Cloud v. State, 290 Ga. 193

Cloud was convicted of malice murder of Rocky Heard, aggravated assault of Rocky Heard, aggravated assault of Ray Dean Heard, possession of a firearm during a crime, affray, and simple battery; the malice murder conviction for Rocky merged with the aggravated assault of Rocky.
The offenses arose from an August 31, 2005 confrontation at a gas station and a prior August 29, 2005 slap of Courtney Heard by Cloud; Cloud surrendered after the August 29 incident and obtained a no trespass notice to Ray Dean.
During the August 31 incident, Rocky and Ray Dean beat Cloud; Cloud produced a shotgun and shot Rocky at 30–50 feet, killing him, then fired a second shot toward Ray Dean’s vehicle, though Ray Dean was not struck.
Cloud contends the second shot was in self-defense; the trial court admitted self-defense arguments but rejected justification evidence based on the victims’ lack of weapons and Cloud’s actions as they fled.
The trial court ruled that evidence of the victims’ prior acts against third parties could not be admitted as justification; Cloud was additionally allowed to pursue voluntary manslaughter as an option to malice murder.
On appeal, the Supreme Court vacated the separate aggravated assault conviction for Rocky as merged into malice murder and affirmed other convictions, with judgments affirmed in part and vacated in part.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether evidence supports malice murder and requires merger	Cloud	Cloud	Sufficient evidence; Rocky merger vacated; remaining convictions affirmed
Whether victim’s prior acts against third parties could be admitted to justify self-defense	Cloud	Cloud	Trial court did not err in denying admission; no prima facie justification shown
Whether the trial court’s jury instructions properly allowed voluntary manslaughter as an alternative	Cloud	Cloud	No harmful Edge violation; court instructed on malice murder and voluntary manslaughter
Whether Cloud received effective assistance of trial counsel regarding right to testify	Cloud	Cloud	Trial court did not err; Cloud was advised of the right not to testify; decision to testify remained with him

Arnold v. State, 286 Ga. 418 (2010) (prima facie justification evidence for third-party violence admissible)
Stobbart v. State, 272 Ga. 608 (2000) (defensive justification requires imminence and prior acts context)
Collier v. State, 288 Ga. 756 (2011) (defendant cannot justify based on later-departed perpetrators)
Carter v. State, 285 Ga. 565 (2009) (imminence and weapon absence affect self-defense justification)
Quillian v. State, 279 Ga. 698 (2005) (limitations on imminent danger and continued threat)
Head v. State, 262 Ga. 795 (1993) (instruction definitions for malice murder and voluntary manslaughter)
Roscoe v. State, 288 Ga. 775 (2011) (no sequential Edge problem when verdicts are properly instructed)
Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (1993) (merger doctrine for felony murder/)
Terry v. State, 263 Ga. 294 (1993) (sequential charge concerns in homicide cases)
Edge v. State, 261 Ga. 865 (1992) (disapproved sequential charging in certain homicide cases)
Robinson v. State, 277 Ga. 75 (2003) (standards for reviewing counsel performance)