Georgia Case Commentaries

Deference to Trial Counsel’s Strategic Defense Choices and Standards for Affirmative Defense Jury Instructions in Fox v. State

Date: May 7, 2025

Deference to Trial Counsel’s Strategic Defense Choices and Standards for Affirmative Defense Jury Instructions in Fox v. State Introduction Fox v. State, decided May 6, 2025 by the Supreme Court of...

“Denny v. State: Limits on Chain-of-Custody Objections and Counsel Performance Under Strickland”

Date: May 7, 2025

Denny v. State: Limits on Chain-of-Custody Objections and Counsel Performance Under Strickland Introduction In Denny v. State, decided May 6, 2025, the Supreme Court of Georgia addressed whether...

Intrinsic Evidence Doctrine Clarified: Admissibility of Defendant’s Drug Use Under OCGA §24-4-404(b)

Date: May 7, 2025

Intrinsic Evidence Doctrine Clarified: Admissibility of Defendant’s Drug Use Under OCGA §24-4-404(b) Introduction In Coleman v. State, decided May 6, 2025, the Supreme Court of Georgia addressed the...

Accomplice Jury Instruction as Judicial Opinion: Mandatory New Trial Under OCGA § 17-8-57(c)

Date: Apr 9, 2025

Accomplice Jury Instruction as Judicial Opinion: Mandatory New Trial Under OCGA § 17-8-57(c) Introduction State v. Cleveland and State v. Williams were consolidated appeals decided by the Supreme...

Harmless Error Standards for Confrontation Clause Violations in Overwhelming Evidence: Kingdom v. State

Date: Apr 9, 2025

Harmless Error Standards for Confrontation Clause Violations in Overwhelming Evidence Introduction In the case of Kingdom v. State, decided April 8, 2025 by the Supreme Court of Georgia, defendant...

Mandatory Prosecutorial Consent and Broad Discretion in Retroactive First-Offender Treatment: Ballard v. State

Date: Apr 9, 2025

Mandatory Prosecutorial Consent and Broad Discretion in Retroactive First-Offender Treatment: Ballard v. State Introduction Ballard v. State, decided April 8, 2025 by the Supreme Court of Georgia,...

Williams v. State: Clarifying the State’s Burden to Disprove Justification and the Prejudice Standard in Ineffective Assistance Claims

Date: Apr 9, 2025

Williams v. State: Clarifying the State’s Burden to Disprove Justification and the Prejudice Standard in Ineffective Assistance Claims Introduction In Williams v. State, the Supreme Court of Georgia...

Jurisdictional Continuity under OCGA § 17-7-50.1: Superior Court Retains Authority Despite Delayed Reindictment

Date: Apr 9, 2025

Jurisdictional Continuity under OCGA § 17-7-50.1: Superior Court Retains Authority Despite Delayed Reindictment Introduction Cooper v. State, decided April 8, 2025, by the Supreme Court of Georgia,...

Accomplice Designation as Judicial Commentary on Guilt Violates OCGA §17-8-57 in State v. Cleveland

Date: Apr 9, 2025

Accomplice Designation as Judicial Commentary on Guilt Violates OCGA §17-8-57 Introduction State v. Cleveland, decided April 8, 2025 by the Supreme Court of Georgia, concerns two...

State v. Brantley (2025): No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Recorded Jail Calls & Rational-Basis Equal Protection

Date: Apr 9, 2025

State v. Brantley (2025): No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Recorded Jail Calls & Rational-Basis Equal Protection Introduction In State v. Brantley, 311 Ga. 1 (2025), the Supreme Court of...

No Ineffective Assistance Without Nonfrivolous Appeal or Serious Provocation: Pinckney v. State

Date: Apr 9, 2025

No Ineffective Assistance Without Nonfrivolous Appeal or Serious Provocation: Pinckney v. State Introduction In Pinckney v. State, S25A0267 (Ga. Apr. 8, 2025), the Supreme Court of Georgia addressed...

New Precedent on Blood Test Evidence in DUI Cases: Constitutional Protections and Exclusionary Considerations

Date: Mar 20, 2025

New Precedent on Blood Test Evidence in DUI Cases: Constitutional Protections and Exclusionary Considerations Introduction The Supreme Court of Georgia’s decision in THE STATE v. DIAS establishes...

Implied Consent Reaffirmed: Voluntary Consent and Evidence Admissibility in DUI Cases

Date: Mar 9, 2025

Implied Consent Reaffirmed: Voluntary Consent and Evidence Admissibility in DUI Cases Introduction The case of La Anyane v. The State brings to the fore a fundamental question regarding the...

Direct Evidence Prevails: Clarifying Accomplice Testimony and Circumstantial Evidence in Felony Cases

Date: Mar 9, 2025

Direct Evidence Prevails: Clarifying Accomplice Testimony and Circumstantial Evidence in Felony Cases Introduction The case of Dillard v. The State before the Supreme Court of Georgia addresses...

New Precedent on Cumulative Evidence and Waiver of Mistrial Rights in Homicide Cases: The Collins v. The State Decision

Date: Mar 9, 2025

New Precedent on Cumulative Evidence and Waiver of Mistrial Rights in Homicide Cases: The Collins v. The State Decision Introduction The Supreme Court of Georgia’s decision in Collins v. The State...

Clarifying the Justification Defense in Felon-in-Possession Cases: The Need for Tailored Jury Instructions in Hill v. The State

Date: Mar 9, 2025

Clarifying the Justification Defense in Felon-in-Possession Cases: The Need for Tailored Jury Instructions in Hill v. The State Introduction The Supreme Court of Georgia’s decision in Hill v. The...

Previous Next

Georgia Case Commentaries

Deference to Trial Counsel’s Strategic Defense Choices and Standards for Affirmative Defense Jury Instructions in Fox v. State

“Denny v. State: Limits on Chain-of-Custody Objections and Counsel Performance Under Strickland”

Intrinsic Evidence Doctrine Clarified: Admissibility of Defendant’s Drug Use Under OCGA §24-4-404(b)

Accomplice Jury Instruction as Judicial Opinion: Mandatory New Trial Under OCGA § 17-8-57(c)

Harmless Error Standards for Confrontation Clause Violations in Overwhelming Evidence: Kingdom v. State

Mandatory Prosecutorial Consent and Broad Discretion in Retroactive First-Offender Treatment: Ballard v. State

Williams v. State: Clarifying the State’s Burden to Disprove Justification and the Prejudice Standard in Ineffective Assistance Claims

Jurisdictional Continuity under OCGA § 17-7-50.1: Superior Court Retains Authority Despite Delayed Reindictment

Accomplice Designation as Judicial Commentary on Guilt Violates OCGA §17-8-57 in State v. Cleveland

State v. Brantley (2025): No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Recorded Jail Calls & Rational-Basis Equal Protection

No Ineffective Assistance Without Nonfrivolous Appeal or Serious Provocation: Pinckney v. State

New Precedent on Blood Test Evidence in DUI Cases: Constitutional Protections and Exclusionary Considerations

Implied Consent Reaffirmed: Voluntary Consent and Evidence Admissibility in DUI Cases

Direct Evidence Prevails: Clarifying Accomplice Testimony and Circumstantial Evidence in Felony Cases

New Precedent on Cumulative Evidence and Waiver of Mistrial Rights in Homicide Cases: The Collins v. The State Decision

Clarifying the Justification Defense in Felon-in-Possession Cases: The Need for Tailored Jury Instructions in Hill v. The State

Clarifying "Bad Faith" in Claims for Litigation Expenses under OCGA § 13-6-11

Reaffirming the Relevance of Extrinsic Evidence in Establishing Criminal Intent under OCGA § 16-6-5

New Precedent: Affirming Discretion in Investigator Sequestration and Defendant Autonomy in Defense Strategy

Defining the Limits of the Habitation Defense in Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims