Bennett v. State, 304 Ga. 795

In September 2008, Shirley Bennett was found shot to death in a mobile home that was later set on fire; fire investigation showed diesel was spread and ignition occurred near her body; medical examiner concluded she was shot before the fire.
Appellant Archie Bennett lived on the same property; he initially told investigators he was at a hotel and later gave a recorded statement claiming a suicide/cover-up plan and an alternative account that Shirley lunged at him, causing an accidental defensive shotgun discharge.
Appellant was indicted for malice murder, felony murder, first-degree arson, and concealing a death; jury acquitted on malice murder but convicted of felony murder, arson, and concealment; sentence: life (felony murder) + consecutive prison terms.
At trial the defense relied on the recorded interview asserting accident or self-defense; appellant did not testify.
Two trial issues on appeal: (1) exclusion of autopsy drug findings (phentermine and hydrocodone); (2) alleged deprivation of the right to be present because the transcript did not expressly show his presence after three recesses.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of autopsy drug evidence (phentermine, hydrocodone)	Drug presence could explain aggressive behavior supporting Bennett's claim that Shirley lunged at him	Drug evidence irrelevant without expert testimony linking drug effects to victim's behavior at time of death	Court affirmed exclusion; under controlling (old) Evidence Code precedent, evidence of substances is inadmissible absent competent proof of their effect on behavior
Sixth Amendment right to be present at trial (transcript omissions re: post-recess presence)	Transcript gaps show Bennett not recorded as present after three recesses, violating his right to be present	Record shows Bennett present each trial day; court asked readiness after recesses and defense counsel responded; presumption trial conducted according to law unrebutted by appellant	Court found no violation; presumption of regularity stands and appellant failed to rebut it

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency of the evidence)
Dunn v. State, 292 Ga. 359 (evidence of substance use inadmissible without proof of effect on behavior)
Hawes v. State, 261 Ga. 164 (same principle for cocaine evidence)
Lowe v. State, 298 Ga. 810 (jury may discredit self-defense/accident claims)
Vega v. State, 285 Ga. 32 (credibility determinations are for the jury)
Johnson v. State, 302 Ga. 188 (presumption that trials are conducted according to law)
White v. State, 302 Ga. 806 (defendant bears burden to rebut presumption of presence at critical stages)