• In the Matter of Ephraim L. Michael.

    Publication Date: 2024-07-03
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry: Legal Services
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Warren Raymond Hinds, (Warren R. Hinds, P.C.), Roswell, for appellant.
    for defendant: Andreea N. Morrison, Paula J. Frederick, Jenny K. Mittelman, William Dallas NeSmith, (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellee.

    Case Number: S24Y0549

    Court issues public reprimand for attorney's professional conduct violations relating to delegation of responsibilities to a non-lawyer assistant in a personal injury case

  • Baker v. The State

    Publication Date: 2024-07-02
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Presiding Justice Peterson
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Frances C. Kuo, (Georgia Public Defender Council), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Clint Christopher Malcolm, Meghan Hobbs Hill, Christopher M. Carr, Eric Christopher Peters, (Department of Law), Atlanta, Elizabeth A. Baker, Marie Greene Broder, (Griffin Circuit District Attorney’s Office), Griffin, for appellee.

    Case Number: S24A0478

    Court affirms convictions for malice murder and firearms possession in a double homicide over defendant's challenge to sufficiency of evidence and multiple claims of trial court error

  • Jones v. The State

    Publication Date: 2024-07-01
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Chief Justice Boggs
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: William Davis Hewitt, (The Appellate Division - Georgia Public Defender Council), Savannah, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Clint Christopher Malcolm, Meghan Hobbs Hill, Christopher M. Carr, Elizabeth Rosenwasser, (Department of Law), Atlanta, Deborah D. Wellborn, Sherry Boston, Agatha K. Romanowski, (Dekalb County District Attorney’s Office), Decatur, for appellee.

    Case Number: S24A0351

    Court affirms felony murder conviction and life without parole sentence despite defendant's challenges on evidence and arguments regarding his mental condition

  • Allen v. The State

    Publication Date: 2024-06-28
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Presiding Justice Peterson
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: N/a
    for defendant: N/a

    Case Number: S24A0171

    In a sharply divided opinion, court reverses malice murder conviction due to failure to instruct jury on voluntary manslaughter

  • Zayas v. The State

    Publication Date: 2024-06-28
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Colvin
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Matthew Kyle Winchester, (Law Offices of Matthew K. Winchester), Atlanta, Lawrence Jason Zimmerman, (The Law Office of Lawrence J. Zimmerman), Marietta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Clint Christopher Malcolm, Meghan Hobbs Hill, Christopher M. Carr, Eric Christopher Peters, Mary Catherine Norman, (Department of Law), Atlanta, Lee Darragh, (Hall County District Attorney’s Office), Gainesville, Kelley Martin Robertson, Anna Victoria Fowler, (Northeastern Circuit District Attorney’s Office), Gainesville, for appellee.

    Case Number: S24A0025

    Court affirms convictions for malice murder and other crimes over defendant's challenge to sufficiency of evidence, contentions of ineffective assistance, and jury instruction error

  • In the Matter of James W. Davis, III.

    Publication Date: 2024-06-11
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry: Legal Services
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: William Van Hearnburg, Jr., Paula J. Frederick, Jenny K. Mittelman, William Dallas NeSmith, (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: James W. Davis, Villa Rica, for appellee.

    Case Number: S23Y0622

    Court orders disbarment of an attorney who fraudulently intercepted and misappropriated a multi-million dollar insurance payment meant for a client

  • Jackson v. The State

    Publication Date: 2024-06-11
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Warren
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Robert Lawrence Persse, (Attorney at Law), Savannah, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Clint Christopher Malcolm, Meghan Hobbs Hill, Elizabeth Haase Brock, Christopher M. Carr, Eric Christopher Peters, (Department of Law), Atlanta, Jessua Calhoun Hornsby, Bradfield M. Shealy, (Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office), Valdosta, for appellee.

    Case Number: S24A0382

    Court affirms convictions for felony murder and a firearms offense over defendant's claims of ineffective assistance where his trial counsel did not challenge the prosecutor's closing remarks

  • Schmitt v. The State

    Publication Date: 2024-05-27
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Presiding Justice Peterson
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: John Aspinwall Garland, Donald Franklin Samuel, Kristen Wright Novay, (Garland, Samuel & Loeb, P.C.), Atlanta, Matthew Kyle Winchester, (Law Offices of Matthew K. Winchester), Atlanta,for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Clint Christopher Malcolm, Meghan Hobbs Hill, Mary Catherine Norman, Elizabeth Haase Brock, Christopher M. Carr, (Department of Law), Atlanta, Fani T. Willis, Kevin Christopher Armstrong, Mario Kladis, (Fulton County District Attorney’s Office), Atlanta, for appellee.

    Case Number: S24A0036

    Court reverses convictions for malice murder and other crimes due to error in failing to instruct the jury on accident as a defense

  • In the Matter of Paul Jason York.

    Publication Date: 2024-05-15
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry: Legal Services
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: William Van Hearnburg, Jr., Paula J. Frederick, Jenny K. Mittelman, William Dallas NeSmith, III, (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Dennis T. Cathey, (Cathey & Strain, LLC), Cornelia, for appellee; Michael J Blakely, Jr., (The Blakely Firm), Decatur, for other party.

    Case Number: S24Y0285

    Court rejects attorney's petition for voluntary three-year suspension of his license with pending reinstatement amid unresolved felony charges relating to forgery

  • Stroud v. The State

    Publication Date: 2024-05-10
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice McMillian
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: William Davis Hewitt, (The Appellate Division - Georgia Public Defender Council), Savannah, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Clint Christopher Malcolm, Meghan Hobbs Hill, Elizabeth Haase Brock, Christopher M. Carr, (Department of Law), Atlanta, William Patrick Doupé, Ali Pauline Ritch, (Toombs Circuit District Attorney’s Office), Thompson, for appellee.

    Case Number: S24A0069

    Court affirms convictions for murder and other crimes over defendant's challenge to the sufficiency of evidence amid conflicting witness testimonies, and to denial of a directed verdict motion