Bannister v. State
306 Ga. 289
| Ga. | 2019Background
- On Sept. 24, 2011, Anthony Johnson Jr. was fatally shot during a meeting at Ricardo Linton’s townhouse arranged to buy two pounds of marijuana; Donald Bannister (Appellant) brought the drugs and had a gun cocked before buyers arrived.
- A struggle occurred after one buyer (Denson) drew a gun; Appellant fired, hitting Johnson in the back; three casings and bullets found matched the fatal bullet.
- Linton initially told police the scene was a burglary, later admitted the planned drug deal and that Bannister was present; Linton testified against Bannister under immunity and sometimes characterized Bannister as a “hero.”
- Circumstantial evidence: phone records linked Appellant to the scene, a Volvo he owned was repainted after the shooting, he disposed of clothes and the gun, and jail calls included inculpatory admissions.
- Bannister was convicted of felony murder and a firearm offense; he moved for a new trial and appealed, raising sufficiency, ineffective assistance, juror deadlock/Allen charge, Batson, and evidentiary objections to jail-call recordings.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Bannister) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency / weight of evidence | Evidence was insufficient to support convictions; verdict against weight. | Evidence viewed in light most favorable to verdict proves Bannister shot and killed Johnson; circumstantial post-shooting acts support guilt. | Affirmed: evidence sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia standard. |
| Ineffective assistance for withdrawing voluntary manslaughter and mutual combat instructions | Trial counsel was deficient for withdrawing those lesser-included/instruction requests. | No evidence supported those instructions; counsel’s strategic withdrawal was reasonable. | Affirmed: no ineffective assistance; withdrawal was a reasonable strategy. |
| Denial of mistrial and Allen charge after jury deadlock | Trial court should have declared mistrial; Allen charge was coercive. | Trial court properly exercised discretion; pattern Allen charge was non-coercive in context. | Affirmed: no abuse of discretion denying mistrial; no plain error in Allen charge. |
| Batson challenge to peremptory strikes | State improperly struck majority of African‑American women on venire; prima facie case made. | Percentage of strikes here did not compel a prima facie finding; trial court did not abuse discretion. | Affirmed: Appellant failed to make out a Batson prima facie case. |
| Admission of two jail-call recordings | Recordings were unfairly prejudicial / hearsay; should be excluded. | Calls were probative (party admission, cumulative) and not unfairly prejudicial; any error harmless. | Affirmed: admission was within discretion for one call; any error for the other was harmless. |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency of the evidence review)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance standard)
- Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (prohibition on race-based peremptory strikes and prima facie burden)
- Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492 (authority for supplemental jury instruction to encourage verdict)
- Dent v. State, 303 Ga. 110 (Georgia application of Jackson sufficiency review)
- Drayton v. State, 297 Ga. 743 (upholding similar Allen charge under facts and instruction context)
- Ivey v. State, 305 Ga. 156 (jury may reject self-defense claim)
- Vega v. State, 285 Ga. 32 (jury credibility and resolving conflicts in evidence)
- Smith v. State, 290 Ga. 768 (defense unavailable when committing a felony)
- Anglin v. State, 302 Ga. 333 (Rule 403 exclusionary standard and futility of futile objections)
- Bozzie v. State, 302 Ga. 704 (harmless-error framework for nonconstitutional error)
- Brown v. State, 291 Ga. 887 (review of Batson prima facie showing)