Bowman v. State, 315 Ga. 707

Bowman was indicted in Feb 2014 on multiple counts of child molestation and incest and filed a demand for speedy trial under OCGA § 17-7-170 in July/September 2014.
In December 2014 the court selected 12 citizens to decide Bowman's case but the statutory jury oath (OCGA § 15-12-139) was never administered.
The proceeding proceeded (opening, witnesses, charge, deliberations) and the unsworn group returned guilty verdicts on two counts; Bowman was sentenced in December 2014.
In 2019 the State discovered the jury oath had never been given; the trial court set aside the verdicts and reinstated the case on the calendar.
Bowman moved for discharge and acquittal under OCGA § 17-7-170; the trial court granted discharge, the Court of Appeals reversed, and the Georgia Supreme Court granted certiorari.
The Supreme Court held that a proceeding before 12 citizens who were not sworn does not constitute a lawful jury trial for purposes of OCGA § 17-7-170; the Court reversed the Court of Appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Dec 2014 proceeding constituted a 'trial' or that Bowman was 'tried' under OCGA § 17-7-170	Bowman: No — jurors unsworn so no lawful jury and therefore no trial; statute and precedent require oath	State: Yes — ordinary meaning of 'trial' was satisfied by the proceeding; Court of Appeals agreed	Supreme Court: No — unsworn proceeding was not a trial under § 17-7-170; discharge appropriate
Whether Bowman's constitutional speedy-trial claim (Sixth Amendment and GA Const) was violated by the Dec 2014 proceeding	Bowman: Constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated because there was no lawful jury trial within statutory time	State: The Dec 2014 proceeding satisfied constitutional speedy-trial requirements	Court: Did not separately decide constitutional claim because statutory ruling (same constitutional background) disposed of the case; statutory remedy controls

Slaughter v. State, 100 Ga. 323 (Ga. 1897) (jury oath is indispensable; without it there is no lawful jury or trial)
Spencer v. State, 281 Ga. 533 (Ga. 2007) (proceedings before unsworn citizens amount to an attempted trial and do not satisfy trial requirements)
Martinez v. Illinois, 572 U.S. 833 (U.S. 2014) (jeopardy in a jury trial attaches when the jury is empaneled and sworn)
State v. Bowman, 361 Ga. App. 465 (Ga. App. 2021) (Court of Appeals held the December 2014 proceeding satisfied the statutory 'trial' requirement)
Zaldivar v. Prickett, 297 Ga. 589 (Ga. 2015) (statutory interpretation principles: read statutory text in its ordinary meaning and in constitutional context)