Bradley v. State
322 Ga. App. 541
Ga. Ct. App.2013Background
- Bradley was convicted after a jury trial of aggravated assault and armed robbery; his motion for new trial based on ineffective assistance was denied, and his direct appeal was remanded to raise ineffectiveness claims; the State's evidence supported convictions; Jones and Twiggs testified Bradley threatened Twiggs with scissors and demanded money from Jones, taking Jones's money; a responding officer noted the victims were visibly shaken and Bradley provided a voluntary statement denying taking money and weapon use; the indictment identified Twiggs as the aggravated assault victim and Jones as the armed robbery victim; the court analyzed sufficiency, variance, and ineffectiveness issues on appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for Twiggs aggravated assault | State argues evidence supports aggravated assault with weapon. | Bradley maintains no intent or act constituting aggravated assault. | Evidence sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia. |
| Fatal variance between indictment and jury instructions | Indictment identified Twiggs; jury may have been misinformed about victim. | No reversible error; trial court instructed based on full indictment. | No fatal variance; no reversible error. |
| Ineffective assistance—failure to request simple assault and theft charges | Bradley’s counsel failed to request or argue certain lesser charges. | Counsel’s decisions were trial tactics; evidence did not warrant those charges. | No reasonable probability of different outcome; charges not warranted. |
| Ineffective assistance—failure to subpoena witnesses and file suppression motion | Bradley contends more witnesses and suppression motion could help. | Strategic, or meritless suppression; witness was not helpful; suppression lacking basis. | No reversible error; trial court properly denied suppression and deemed witness non-beneficial. |
Key Cases Cited
- Cordis v. State, 236 Ga. App. 629 (1999) (properly preserved charge on simple assault as lesser included offense when deadly weapon issue disputed)
- Lee v. State, 320 Ga. App. 573 (2013) (deadly weapon and reasonable apprehension standards)
- Gordon v. State, 294 Ga. App. 908 (2008) (intent as factual question for jury; credibility weighing)