Collier v. State

109 Citing cases

  1. Stevens v. State

    247 Ga. 698 (Ga. 1981)   Cited 74 times

    All the present charges against the defendant arise out of a continuous course of conduct and therefore come within the above quoted standard for joinder of offenses, escape being necessarily a part of the crime. See Collier v. State, 244 Ga. 553 ( 261 S.E.2d 364) (1979). There is no merit in this enumeration of error.

  2. Brockman v. State

    292 Ga. 707 (Ga. 2013)   Cited 51 times
    Holding that the trial court’s adoption of a proposed order verbatim did not amount to either a denial of due process or evidence that the trial court failed to exercise its discretion under OCGA §§ 5-5-20 and 5-5-21

    Therefore, based on his own testimony, the “criminal scheme” was ongoing when Brockman shot the victim. See generally Collier v. State, supra, 244 Ga. 553, 560(3), 261 S.E.2d 364 (1979) (“A homicide is within the res gestae of the underlying felony for the purpose of the felony-murder rule if it is committed while fleeing the scene of the crime.”). Moreover, Brockman acted with criminal negligence when he pointed the loaded gun at Lynn, rendering the defense of accident inapplicable.

  3. Speed v. State

    270 Ga. 688 (Ga. 1999)   Cited 36 times

    The trial court did not err by sending a written copy of the alleged statutory aggravating circumstances out with the jury during its deliberations, as required by OCGA § 17-10-30(c). See Collier v. State, 244 Ga. 553, 569(13) ( 261 S.E.2d 364) (1979), overruled on other grounds Thompson v. State, 263 Ga. 23, 25-26(2) ( 426 S.E.2d 895) (1993). 41.

  4. Wallace v. State

    248 Ga. 255 (Ga. 1981)   Cited 39 times
    Finding that lay testimony of defendant's father, sister, and minister was competent, during special plea of insanity, where they testified about defendant's difficulty carrying on conversations, sniffing gas as a child, and beliefs about phantom illnesses

    Appellant argues that the exclusion of this testimony prevented the jury from considering all mitigating circumstances, citing Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586 ( 98 S.C. 2954, 57 L.Ed.2d 973) (1978). The witness was allowed to testify as to the facts and circumstances of the appellant's life that were of a mitigating nature and the trial court did not err in excluding the personal opinion of the witness as to whether the death penalty should be imposed. Brooks v. State, 244 Ga. 574 (5) ( 261 S.E.2d 379) (1979); Collier v. State, 244 Ga. 553 ( 261 S.E.2d 364) (1979). 11.

  5. Jefferson v. Terry

    490 F. Supp. 2d 1261 (N.D. Ga. 2007)   Cited 10 times   2 Legal Analyses
    Granting habeas relief, and thus vacating death-penalty judgment, on unrebutted testimony produced before the state habeas court, which was later overlooked or ignored by the state supreme court

    In Collier v. State, 244 Ga. 553, 261 S.E.2d 364 (1979), overruled on other grounds, Thompson v. State, 263 Ga. 23, 426 S.E.2d 895 (1993), the Supreme Court of Georgia squarely rejected the notion that giving written instructions to the jury on aggravating circumstances without also giving written instructions on mitigating circumstances prejudices the jury in favor of finding aggravating circumstances. 244 Ga. at 569, 261 S.E.2d 364; see also Tucker v. State, 244 Ga. 721, 729, 261 S.E.2d 635 (1979) (rejecting same challenge), overruled on other grounds, Woodard v. State, 269 Ga. 317, 496 S.E.2d 896 (1998).

  6. Gissendaner v. State

    272 Ga. 704 (Ga. 2000)   Cited 106 times   3 Legal Analyses
    Holding that the rules of evidence are not suspended in the sentencing phase but that they may, under proper circumstances, yield to the need to present reliable mitigating evidence

    Evidence that is inadmissible under this State's rules of evidence need only be admitted when the potentially-mitigating influence of the evidence outweighs the harm resulting from the violation of the evidence rule. Collier v. State, 244 Ga. 553, 566-568 (11) ( 261 S.E.2d 364) (1979) (applying Green v. Georgia, 442 U.S. 95 ( 99 S.C. 2150, 60 L.E.2d 738) (1979)). Because the evidence rules exist for the purpose of winnowing out unreliable evidence, a trial court, in determining the admissibility of proffered evidence, must consider whether "substantial reasons exist to assume its reliability" Collier v. State, 244 Ga. at 567.

  7. Nelson v. State

    274 S.E.2d 317 (Ga. 1981)   Cited 29 times
    In Nelson v. State, 247 Ga. 172 (3) (274 S.E.2d 317) (1981), we set out the factors for determining whether there has been a denial of the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.

    This low dismissal rate corroborates the absence of such prejudicial pretrial publicity as would require the grant of the appellant's motion for change of venue. Murphy v. Florida, 421 U.S. 794 ( 95 S.C. 2031, 44 L.Ed.2d 589) (1975); Tucker v. State, 244 Ga. 721 (12) ( 261 S.E.2d 635) (1979); Collier v. State, 244 Ga. 553, 572 ( 261 S.E.2d 364) (1979). In addition, the prospective jurors were carefully questioned in order to ensure that the jurors selected to try the case were not prejudiced by pretrial rumors.

  8. Burger v. State

    245 Ga. 458 (Ga. 1980)   Cited 51 times

    The evidence of kidnapping and armed robbery was necessarily before them, it being an integral part of the criminal transaction and such evidence authorized a finding that the murder was committed during two felonies, kidnapping and armed robbery. Collier v. State, 244 Ga. 553 ( 261 S.E.2d 364) (1979); Stephens v. Hopper, 241 Ga. 596 ( 247 S.E.2d 92) (1978). After a review of the transcript and record in this case, we conclude that the sentence of death was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor.

  9. Collier v. Turpin

    177 F.3d 1184 (11th Cir. 1999)   Cited 136 times   2 Legal Analyses
    Holding that performance during penalty phase was deficient despite adequate investigation where the presentation of mitigating evidence is wholly inadequate and amounts to nothing more than "an empty shell of the testimony necessary" for the jury to make an individualized determination concerning the proper sentence for the defendant

    On direct appeal, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Collier's convictions and sentences for felony murder, aggravated assault, and two of the three armed robberies; the court reversed Collier's conviction for one of the armed robbery offenses because it had served as a lesser included offense of the felony murder. See Collier v. State, 261 S.E.2d 364, 374 (Ga. 1979), overruled in part by Thompson v. State, 426 S.E.2d 895 (1993). Collier's petition for a writ of certiorari from the United States Supreme Court was denied.

  10. Collier v. Turpin

    155 F.3d 1277 (11th Cir. 1998)   Cited 2 times

    On direct appeal, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Collier's convictions and sentences for felony murder, aggravated assault, and two of the three armed robberies; the court reversed Collier's conviction for one of the armed robbery offenses because it had served as a lesser included offense of the felony murder. See Collier v. State, 261 S.E.2d 364, 374 (Ga. 1979), overruled in part by Thompson v. State, 426 S.E.2d 895 (1993). Collier's petition for a writ of certiorari from the United States Supreme Court was denied.