State v. Shepperd, 40984
| Decision Date | 13 September 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 40984,40984 |
| Citation | 320 S.E.2d 154,253 Ga. 321 |
| Parties | The STATE v. SHEPPERD. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Barbara B. Conroy, Asst. Dist. Atty., Robert E. Wilson, Dist. Atty., Decatur, for the State.
Victoria D. Little, Decatur, for Timothy Lee Shepperd.
Timothy Lee Shepperd was indicted for murder and convicted of the lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter. The Court of Appeals, 170 Ga.App. 286, 316 S.E.2d 785 (1984), reversed his conviction holding the trial court erred in failing to give Shepperd's requested charge that where evidence of self-defense is presented the State has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense. State v. Royal, 247 Ga. 309, 275 S.E.2d 646 (1981); Jones v. State, 160 Ga.App. 209(2), 286 S.E.2d 764 (1981); Jolly v. State, 164 Ga.App. 240(2), 296 S.E.2d 784 (1982). For the reasons given in the Court of Appeals' opinion, we agree.
Judgment affirmed.
All the Justices concur, except MARSHALL, P.J., and WELTNER, J., who dissent.
In State v. Royal, 247 Ga. 309, 275 S.E.2d 646 (1981), we held: "Where a defendant raises an affirmative defense and testifies to the same, the burden is on the State to disprove the defense beyond a reasonable doubt."
That is without question a correct statement of the law of Georgia, inasmuch as it is always the burden of the state to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt--that being but the converse of the requirement of disproving any defense which might be raised.
That is not to say, however, that this principle (or any other principle of law) must in every case be given in charge under pain of reversal. "[I]t is no longer necessary to give the exact language of requests to charge when the same principles are fairly given to the jury in the general charge of the court." Herrmann v. State, 235 Ga. 400, 402, 220 S.E.2d 2 (1975).
In this case, the jury was instructed as follows:
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Bruce v. Smith
...7, 9-10, 413 S.E.2d 722 (1992), overruled on other grounds by Coleman v. State, 264 Ga. 253, 443 S.E.2d 626 (1994); State v. Shepperd, 253 Ga. 321, 320 S.E.2d 154 (1984). 13. See Bishop, 271 Ga. at 291-292, 519 S.E.2d 206. 14. See Appellate Court Performance Standards, Standard 1.2 (1995). ......
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...statement of the law and is adjusted to the evidence. Griffin v. State, 267 Ga. 586(1), 481 S.E.2d 223 (1997); State v. Shepperd, 253 Ga. 321, 320 S.E.2d 154 (1984). The holding to the contrary in Bruce v. State, 259 Ga. 798, 799(3), 387 S.E.2d 886 (1990) is hereby overruled. To the extent ......
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