PER CURIAM . The Court having reviewed the Notice of Compliance with Conditions submitted by the Office of the General Counsel of the State Bar of Georgia, and it appearing that Clifford E. Hardwick, IV, has complied with all of the conditions for reinstatement following his suspension by this Court, see In the Matter of Clifford E. Hardwick, IV, 297 Ga. 808 , 777 S.E.2d 442 (2015), it is hereby ordered that Hardwick be reinstated to the practice of law in the State of Georgia....
PER CURIAM . The Court having reviewed the Notice of Compliance with Conditions submitted by the Office of the General Counsel of the State Bar of Georgia, and it appearing that Hugh O. Nowell (State Bar No. 547375) has complied with all of the conditions for reinstatement following his suspension by this Court, see In the Matter of Hugh O. Nowell, 297 Ga. 785 , 778 S.E.2d 225 (2015), it is hereby ordered that Hugh O. Nowell be reinstated to the practice of law in the State of Georgia....
MELTON , Justice . Following a joint jury trial with his co-defendant, James Platt, Jarret Dixon was found guilty of the felony murder and malice murder of Santos Palacios-Vasquez, the voluntary manslaughter of Antonio Clark, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. 1 Dixon appeals, contending that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdicts, the trial court made improper evidentiary rulings,...
PER CURIAM . This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the report and recommendation from special master James W. Hurt, recommending that the Court accept the petition for voluntary discipline filed by Respondent Tony C. Jones (State Bar No. 403935) and impose on Jones an additional 12-month suspension with conditions on reinstatement. Jones, who has been a member of the Bar since 1984, currently is suspended from the practice of law pursuant to two Supreme Court opinions, the first of...
NAHMIAS , Justice . In 2013, former employees of two in-home personal care companies sued their former employers, asserting that they had not been paid the minimum wage to which they are entitled under the Georgia Minimum Wage Law (GMWL), OCGA 34-4-1 to 34-4-6. The employers removed the case to a federal district court, which certified two questions to this Court: 1. Is an employee that falls under an FLSA [Fair Labor Standards Act] exemption effectively "covered" by the FLSA for...
HINES , Presiding Justice . Mark Anthony Harper appeals from his conviction and sentence for felony murder in connection with the death of Rajib Sarkar. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. 1 In his sole enumeration of error, Harper contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. When evaluating the sufficiency of evidence, the proper standard for review is whether a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson...
BLACKWELL , Justice . Terry Gene Tolbert was tried by a Richmond County jury and convicted of murder and the unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, both in connection with the fatal shooting of Shelley Griffin. Tolbert appeals, contending only that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Upon our review of the record and briefs, we see no error, and we affirm. 1 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that Leroy Sims...
BENHAM , Justice . These matters come to us from our grant of applications for interlocutory review. At issue are two lower court orders: an order lifting a stay and allowing for the filing of a dispossessory action and an order deciding the validity of several substantive issues on summary judgment. For reasons provided below, we do not reach the merits of the order granting leave to file a dispossessory action and we affirm in part and reverse in part the summary judgment order. The...
PER CURIAM . This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the petition of Wilson R. Smith (State Bar No. 665025) for voluntary surrender of his license following the entry of a guilty plea to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Smith, who was admitted to the Bar in 1976, is currently under an indefinite suspension after he voluntarily sought a suspension pending the outcome of criminal charges, see In the...
PER CURIAM . This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation of the Review Panel of the State Bar, recommending that respondent James A. Meaney III (State Bar No. 500491) be suspended for three months as substantially similar reciprocal discipline, following his receipt of a suspension in Tennessee. Meaney acknowledged service of the notice of reciprocal discipline, filed pursuant to Rule 9.4(b) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, as set forth in Bar...
BLACKWELL , Justice . Just a few months ago, we held in Zaldivar v. Prickett, 297 Ga. 589 , 774 S.E.2d 688 (2015), that OCGA 51-12-33(c)—which directs the trier of fact in certain cases to "consider the fault of all persons or entities who contributed to the alleged injury or damages"—refers to the "fault" of "all persons or entities who have breached a legal duty in tort that is owed with respect to the plaintiff, the breach of which is a proximate cause of the injury sustained by...
THOMPSON , Chief Justice . We granted a petition for writ of certiorari in this case to decide, inter alia, whether the Court of Appeals erred in determining that a trial court, having agreed to accept the terms of a negotiated plea agreement between the State and a criminal defendant, retained the authority to decide whether the terms of the plea agreement had been satisfied and reject the plea agreement if they had not. See Lewis v. State, 330 Ga.App. 412, 767 S.E.2d 771 (2014). The...
MELTON , Justice . On March 4, 2015, Jeffrey Wright pled guilty to felony murder and, on that same day, was sentenced in the Wilcox County Superior Court to life imprisonment in connection with the February 14, 2014 burglary and stabbing death of Franz Tarth. On April 6, 2015, Wright filed a pro se motion to withdraw his guilty plea, which the trial court denied on April 9, 2015. Wright filed a pro se appeal from this order, and, for the reasons that follow, we affirm. 1. "It is well...
HINES , Presiding Justice . Following the denial of his motion for new trial, as amended, Larry Daniels appeals his conviction and sentence for malice murder in connection with the strangulation death of Latrenda Jennings. His sole challenge is to the sufficiency of the evidence of his guilt. Finding the sufficiency challenge to be without merit, we affirm the judgment of conviction for malice murder, but for the reasons discussed in Division 2 we vacate in part and remand the case for...
NAHMIAS , Justice . Appellants Desmond Post, Rolaunda Fripp, and Joseph Brown were indicted along with Darchelle Arnold and Jarvis Butts for numerous crimes including felony murder in connection with an armed robbery on December 9, 2009, that led to the shooting deaths of Mark Jones and Christopher Jackson. 1 On October 6, 2010, the Governor appointed Reuben M. Green, who was campaigning for election to the Cobb County State Court, to fill a vacancy on the Cobb County Superior Court, and...
NAHMIAS , Justice . Appellant Eugene McDuffie was convicted of malice murder for the shooting death of Jurrell Clarke. 1 On appeal, he contends that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance and that remarks by the prosecutor during closing argument deprived him of due process. We affirm. 2 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence at trial showed the following. Around 9:30 p.m. on August 18, 2004, Clarke was driving in McRae, Georgia, when he spotted...
NAHMIAS , Justice . Appellant Joseph Andrew Thomas was convicted of malice murder and numerous other crimes in connection with four armed robberies and the shooting death of Robert Stone. Appellant contends that the trial court erred by denying his pro se motion to substitute trial counsel, and that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to obtain a ruling on her motion to withdraw as counsel. As explained below, we reject these contentions, but we have identified an...
HINES , Presiding Judge . Samuel Johnson Hayes appeals from his convictions and sentences for malice murder, armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, all in connection with the death of Joshua Grier. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. 1 Construed to support the verdicts, the evidence showed that Grier owed money to Hayes. During the evening of January 21, 2012, the night before Grier's death, at her...
THOMPSON , Chief Justice . The State appeals the trial court's grant of new trials to appellees, Elgerie Cash and her daughter, Jennifer Weathington, who were tried together in Paulding County Superior Court and found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the shooting death of Lennis Jones. 1 Appellees, who claimed the victim accidentally shot himself, each filed a motion...
PER CURIAM . This disciplinary matter is before the Court pursuant to a petition for voluntary surrender of license filed by Respondent Michael L. Terrell (State Bar No. 143179) pursuant to Bar Rule 4-227(b) before the issuance of a formal complaint. In his petition, Terrell admits that he agreed to represent a client in a personal injury case; that he received a $100,000 check in February 2013 from an insurance company in settlement of the client's claims; that the check was made payable to...
