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  • Wade v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-07-16
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Hunstein
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Matthew K. Winchester (Law Offices of Matthew K. Winchester), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Paula Khristian Smith, Michael Alexander Oldham, Christopher M. Carr (Department of Law), Atlanta; Anna Green Cross, Sherry Boston, Otobong U. Ekpo (DeKalb County District Attorneys Office), Decatur, for appellee.
    Case Number: S18A0327

    Although the evidence supported defendant's convictions for murder and related offenses arising out of the beating death of his girlfriend's 18-month-old son, the Court vacated his sentence and remanded for resentencing because the trial court erred in failing to merge certain counts.

  • In The Matter of Gary Lanier Coulter.

    Publication Date: 2018-07-05
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry: Legal Services
    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: Gary Lanier Coulter (Coulter & Associates), Bogart; Gary Lanier Coulter, Sugar Hill, for appellee. Herman Maddox Kilgore (Kilgore & Rodriguez LLC), Marietta; Jessica Oglesby, Atlanta; Sandra S. Cho (Drew Eckl & Farnham LLP), Atlanta, for other party.
    Case Number: S18Y0993

    A divided Supreme Court disbarred an attorney for his violation of several of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, including trust account violations.

  • Michael O. Mondy et al. v. Magnolia Advanced Materials, Inc.

    Publication Date: 2018-07-02
    Practice Area: Civil Procedure | Judges
    Industry: Manufacturing
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Nahmias
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Michael Oliver Mondy (Michael O. Mondy PC.), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Erika Clarke Birg, Peter L. Munk (Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP), Atlanta, for appellee.
    Case Number: S17G1478

    When a motion to recuse the trial judge is filed after the judge has orally held a party's attorney in contempt, the recusal motion must be decided before the judge may properly proceed to enter a written contempt order.

  • In The Interest Of K.S., A Child.

    Publication Date: 2018-05-30
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals | Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Hunstein
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: James John Anagnostakis (Anagnostakis Law Group), Douglasville, for appellant.
    for defendant: Kristi Lee Winstead Wilson, Brian Keith Fortner, Sean Alexander Garrett (Douglas County District Attorney's Office), Douglasville, for appellee.
    Case Number: S17G1344

    Decisions Regarding Transfer of Juveniles to Superior Court Are Directly Appealable to Court of Appeals

  • Gibbs v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-05-09
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals | Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Benham
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Forrest K. Shealy, Marietta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Michael Scott Carlson, Amelia Greeson Pray, D. Victor Reynolds, Jaret Teague Usher (Cobb County District Attorney's Office), Marietta, for appellee.
    Case Number: S17G1343

    The Court of Appeals properly affirmed the trial courts denial of defendant's motion for new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel, as he could not show a reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been different absent trial counsel's alleged deficiencies, in light of the strong evidence of his guilt.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • Womac v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-01-02
    Practice Area: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Hunstein
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Michael Robert McCarthy (Mike McCarthy, Criminal Defense Lawyer), Rocky Face, for appellant.
    for defendant: Herbert McIntosh Poston, Jr., Victoria Keely Parker, (Conasauga Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office), Dalton, for appellee.
    Case Number: S17A1385

    The Supreme Court affirmed defendant's convictions and sentences for aggravated sexual battery, child molestation, cruelty to children in the first degree and false imprisonment and found that his life sentence for aggravated sexual battery did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Georgia Constitution.

  • Freeman v. The State

    Publication Date: 2017-10-31
    Practice Area: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Court of Appeals
    Judge: Presiding Justice Melton
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Justin Freeman, Rockmart, for appellant.
    for defendant: Stephanie D. Woodard, Daniel Sanmiguel (Hall County Solicitor General's Office), Gainesville; Paula Khristian Smith, Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Christopher M. Carr (Department of Law), Atlanta, for appellee.
    Case Number: S17A1040

    The Supreme Court reversed defendant's conviction for one count of disorderly conduct pursuant to O.C.G.A. 16-11-39 subsection (a) (1) because defendant's act of raising his middle finger to a pastor during a church service was a constitutionally protected act that did not place the pastor in reasonable fear for his safety.

  • Johnson v. State

    Publication Date: 2017-02-01
    Practice Area:
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Hunstein,
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: J. Converse Bright, Valdosta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Joseph K. Mulholland, District Attorney, Moruf O. Oseni, David M. Atwell, Assistant District Attorneys, Bainbridge, Samuel S. Olens, Attorney General, Patricia B. A. Burton, Deputy Attorney General, Paula K. Smith, Senior Assistant Attorney General, and Vanessa T. Meyerhoefer, Assistant Attorney General, Atlanta, for appellee.
    Case Number: S16A1649

    Defendant failed to preserve his arguments for appeal, and the Court thus affirmed the trial court's judgment finding him guilty of felony m