Willis v. State
| Citation | 436 S.E.2d 204,263 Ga. 597 |
| Decision Date | 01 November 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. S93A1084,S93A1084 |
| Parties | WILLIS v. The STATE. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Georgia |
Nancy A. Bradford, Mullins & Whalen, Griffin, for Willis.
Michael J. Bowers, Atty. Gen., Atlanta, Johnnie L. Caldwell, Jr., Dist. Atty., William T. McBroom III, Asst. Dist. Atty., Griffin, Susan V. Boleyn, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen., Dept. of Law, Atlanta, Matthew P. Stone, Staff Atty., for State.
Annie Jewell Willis was convicted of felony murder in the death of Wiley Barkley and aggravated assault in the shooting of Martha Clemmons. She was sentenced to life in prison for the felony murder and a concurrent twenty-year sentence for the aggravated assault. She appeals and we affirm. 1
1. In her first five enumerations of error Willis argues that the verdict was strongly against the evidence and that the trial court should have granted her motion for a directed verdict. Willis relies on Ricketts v. Williams, 242 Ga. 303, 248 S.E.2d 673 (1978) and OCGA § 5-5-21 as support for her argument that the trial court should have granted her a directed verdict or a new trial because the evidence preponderates heavily against the trier of facts' determination.
Willis presents multiple arguments as to why the state's main witness was not credible and, based on her interpretation of Ricketts, argues that this court can consider the credibility of witnesses in determining the weight of the evidence. She then asks this court to conclude that this witness was not credible, that the evidence is therefore not sufficient to support her conviction, and to correct the trial court's error by granting her a directed verdict.
Willis' reliance on Ricketts and OCGA § 5-5-21 is misplaced. This authority relates to the standard of review to be utilized by the trial court in determining whether to grant a new trial, not a directed verdict. Moreover, even if Willis were asking for a new trial she would not be entitled to one under Ricketts. When the trial court makes a determination on whether to grant a new trial, the trial judge sits as a "thirteenth juror" and in "exceptional cases" may grant a new trial. Ricketts, 242 Ga. at 304, 248 S.E.2d 673. The decision to grant a new trial on the grounds that the verdict is strongly against the evidence is one that is solely in the discretion of the trial court. Id. The appellate courts do not have the same discretion to order new trials as is granted to trial courts in OCGA § 5-5-21. Drake v. State, 241 Ga. 583, 585, 247 S.E.2d 57 (1978). Whether an appellant is asking this court to review a lower court's refusal to grant a new trial or its refusal to grant a motion for a directed verdict, this court can only review the case under the standard espoused in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) to determine if the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, supports the verdict. Humphrey v. State 252 Ga. 525, 527, 314 S.E.2d 436 (1984). Contrary to Willis' contention, the appellate courts do not resolve conflicts in trial testimony nor do they weigh the evidence on appeal. Booker v. State, 257 Ga. 37, 38, 354 S.E.2d 425 (1987).
The facts when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution are sufficient to prove that after an argument with the two victims, Willis was pushed out of the apartment she shared with them. Upon being allowed back into the apartment, she obtained a handgun from a purse, threatened to kill them both and then shot them both, causing Barkley's death. After reviewing the record, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found Willis guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault beyond a reasonable doubt, and the trial court did not err in refusing to grant a directed verdict or motion for new trial. Jackson v. Virginia, supra.
2. Willis made an incriminating statement to a sheriff's deputy which was introduced by the state at trial. Willis contends that she did not knowingly and intelligently waive her right to silence when she made this statement. Willis points out that she has an IQ of only 62 2 and that she was intoxicated (blood alcohol level of .19) at the time she made this statement.
When reviewing a trial court's determination that a waiver has been made with full awareness of the right being waived and the consequences of that waiver, an appellate court will uphold the trial court's findings relating to admissibility of an incriminating statement unless clearly erroneous. Carter v. State, 257 Ga. 510, 513, 361 S.E.2d 175 (1987).
A mere showing that an accused who makes a statement has a high blood alcohol level or may be suffering from some mental disability is not a sufficient basis to automatically exclude a statement. See Carter, 257 Ga. at 513...
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Allison v. State
...and punctuation omitted; emphasis supplied.) Batten v. State , 295 Ga. 442, 444 (1), 761 S.E.2d 70 (2014) (citing Willis v. State , 263 Ga. 597 (1), 436 S.E.2d 204 (1993) ). Because OCGA §§ 5-5-20 and 5-5-21 offer remedies reserved to the trial court, Allison's argument that this Court shou......
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Watkins v. State
...trial court." (Citations and punctuation omitted). Batten v. State, 295 Ga. 442, 444(1), 761 S.E.2d 70 (2014) (citing Willis v. State, 263 Ga. 597(1), 436 S.E.2d 204 (1993) ). Accordingly, we will only "review the case under the standard espoused in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.C......
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Crowe v. State
...case be given copies of material, exculpatory evidence, but only that such evidence be made available to him. See Willis v. State, 263 Ga. 597, 599, 436 S.E.2d 204 (1993). Accordingly, this enumeration is without 8. Because the prosecution's file was open to Crowe, there was no error in the......
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Stone v. State, A05A0692.
...282 S.E.2d 301 (IQ of 86), and Williams, supra at 301(1), 232 S.E.2d 535 (IQ between 69 and 84), had lower IQs than Stone. See also Willis v. State10 (IQ of 62); Goodwin v. State11 (IQ of 58). The juvenile defendant in Williams, supra at 301(1), 232 S.E.2d 535, only had a third grade readin......