Ferry v. State

Decision Date20 September 1993
Docket NumberNo. A93A2246,A93A2246
Citation210 Ga.App. 321,436 S.E.2d 59
PartiesFERRY v. The STATE.
CourtGeorgia Court of Appeals

Vinson, Osborne, Talley & Richardson, James G. Richardson, Dallas, for appellant.

George C. Turner, Jr., Dist. Atty., James E. Barker, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee.

BEASLEY, Presiding Judge.

Defendant Ferry files this separate appeal from the denial of his motion for supersedeas bond, which is governed by OCGA § 17-6-1 and particularly subsections (e) and (g), following his conviction of two counts of child molestation. OCGA § 16-6-4(a). He was sentenced under subsection (b) to two fifteen-year concurrent sentences, to serve five years in prison and ten years on probation. He has moved this court for expedited consideration, and it is granted. See Bagby v. State, 176 Ga.App. 51, 335 S.E.2d 305 (1985). Note also that the appeal was expedited in Birge v. State, 238 Ga. 88, 230 S.E.2d 895 (1976): the denial of bond was November 2, and both appellate courts had ruled by December 6.

1. Ferry filed his notice of appeal of the denial of bond on June 11, 1993, following the trial court's oral pronouncement on June 3, that it would be denied, but prior to the memorialization of the ruling by written order filed on June 25. In the context of a pending motion for new trial, "premature filing is not a ground of dismissal in criminal cases, at least insofar as a criminal defendant is concerned. [Cit.]" Shirley v. State, 188 Ga.App. 357, 358(1), 373 S.E.2d 257 (1988). Likewise in this context, premature filing will not be deemed ground for dismissal.

2. As to the merits, Bagby differs. At the bond hearing in that case, the State failed to present any evidence at all, and the court's articulated basis for denial, that Bagby had been a "major target of the undercover drug investigation that was going on in Dawson County at the time he was arrested" was without support in the record.

In Ferry's case, the State, on direct examination of the victim's mother (defendant is the mother's great-uncle), testified that during the time the case was pending trial, defendant and his wife would drive by the victim's home, "slow down," and "stick their tongue out, smile, wave, make faces at the children out in the yard playing." This conduct, which continued for about three months, was reported to the police. In denying bond, the trial court stated that the people involved lived fairly close together and it was concerned that there would be further trouble in the future. This demonstrated and potential intimidation of witnesses, especially in the context of the nature of the crimes of which defendant Ferry was convicted, was a valid reason for denying bond as measured by the standard established in Birge, supra 238 Ga. at...

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6 cases
  • State v. Bryant
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • September 20, 1993
  • Wade v. State, A95A1037
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • August 18, 1995
    ...during the pendency of a motion for new trial or an appeal. See Howard v. State, 194 Ga.App. 857, 392 S.E.2d 562. Compare Ferry v. State, 210 Ga.App. 321, 436 S.E.2d 59. The question of appellate jurisdiction was not squarely addressed in Birge v. State, 238 Ga. 88, 230 S.E.2d 895. In Birge......
  • Ingle v. State, A95A0852
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • March 23, 1995
    ...§ 16-13-43(a)(6). Appellant has requested expedited consideration, to which she is entitled. OCGA § 5-6-43(c). See Ferry v. State, 210 Ga.App. 321, 436 S.E.2d 59 (1993). The issue is whether the trial court erred in denying bond without first affording appellant an evidentiary hearing. The ......
  • Peters v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • May 26, 1994
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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