Hall v. State
| Decision Date | 28 March 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. S94A0113,S94A0113 |
| Citation | 264 Ga. 85,441 S.E.2d 245 |
| Parties | HALL v. STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Lloyd D. Murray, Pembroke, for Carl Anthony Hall.
Dupont K. Cheney, Dist. Atty., Atlantic Judicial Circuit, J. Thomas Durden, Asst. Dist. Atty., Hinesville, Michael J. Bowers, Atty. Gen., Susan V. Boleyn, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, for the State.
Paige M. Reese, Staff Atty., Atlanta.
Carl Anthony Hall was convicted of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. 1 He appeals.
1. The evidence adduced at trial authorized the jury to find that after Wendell McClain confronted appellant to tell him to stop selling illegal drugs around his son, the men argued. Although Mr. McClain walked away, when he returned to his car parked in the area, appellant approached him and reinitiated the argument. A bystander who asked appellant why he was heading towards Mr. McClain testified that appellant responded that he was "tired of [Mr. McClain's] bull." Jacquelyn McClain, Wendell's sister, and the bystander intervened to try to stop the argument. Appellant produced a semi-automatic gun and killed Ms. McClain by shooting her once in the forehead. As Mr. McClain fought with him, appellant fired two more shots, one of which penetrated both of Mr. McClain's legs. Neither victim was armed.
Although appellant testified that he fired the shots in self-defense because he believed Mr. McClain was getting a weapon out of his car and that he did not intend to shoot Ms. McClain, the jury was the arbiter of credibility including as to appellant's explanation. See Glover v. State, 237 Ga. 859, 860, 230 S.E.2d 293 (1976). We find the evidence sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty of the charged crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).
2. We find no merit in appellant's argument that his character was impermissibly placed into evidence by the admission of Mr. McClain's testimony regarding why he approached appellant. Evidence that is material in explaining the conduct of the witness does not become inadmissible simply because defendant's character is incidentally put in issue. Moss v. State, 148 Ga.App. 459(2), 251 S.E.2d 374 (1978). Mr. McClain's testimony was independently relevant as it explained the argument between the men which directly led to the murder and aggravated assault. Accord Baxter v. State, 254 Ga. 538(16), 331 S.E.2d 561 (1985).
3. We find no abuse of the trial court's discretion in propounding questions of appellant regarding the manner in which the semi-automatic weapon in issue could be fired. Sheriff v. State, 197 Ga.App. 143(4), 397 S.E.2d 732 (1990).
4. The trial court did not err by failing to charge the jury on the lesser included offenses of simple battery and involuntary manslaughter, as the battery charge was not required where the indictment charged appellant with assault with a deadly weapon and the evidence showed beyond a doubt that an assault was committed with a deadly weapon, see Scott v. State, 208 Ga.App. 561(1), 430 S.E.2d...
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Rowland v. State
...that are timely filed after the trial court's grant of the defendant's motion for an out-of-time appeal. See e.g., Hall v. State, 264 Ga. 85 n. 1, 441 S.E.2d 245 (1994); Massengale v. State, 264 Ga. 51 n. 1, 441 S.E.2d 238 (1994); Ashley v. State, 263 Ga. 820, n. 1, 439 S.E.2d 914 (1994); S......
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Wright v. State, S02A1350.
...frustration over her decision to end their marriage. See Ware v. State, 273 Ga. 16, 17(2), 537 S.E.2d 657 (2000); Hall v. State, 264 Ga. 85, 86(2), 441 S.E.2d 245 (1994). Although Wright attempted to refute the State's theory of the case and show that he did not have the motive ascribed to ......
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Johnson v. State
...mother, the trial court did not express its opinion as to what had been proven, and we find no abuse of discretion. Hall v. State, 264 Ga. 85, 86(3), 441 S.E.2d 245 (1994); Eagle v. State, supra at 3(3), 440 S.E.2d 2. 7. Johnson contends that his trial counsel was ineffective. Although this......
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Parker v. State, A00A0254.
...material evidence does not become inadmissible simply because it incidentally places the defendant's character in issue. Hall v. State, 264 Ga. 85, 441 S.E.2d 245 (1994); Moss v. State, 148 Ga.App. 459, 251 S.E.2d 374 (1978). Further, this evidence was independently relevant as it, at a min......