MELTON , Justice . Following a jury trial, Robert Robbins was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery in connection with the beating death of his wife, Susan Robbins. 1 On appeal, Robbins contends that the trial court erred in allowing certain statements of the deceased victim to be admitted into evidence at trial and that his trial counsel was ineffective. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. 1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict,...
BENHAM , Justice . These cases involve the scope of the State's authority to regulate so-called "payday loans" pursuant to OCGA 16-17-1, et seq., which has come to be known as the Payday Lending Act. Pursuant to OCGA 16-17-4 (b), the State of Georgia, acting through the Attorney General ("State") filed a complaint in Fulton County Superior Court alleging that CashCall, Inc. ("CashCall"), Delbert Services Corporation ("Delbert Services"), Western Sky Financial, LLC ("Western Sky"), and...
HUNSTEIN , Justice . Appellee Marcella Fletcher was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, which she attributed to years of laundering her father's asbestos-dust-covered work clothing, and she sued Appellant CertainTeed Corporation, who manufactured the asbestos-laden water pipes with which her father had worked. In her complaint, she alleged, inter alia, negligent design and negligent failure to warn. Before the completion of discovery, the trial court granted CertainTeed's motion...
HUNSTEIN , Justice . Appellee Marcella Fletcher was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, which she attributed to years of laundering her father's asbestos-dust-covered work clothing, and she sued Appellant CertainTeed Corporation, who manufactured the asbestos-laden water pipes with which her father had worked. In her complaint, she alleged, inter alia, negligent design and negligent failure to warn. Before the completion of discovery, the trial court granted CertainTeed's motion...
NAHMIAS , Justice . On February 22, 2006, after 13 years of marriage, appellant Carla Graves Christian (Wife) and appellee Ben Christian, Jr. (Husband) signed a Separation Agreement. The agreement was approved by the trial court in December 2008. Wife filed a complaint for divorce in March 2013. In October 2014, she filed a motion for partial summary judgment asking the trial court to rule that Paragraph VII of the Separation Agreement entitled her to one-half of Husband's retirement, 401(k)...
MELTON , Justice . This case involves the potential effects on the territory of school systems and the ownership of school property emanating from the annexation of parts of Fulton County by the City of Atlanta. In 1950, the Georgia General Assembly passed a local constitutional amendment addressing these issues (1950 LCA). See Ga. L. 1950, p. 458. In relevant part, the 1950 LCA provides that: (1) "when the corporate limits of the City of Atlanta are extended into Fulton County, the...
HINES , Presiding Justice . Gregory Williams and Shauna Smith appeal from their convictions and sentences, rendered at the conclusion of a joint trial, for murder, burglary, and related crimes in connection with the shooting death of Brian Mosely. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in both cases. 1 Construed to support the verdicts, the evidence established as follows. At 11:01 a.m. on December 3, 2007, police were dispatched to an East Point apartment complex in response to a 911...
HUNSTEIN , Justice . This interlocutory appeal presents a facial constitutional challenge to OCGA 20-2-1182, which criminalizes upbraiding, insulting, or abusing a public school teacher, administrator, or bus driver in the presence of a pupil while on the premises of a public school or school bus. Appellant Michael Antonio West was arrested and charged under OCGA 20-2-1182, and he thereafter filed a general demurrer, contending, among other things, that the statute is unconstitutionally...
BENHAM , Justice . After conducting a bench trial, the trial court found appellant Norman Buford guilty but mentally ill for the shooting death of Willie Archer and the aggravated assault of Orantes Dishmond. 1 For the reasons set forth below, we vacate the sentencing order in part and otherwise affirm. 1. Appellant's chief complaint is that the trial court failed to find him not guilty by reason of insanity. In Georgia, a defendant is presumed to be sane and, as such, a defendant...
THOMPSON , Chief Justice . A jury convicted appellant John Blackmon of felony murder and other offenses in connection with the shooting death of Timothy Blalock and the aggravated assault and aggravated battery of Timothy Ghiden. 1 Blackmon appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, contending that the trial court erred by failing to suppress the results of an impermissibly suggestive photographic lineup, thereby violating his right to due process, and denying his motion for...
HUNSTEIN , Justice . Appellant Elliot Sheard was convicted of murder and associated crimes in connection with the stabbing death of Charles Elder. Sheard now appeals, arguing, as he did in his motion for new trial, that missing portions of his trial transcript render his appeal meaningless. 1 In light of a number of factors complicating the absence of portions of the trial transcript, we agree that Sheard is entitled to a new trial and reverse the judgment of the trial court. Viewed in a...
HINES , Presiding Justice . This is an appeal by out-of-state attorney Frederick J. Fein from a final order of the Superior Court of Fulton County granting the motion of Diane E. Bessen, a judge of the State Court of Fulton County, to dismiss Fein's "Amended Petition for Writ of Mandamus" for failure to state a claim. The mandamus petition, as amended, sought to compel Judge Bessen to rule on default motions and to enter a final judgment in a civil action pending before her so that Fein...
THOMPSON , Chief Justice . Appellant GeorgiaCarry.Org, Inc., ("GCO") filed a complaint against the Code Revision Commission and its members, David Ralston, in his official capacity as Speaker of the House of Representatives of Georgia, Lowell Cagle, in his official capacity as President of the Senate of Georgia, and Governor Nathan Deal, seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the Code Revision Commission to amend the text of OCGA 16-11-127.1 and a judgment declaring that it is not a...
THOMPSON , Chief Justice . The City of Waycross (the "City"), which is situated primarily in Ware County, annexed property in Pierce County (the "County") in the 1980's. The City constructed a component of its wastewater treatment facility in the annexed area, and entered into service delivery strategy agreements with the County in 1999. The agreements provided that the City would provide water and sewer services in the annexed area; they did not contain an expiration date. The City...
MELTON , Justice . Following a jury trial, J'Quante Crews was found guilty of malice murder (Count 1), two counts of felony murder (Counts 2 and 4), aggravated assault (Count 5), armed robbery (Count 6), possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (Count 7), and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (Count 8) in connection with his role in the shooting death of Vernon Forrest. 1 On appeal, Crews contends that his convictions should be reversed and that he should be...
Benham , JUSTICE . Appellant DeMariye Vontrel Glover appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea to felony murder. We affirm. Appellant was indicted, along with a co-defendant, for the offenses of malice murder, felony murder, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, all arising out of the shooting death of Demetrious Moore during an attempted armed robbery. Appellant was represented by counsel, and on the morning the trial was to begin...
THOMPSON , Chief Justice . Appellant Xzarious Terrell was convicted of felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in connection with the shooting death of victim Henry Wright, Jr. 1 His motion for new trial was denied, and on appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and claims error in the trial court's admission of statements of a non-testifying co-indictee...
THOMPSON , Chief Justice . Appellant Octavious Turner was convicted of malice murder and another charge in connection with the shooting death of Quintaveis Johnson. 1 He appeals, asserting, inter alia, the trial court erred in permitting the State to ask prospective jurors whether they would be able to find a defendant guilty based solely on the testimony of a single witness. Finding no enumerated error, we affirm on the merits, but vacate and remand to enable the trial court to address a...
MELTON , Justice . Georgiacarry.org ("Georgia Carry") is a nonprofit corporation with the stated purpose of "focus[ing] ... on public interest matters of self-defense and gun laws of the State of Georgia and the United States of America." On October 29, 2015, Georgia Carry filed in Fulton County Superior Court an "Application for Leave to File an Information in the Nature of Quo Warranto," against members of the Code Revision Commission (the "Commission"), 1 in an effort to challenge the...
HUNSTEIN , Justice . Appellant Paulette Pippen was convicted of felony murder and cruelty to a person 65 years of age or older in connection with the November 2010 death of Joseph Vernon Ray. 1 Pippen appeals, alleging that the evidence was insufficient to sustain her conviction, that the trial court gave erroneous jury instructions, and that she received ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no error, we affirm. 1. Pippen contends that the evidence presented at trial was...
