BATTISE v. State
309 Ga. App. 835
Ga. Ct. App.2011Background
- Battise challenged his armed-robbery conviction and asserted ineffective assistance of counsel.
- On August 14, 2007, around 5:15–5:30 a.m., two men robbed a restaurant worker in the lit parking lot at gunpoint, forcing him to retrieve money from his truck.
- The worker identified Battise from a photographic lineup and then in person, testifying he saw Battise’s face the entire time Battise pointed the gun.
- The defense argued the identification was unreliable and not corroborated, but the jury was charged to assess reliability and a single witness identification could support guilt.
- Battise contends his trial counsel was ineffective for not calling his mother to testify to a late-night alibi and for not seeking funds for an eyewitness-identification expert; the trial court addressed these Strickland issues after the new-trial motion.
- The court held that counsel’s decisions were strategic and not deficient, and there was no showing of prejudice from the lack of an eyewitness-expert or the alibi testimony.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was the evidence sufficient to support armed-robbery conviction? | Battise argues identification was unreliable and uncorroborated. | State contends the victim’s identification, even if uncorroborated, was sufficient. | Yes; identification evidence, viewed favorably to the State, sufficed. |
| Did Battise receive ineffective assistance of counsel? | Counsel erred by not calling mother for alibi and by not seeking eyewitness-id expert funds. | Strategic decisions and lack of proffered prejudice show no Strickland violation. | No; trial strategy and lack of demonstrated prejudice negate ineffective-assistance claims. |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (establishes standard for sufficiency of evidence)
- Wallace v. State, 289 Ga.App. 497 (2008) (unconvincing corroboration limits on identifications discussed)
- Scott v. State, 297 Ga.App. 577 (2009) (identification reliability considerations; corroboration not always required)
- Ventura v. State, 284 Ga. 215 (2008) (witness testimony and Strickland analysis interplay)
- Reid v. State, 286 Ga. 484 (2010) (trial-counsel strategy and evidentiary decisions reviewed under Strickland)