Todd v. State

75 Citing cases

  1. Carruthers v. State

    272 Ga. 306 (Ga. 2000)   Cited 59 times
    Holding that it is inappropriate for a prosecutor to cite Bible passages in the sentencing phase of a capital case because "[l]anguage of command and obligation from a source other than [state] law should not be presented to the jury"

    263 Ga. 37 ( 427 S.E.2d 770) (1993). See id. at 45 (19); Greene v. State, 266 Ga. 439 (26) ( 469 S.E.2d 129) (1996); Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766, 767-768 n. 2 (2) ( 410 S.E.2d 725) (1991); see also Carr v. State, 267 Ga. 547 ( 480 S.E.2d 583) (1997) ("references to religion which invite jurors to base their verdict on extraneous matters not in evidence should be avoided in prosecutorial argument").People v. Wrest, 13 Cal.Rptr.2d 511, 839 P.2d 1020 (1992).

  2. Hittson v. State

    264 Ga. 682 (Ga. 1994)   Cited 19 times

    The record does not show that Hittson moved to strike prospective juror Willis for cause and the trial court did not err in failing to excuse this juror sua sponte. Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766, 770 (5) ( 410 S.E.2d 725) (1991). Hittson alleges that prospective jurors Byars, Dawson and Maze indicated that they would not fairly consider the imposition of a life sentence.

  3. Turpin v. Todd

    271 Ga. 386 (Ga. 1999)   Cited 25 times
    Upholding the habeas court's finding of actual prejudice based in part on the fact that "there was a substantial probability that at least one juror would have voted for life imprisonment" instead of the death penalty but for the improper communication with the bailiff

    William Lamar Todd was convicted of malice murder and armed robbery in connection with the death of Randy Churchwell and was sentenced to death. His convictions were affirmed by this Court in Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766 ( 410 S.E.2d 725) (1991), and the U.S. Supreme Court denied Todd's petition for a writ of certiorari. Todd v. Georgia, 506 U.S. 838 ( 113 S.Ct. 117, 121 L.E.2d 73) (1992). Thereafter, Todd filed a petition for habeas corpus in the Superior Court of Butts County, which court vacated Todd's death sentence after finding that the sentencing phase of Todd's trial had been adversely impacted by two occurrences: an improper jury-bailiff communication which the State had not proven to be harmless; and the failure to have an ex parte hearing on Todd's request at trial for funds for independent psychiatric assistance.

  4. Whatley v. State

    270 Ga. 296 (Ga. 1998)   Cited 74 times
    Holding that Whatley had waived his right to complain on direct appeal about his shackling, because he had failed to object at trial

    "When no timely objection is interposed, the test for reversible error is not simply whether or not the argument is objectionable, or even if it might have contributed to the verdict; the test is whether the improper argument in reasonable probability changed the result of the trial." Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766, 767(2)(a) ( 410 S.E.2d 725) (1991). We find no error sufficient to overcome Whatley's procedural default.

  5. Pye v. State

    269 Ga. 779 (Ga. 1998)   Cited 72 times
    Approving strike based on community inquiry

    [Cit.]Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766, 767 (2) (a) ( 410 S.E.2d 725) (1991). We find no error sufficient to overcome Pye's procedural default.

  6. Moore v. State

    427 S.E.2d 766 (Ga. 1993)   Cited 15 times
    In Moore v. State, 263 Ga. 11 (427 S.E.2d 766) (1993), this Court affirmed the judgment of conviction, but vacated the sentence and remanded the case for re-sentencing. At Moore's request, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

    3. There was no error in the admission in evidence of color photographs or of clothing worn by the victim. Moses v. State, 245 Ga. 180 (6) ( 263 S.E.2d 916) (1980); Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766 (9) ( 410 S.E.2d 725) (1991). 4. There was no error in the court's charge on felony murder.

  7. Stubbs v. State

    727 S.E.2d 229 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012)   Cited 4 times
    In Stubbs, however, the defendant specifically approved of the curative instructions to be given and did not renew his motion for mistrial afterward, and thus waived appellate review.

    As the trial court held when it denied the motion for new trial, “[w]hen no timely objection is interposed, the test for reversible error is not simply whether or not the argument is objectionable, or even if it might have contributed to the verdict; the test is whether the improper argument in reasonable probability changed the result of the trial.” Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766, 767(2), 410 S.E.2d 725 (1991). In the context of a claim for ineffective assistance, then, a defendant would be required to show a reasonable probability that a trial court would have granted a motion for mistrial concerning the argument at issue.

  8. 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

    Pretermitting the questions of whether the children's drawings contained in the letters were admissible or whether Gissendaner ever attempted to admit the drawings by themselves, we conclude that the drawings by themselves would have had no effect on the jury's deliberations. See Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766, 767-768 (2) (a) ( 410 S.E.2d 725) (1991). In light of all of the foregoing, we conclude that the trial court did not err in excluding the disputed letters.

  9. Pace v. State

    271 Ga. 829 (Ga. 1999)   Cited 70 times
    Holding that “ prospective juror is not subject to excusal for cause for merely leaning for or against a death sentence”

    The argument that the Crime Lab microanalyst's work had been "peer-reviewed" was proper because the microanalyst testified that her work had been peer-reviewed. The comment that Pace's hair "matched" crime scene hairs was a permissible inference, see Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766 (2) (a) ( 410 S.E.2d 725) (1991); in addition, after Pace's objection, the prosecutor clarified that the hairs were "microscopically similar, such as to have a common origin." The "send a message" argument is permissible in the guilt-innocence phase.

  10. Turpin v. Todd

    268 Ga. 820 (Ga. 1997)   Cited 86 times
    Finding cause for a petitioner's failure to raise a claim of juror misconduct on appeal based, in part, on there being "no evidence . . . that would have alerted trial or appellate counsel to the presence of any misconduct by the jury or the bailiff"

    The State has filed a direct appeal of the habeas court's grant of relief, S97A1354, and Todd has filed a cross-appeal from the denial of relief as to guilt-innocence issues and as to the habeas court's adverse rulings on issues relating to the sentencing phase, S97X1396. Todd v. State, 261 Ga. 766 ( 410 S.E.2d 765) (1991).Todd v. Georgia, 506 U.S. 838 ( 113 S.Ct. 117, 121 L.Ed.2d 73) (1992) (rehearing denied 506 U.S. 1015 ( 113 S.Ct. 640, 121 L.Ed.2d 570) (1992)).