition, Polk requested that the Court impose a two-year suspension, with conditions, for his admitted violations of Rules 1.3 (lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client and shall not wilfully abandon...
NAHMIAS, Justice. A jury convicted Appellant Clayton Jerrod Ellington of murdering his wife, Berna Ellington, and their twin two-year-old sons, Cameron and Christian. 1 The jury found two statutory aggravating circumstances related to each of the three murders and recommended three death sentences, which the trial court imposed. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm Ellington's convictions. As to his death sentences, however, as discussed at length in Division 7 below, we hold that the...
BENHAM, Justice. This appeal comes to us pursuant to our granting a petition for a writ of certiorari in which we have asked if it was for a jury to decide whether a plaintiff in a case brought pursuant to the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. 51 et seq., was within the "zone of danger" in order to recover for emotional distress injuries stemming from a work-related accident. Because we find the answer to be in the negative, we reverse and remand the case to the Court of...
NAHMIAS, Justice. On January 13, 2012, the trial court entered a final judgment in the divorce action filed by appellee Jeffrey Rymuza (Husband) against appellant Andreana Rymuza (Wife). We granted Wife's application for discretionary appeal under Supreme Court Rule 34(4), and we now affirm the trial court's judgment. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court's rulings, the evidence showed as follows. Husband and Wife married on April 4, 2008; they have no children together. On...
THOMPSON, Presiding Justice. Via indictment, appellant, Darchelle Renee Arnold, was charged with two counts of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, three counts of armed robbery, and six counts of aggravated assault, in connection with the shooting deaths of two victims and the wounding of another. Pursuant to a negotiated plea, appellant pled guilty to two counts of felony murder and one count of aggravated assault. She was sentenced to two concurrent terms of life for each felony...
MELTON, Justice. Following a jury trial, Nehemiah Davis appeals his convictions for malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, 1 contending that his right to due process was violated when the State offered false evidence at trial. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that, on the night of September 4, 2004, Jermaine Walker (the victim) was at his grandmother's house, where he lived,...
THOMPSON, Presiding Justice. Appellant Mark Thornton was convicted of felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, burglary, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and conspiracy to commit a crime in connection with his role in the shooting death of Joshua Scott. 1 Thornton's motion for new trial was denied, and he now appeals his convictions. On appeal, Thornton asserts that there was insufficient evidence to support...
THOMPSON, Presiding Justice. Appellant, acting pro se, filed a "verified petition for a writ of prohibition and/or a writ of mandamus for enforcement of rights pursuant to OCGA 9-3-22" against numerous judges and clerks in the State and Superior courts of DeKalb County; the DeKalb County Sheriff, an assistant solicitor and court reporter; and the clerk of this Court. At its core, the petition sought relief on the ground that defendants conspired against appellant by "tampering" with...
HINES, Justice. Sandro Campos, pro se, appeals the denial of his motion for an out-of-time appeal, following his entry of a plea of guilty to malice murder for the 2004 fatal shooting of Henry Jayaprakasham, and Campos's resulting sentence of life in prison. For the reasons which follow, we affirm. In February 2005, a Whitfield County grand jury returned a six-count indictment against Campos: Count (1) — malice murder; Count (2) — armed robbery; Count (3) — felony murder while in the...
HUNSTEIN, Chief Justice. A jury convicted Albert Durham of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of George McCrary. 1 On appeal, Durham contends that the State elicited improper hearsay testimony, the trial court failed to give a complete charge on circumstantial evidence, and trial counsel was ineffective. Because the trial court did not commit reversible error in its evidentiary rulings and jury instructions and trial counsel's representation was not...
HUNSTEIN, Chief Justice. Testator William Jackson Dunaway executed his Last Will and Testament in February 2010, leaving his entire estate to his only sister, Virginia Pahl. Following Dunaway's death, Appellee Stephen Pahl, Virginia's son, petitioned to probate Dunaway's will. Appellant Reva Viola Amerson, a longtime close friend of Dunaway, filed a caveat challenging the validity of the will and claiming that an earlier will executed by Dunaway in 1994 remained in effect. After a bench trial,...
MELTON, Justice. Following the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the Georgia Insurers Insolvency Pool (GIIP), Lumpkin County appeals, contending that, following the insolvency of the County's regular insurer, GIIP is required to step in and cover the pending workers' compensation claims against the County. Specifically, the County argues that the trial court erred in finding that it is not entitled to coverage under the GIIP because the County's net worth exceeds $25 million. See OCGA...
BLACKWELL, Justice. Robert Allen Sears was tried by a Chatham County jury and convicted of the murder of Isaiah Lovett, aggravated assault, and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, Sears appeals and asserts several claims of error, including that the trial court erred when it failed to merge the aggravated assault into his murder conviction. We agree with Sears that the failure to merge was error, and we vacate his...
NAHMIAS, Justice. Appellant Kasaem Toomer challenges his 2009 convictions for malice murder and other crimes in connection with the death of Justin Cox. We affirm. 1 1. The evidence at trial, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, showed the following. Shortly after 10:00 p.m. on October 3, 2007, 19-year-old Justin Cox left his home in Albany, Georgia, where he lived with his parents, in his car. His parents became alarmed the next day when they realized that he had not come home...
HINES, Justice. Eugene Hammond appeals from the trial court's denial of his motion in arrest of judgment. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. In 2000, Hammond was convicted in the Superior Court of DeKalb County on charges of the felony murder of his son, the aggravated assault of his wife, and of making terroristic threats toward his wife. On March 10, 2000, he was sentenced to life in prison, and an additional prison term of ten years, to be served consecutively. This Court affirmed...
MELTON, Justice. Marcin Waldemar Sosniak appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to dismiss his indictment due to an alleged constitutional speedy trial violation. Because we find that Callaway v. State, 275 Ga. 332 , 567 S.E.2d 13 (2002), and Boseman v. State, 263 Ga. 730 n. 1, 438 S.E.2d 626 (1994), wrongly decided that the denial of a pre-trial constitutional speedy trial claim may be directly appealed, we dismiss Sosniak's appeal for failure to follow the interlocutory...
