Simmons v. Boros
Supreme Court of Georgia · 1986-03-18 · cited 21×
The case involved a contract dispute in which Bobby Simmons sued Jeno Boros for allegedly defective repairs to the engine of Simmons's Fiat Spyder, after Boros had agreed to perform the work for a set price plus parts with a 60-day/600-mile warranty. Simmons brought claims in both tort and contract but proceeded at trial solely on the breach of contract theory. The trial court directed a verdict for Boros on the ground that Simmons had not proved the car's value before and after the repairs, relying on precedent from a tort case. On certiorari, the Georgia Supreme Court held that the proper measure of damages for defective workmanship in a contract action is generally the cost of repairing the defect, but it affirmed the directed verdict because the Court of Appeals had correctly found the evidence insufficient to establish either a breach or the amount of damages.
business & regulatoryprocedure
Davis v. State
Supreme Court of Georgia · 1986-03-11 · cited 86×
In Davis v. State, John Michael Davis was convicted by a jury of murder and armed robbery after pleading guilty to theft by bringing stolen property into Georgia; the jury recommended and the trial court imposed a death sentence for the murder of Susan Marlene Isham, along with prison terms for the other offenses. Davis appealed, raising 29 enumerations of error related to the admission of his confessions, restrictions on presenting testimony from his girlfriend Patricia Underwood, jury selection and instructions, and other trial rulings. The court reviewed the detailed evidence of the December 1983 motel-room strangling, Davis's conflicting accounts at trial, and supporting witness testimony, then addressed the claims and found no reversible error in either the guilt-innocence or sentencing phases.
criminal lawprocedure
Adams v. State
Supreme Court of Georgia · 1986-01-17 · cited 43×
Charles Adams was convicted by a jury of murder and three counts of aggravated assault arising from a May 1984 road-rage incident in which he shot and killed the driver of another vehicle after a confrontation at a stop sign. On appeal, Adams challenged the sufficiency of the evidence and certain jury instructions on witness impeachment and verdict form. The court affirmed the convictions, holding that the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient for a rational jury to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt under Jackson v. Virginia, and that the challenged instructions and general verdict created no reversible error when the charge was considered as a whole and in light of the facts of the case.
criminal lawprocedure
Hightower v. General Motors Corp.
Supreme Court of Georgia · 1986-01-09 · cited 31×
In this case, plaintiffs Steve and Linda Hightower sued General Motors and a dealership for damages related to defects in their Corvette, including loss of use and bad faith. During the trial, the defendants introduced evidence of Steve Hightower's guilty plea to third-degree arson under Georgia's First Offender Act, which arose from an incident where he arranged for his other car to be stolen and burned to support an insurance claim; this contradicted his testimony denying involvement. The trial court admitted the plea over objection, leading to a defense verdict, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the ruling, holding that while it did not decide whether a first-offender plea could be used to show a conviction for impeachment, the plea was admissible to disprove facts testified to by the plaintiff and as a prior inconsistent statement. The court reasoned that such evidence was necessary to prevent the jury from being misled by false or deceptive testimony in the civil proceeding.
criminal lawproceduretorts & liability
Roberts v. State
Supreme Court of Georgia · 1985-11-19 · cited 7×
In Roberts v. State, the defendant was charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon following a fatal shooting after a dispute. The trial court admitted evidence of the defendant's prior voluntary manslaughter conviction only for the firearm charge, and the jury convicted him of felony murder (with the firearm count set aside as lesser included). The defendant appealed, claiming the prior conviction prejudiced the murder charge. The court affirmed, ruling that the evidence was properly admitted under Head v. State procedures since the firearm possession could underlie the felony murder conviction, and the jury received limiting instructions.
criminal lawgunsprocedure
Georgia State Board of Pharmacy v. Lovvorn
Supreme Court of Georgia · 1985-11-19 · cited 13×
The case concerned whether Thomas B. Murphy, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives and an attorney, could represent a pharmacist and pharmacy before the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy in a disciplinary proceeding without violating the state constitution's provision that public officers are trustees of the people. The Board sought to disqualify Murphy based on a prior ruling in Dept. of Human Resources v. Sistrunk, which barred legislators from representing clients for financial gain against the state. The court affirmed the lower court's denial of disqualification, holding that Sistrunk does not extend to situations where the legislator-attorney charges no fee, as the constitution does not prohibit serving constituents without personal financial gain. Three justices concurred in the judgment only while preferring to overrule Sistrunk, and three dissented in favor of a broader disqualification rule grounded in the legislator's oath and professional ethics.
procedurebusiness & regulatory