• Goodrum v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-04-26
    Practice Area: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Grant
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Matthew K. Winchester (Law Offices of Matthew K. Winchester), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Paula Khristian Smith, Christopher M. Carr, Meghan Hobbs Hill (Department of Law), Atlanta; Monique Lynn Kirby, Edward Andrew Case III (Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office), LaGrange; Peter J. Skandalakis (Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia), Morrow, for appellee.

    Case Number: S17A1748

    Defendant Had No Constitutional Right to Be Present When Attorneys Met in Chambers With Judge to Discuss Juror's Qualification

  • Graves v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-04-26
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Boggs
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Long Dai Vo, Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Paula Khristian Smith, Christopher M. Carr, S. Taylor Johnston (Department of Law), Atlanta; Anna Green Cross, Sherry Boston, Gerald Mason, (DeKalb County District Attorney's Office), Decatur, for appellee.

    Case Number: S17A1709

    Any error in the trial court's decision to exclude alibi testimony based on the defense's failure to give notice under O.C.G.A. §17-16-5 (a) was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt in defendant's trial for murder and related crimes.

  • Chrysler Group LLC n/k/a FCA US LLC v. Walden et al.

    Publication Date: 2018-04-25
    Practice Area: Damages | Wrongful Death
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Grant
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Terry Otho Brantley, Mary Diane Owens, Bradley S. Wolff (Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers, LLP), Atlanta; Thomas H. Dupree Jr., Rajiv Mohan (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP), Washington, for appellant.
    for defendant: Karsten Bicknese, Robert Howard Betts (Seacrest, Karesh, Tate & Bicknese, LLP), Atlanta; James E. Butler Jr. (Butler, Wooten Cheely & Peak LLP), Atlanta; James Edward Butler III (Butler Tobin LLC), Atlanta; Cathy Cox (Mercer Law School), Macon; George C. Floyd (Floyd & Kendrick LLC), Bainbridge; Leigh Martin May (Butler, Wooten, Overby, Fryhofer), Atlanta; Michael Brian Terry, Frank Mitchell Lowrey IV (Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP), Atlanta; David Thomas Rohwedder (Butler Wooten & Peak LLP), Atlanta, for appellee. Michael Roger Boorman (Huff, Powell & Bailey, LLC), Atlanta; Brian David Boone, Kyle G.A. Wallace, Caroline M. Rawls, William Herman Jordan (Alston & Bird LLP), Atlanta; Christopher Randall Jordan (Hunter Maclean Exley & Dunn), Brunswick; Martin Adam Levinson (Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young LLP), Atlanta; Garret Warrington Meader (Drew ECKL & Farnham LLP), Brunswick; James Randolph Evans, Anthony Wyatt Morris (Dentons US LLP), Atlanta, for amicus appellant. Matthew Britt Stoddard (The Stoddard Firm), Atlanta, for amicus appellee. Therese S. Barnes (Georgia Supreme Court), Atlanta, for other party. Ashby K. Fox, Louis G. Fiorilla (Burr & Forman LLP), Atlanta; Forrest S. Latta (Burr & Forman LLP), Mobile; D. Victor Reynolds, John Stuart Melvin, Michael Scott Carlson, John Richard Edwards, Amelia Greeson Pray (Cobb County District Attorney's Office), Marietta, for neutral amicus.

    Case Number: S17G0832

    The Court of Appeals did not err in affirming the trial court's decision finding that the compensation of the CEO of a car manufacturing company was admissible in a wrongful death suit because the prejudicial effect of the evidence did not outweigh its probative value pursuant to Rule 403.

  • Cooper Tire & Rubber Company v. Koch et al.

    Publication Date: 2018-04-25
    Practice Area: Civil Procedure | Evidence | Products Liability
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Nahmias
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Laurie Webb Daniel (Holland & Knight LLP), Atlanta; Reed Thomas Warburton, (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP), Birmingham; George R. Neuhauser (Nall & Miller LLP), Atlanta; Scott Burnett Smith (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP), Huntsville, for appellant.
    for defendant: Katherine Lee McArthur, Caleb Frank Walker, Laura K. Hinson Penn (Katherine L. McArthur LLC), Macon; Tracey Lynn Dellacona (Dellaconna Law Firm), Macon, for appellee. Ashby K. Fox, Louis G. Fiorilla (Burr & Forman LLP), Atlanta; Forrest S. Latta (Burr & Forman LLP), Mobile; Brian David Boone (Alston & Bird LLP), Charlotte; Leonard Searcy II (Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P.), Kansas City; Philip S. Goldberg (Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP), Washington, for amicus appellant. Stephen Christopher Collier (Hawkins & Parnell, LLP), Atlanta; Michael Atkinson Arndt (Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young, LLP), Atlanta; George Lee Welborn (Downey, Cleveland, Parker & Williams), Marietta, for other party.

    Case Number: S17G0654

    The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion to dismiss, or alternatively, to bar certain evidence as a sanction for spoliation of evidence, as the record supported the trial court's conclusion that litigation was not reasonably foreseeable when plaintiff destroyed the evidence.

  • In The Matter Of Walter Linton Moore.

    Publication Date: 2018-04-17
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry: Legal Services
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Andreea N. Morrison, Paula J. Frederick, Jenny K. Mittelman (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Walter Linton Moore, Griffin; Walter Linton Moore, Hampton, for appellee.

    Case Number: S18Y0559

    The Supreme Court disbarred an attorney in connection with his abandonment of six different clients in domestic relations proceedings.

  • Nations v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-04-13
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Boggs
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Juwayn Haddad (Haddad Law Group, LLC), Tucker, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Paula Khristian Smith, Christopher M. Carr, Elizabeth Haase Brock (Department of Law), Atlanta; Paul L. Howard, Jr., David K. Getachew-Smith, Sr., Lyndsey Hurst Rudder (Fulton County District Attorney's Office), Atlanta, for appellee.

    Case Number: S17A1597

    The trial court did not plainly err in admitting into evidence defendant's prior armed robbery conviction in his murder trial because, pretermitting whether admission of the evidence amounted to clear or obvious error, defendant could not show that the admission of the evidence affected his substantial rights, in light of the strength of the evidence of his guilt.

  • In The Matter Of Christopher Aaron Corley.

    Publication Date: 2018-04-13
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: John Ryd Bush Long (John R. B. Long P.C.), Augusta; John B. Long (Tucker Long P.C.), Augusta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Paula J. Frederick, Jonathan Winslow Hewett, Jenny K. Mittelman, Alison Leigh Burgess (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellee.

    Case Number: S18Y0350

    The Supreme Court accepted an attorney's petition for voluntary discipline and suspended him from the practice of law following his guilty plea to Domestic Violence First Degree in South Carolina.

  • In The Matter Of Andre Keith Sanders.

    Publication Date: 2018-04-12
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Wolanda R. Shelton, Paula J. Frederick, Jenny K. Mittelman (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Andre Keith Sanders (Sanders Law PA), Saint Petersburg; Andre Keith Sanders, Saint Petersburg, for appellee. Jessica Oglesby, Atlanta; Bridget B. Bagley, Atlanta; Anthony B. Askew, Atlanta, for other party.

    Case Number: S18Y0383

    The Supreme Court imposed a 5-year suspension with conditions for reinstatement on an attorney as reciprocal discipline following disciplinary action in Florida.

  • In The Matter Of Sam Louis Levine.

    Publication Date: 2018-04-12
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: William Jacob Cobb, Paula J. Frederick, Jenny K. Mittelman (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Sam Louis Levine (Law Offices of Sam Levine LLC), Atlanta, for appellee. Herman Maddox Kilgore (Kilgore & Rodriguez LLC), Marietta; Bridget B. Bagley, Atlanta; Anthony B. Askew, Atlanta; Jessica Oglesby, Atlanta; Patrick H. Head, Marietta; for other party.

    Case Number: S18Y0348

    The Supreme Court disbarred an attorney for his neglect of matters involving two clients and his misconduct arising out of his contentious divorce proceeding.

  • Eller et al. v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-04-06
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Grant
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Matthew K. Winchester (Law Offices of Matthew K. Winchester), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Paula Khristian Smith, Aimee F. Sobhani, Christopher M. Carr (Department of Law), Atlanta; Rosemary M. Greene, Sharon Moyer Fox, Paula Khristian Smith, Elizabeth Marian York (Cherokee Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office), Calhoun, for appellee.

    Case Number: S17A1549

    The evidence sufficiently supported a brother and sister's convictions for killing the sister's boyfriend and leaving his body in the back of his abandoned truck and although the trial court erred in allowing the alternate jurors to retire with the other jurors during deliberations, defendants failed to show that the error harmed them.