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  • Phillips v. Hanse

    Publication Date: 2006-10-27
    Practice Area:
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: David A. Sleppy, Edward E. Strain III Cathey & Strain, Cornelia, and Matthew T. Allen, Santa Ynez, Calif., for appellant.
    for defendant: . Robert D. Ware, Rolesia B. Dancy and Overtis H. Brantley County Attorney's Office, Atlanta, for appellee.
    Case Number: S06G0632

    The defendant's decision to engage in a high-speed chase constituted a discretionary act, even though he allegedly violated several provisions in a county police m

  • Walker v. State

    Publication Date: 2006-10-13
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Edward W. Clary, St. Marys, and Richard O. Allen, Atlantic Beach, Fla., for appellant.
    for defendant: Stephen D. Kelly, District Attorney, Leslie K. DeVooght, Assistant District Attorney, Brunswick, George C. Turner Jr., Assistant District Attorney, Woodbine, Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, and Patricia B. A. Burton, Assistant Attorney General, Atlanta, for appellee. Other party representation: Holly L. Geerdes, Georgia Capital Defender, Thomas H. Dunn Georgia Resource Ctr., and Richard A. Malone Prosecuting Attorneys' Council, Atlanta.
    Case Number: S06P0992

    The state's failure to include the statutory aggravating circumstances in its notice of intent to seek the death penalty was harmless, since one of the statutory circumstances on which the state rel

  • State v. Benton

    Publication Date: 2004-10-29
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Daniel M. Hirsh and Robert M. Coker, Assistant District Attorneys, Decatur, for appellant.
    for defendant: Jonathan R. Melnick, Atlanta, for appellee.
    Case Number: S04G0153

    Generally, a jury's recommendation of leniency is mere surplusage, which does not affect the validity of a ve

  • Burchette v. State

    Publication Date: 2004-05-14
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Rafe Banks III Banks, Stubbs, Neville & Cunat LLP, Cumming, for appellant.
    for defendant: Philip C. Smith, District Attorney, Rand J. Csehy and Penny A. Penn, Assistant District Attorneys, Cumming, for appellee.
    Case Number: S03G1195

    Language that instructs the jury that a criminal case "must be decided by some jury" should be removed from the state's pattern Allen c

  • Ferguson v. State

    Publication Date: 2003-12-05
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Allen M. Trapp Jr., Carrollton, for appellant.
    for defendant: Peter J. Skandalakis, District Attorney, and Lynda S. Caldwell, LaGrange, for appellee.
    Case Number: S03A1527

    The trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained pursuant to the unconstitutional provision in O.C.G.A. § 40-5-55, which requires chemical testing, even in the

  • Allen v. State

    Publication Date: 2003-10-03
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Jody E. Allen, Oglethorpe, proceeded pro se. Dennis C. Sanders, District Attorney, Thurbert E. Baker Jr., Attorney General, and Paula K. Smith, Assistant Attorney General, Atlanta, for appellee.
    for defendant:
    Case Number: S03A1256

    Defendant waived his right to appeal as part of his plea agre

  • Piedmont Hosp. Inc. v. Palladino

    Publication Date: 2003-05-09
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Deborah S. Moses Hall, Booth, Smith & Slover PC, Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Barry L. Zimmerman, Keith F. Brandon Zimmerman & Assocs., Atlanta, and William C. Anderson Downey & Cleveland LLP, Marietta, for appellees.
    Case Number: S02G1036

    A hospital employee was not acting within the scope of his employment when he continued touching the plaintiff's groin area for his own gratification after he checked the plaintiff's surgical

  • Sallie v. State

    Publication Date: 2003-04-04
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Palmer C. Singleton III Southern Ctr. For Human Rights and Christopher M. Johnson, Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Richard E. Currie, District Attorney, Waycross, Thurbert E. Baker Jr., Attorney General, and Patricia B. A. Burton, Assistant Attorney General, Atlanta, for appellee.
    Case Number: S02P1702

    Under O.C.G.A. § 17-3-3, the state had the right to re-indict defendant within six months of nolle prossing his first indictment, without running afoul of statute of limita

  • Rodriguez v. State

    Publication Date: 2002-07-12
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Norman H. Cuadra, Lawrence J. Zimmerman and Jason J. Kesser, Decatur, for appellant.
    for defendant: Gwendolyn R. Keyes, Solicitor, Akintunde A. Akinyele and Courtney L. Johnson, Assistant Solicitors, Decatur, for appellee. Amicus Appellants: Jose A. Delcampo, Keri P. Ware Nix, Delcampo, Thornton & Graddock, Decatur, and Douglas W. McDonald Jr. McDonald & Cody LLC, Cornelia.
    Case Number: S02A0412

    O.C.G.A. § 249-103, which requires officers to obtain a qualified interpreter when taking a hearing impaired person into custody, does not violate equal protection by failing to provide such accomm

  • Wright v. State

    Publication Date: 2001-10-12
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    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Sears, Leah Ward
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Richard M. Darden, Savannah, for appellant.
    for defendant: Spencer Lawton, Jr., District Attorney, Kimberly D. Rowden, Assistant District Attorney, Savannah, Thurbert E. Baker Jr., Attorney General, and Tammie J. Philbrick, Assistant Attorney General, Atlanta, for appellee.
    Case Number: S01A1176

    Defendant shot the victim in the back and side after the victim accused him of stealing a video game and fired a shot over defendant's