Collier v. State, 288 Ga. 756

Collier was convicted of malice murder for the death of Ben Sullen, Jr. and sentenced to life imprisonment in Georgia.
Evidence showed Collier threatened to defend himself with a pipe, then struck the intoxicated victim with a metal pipe during a street altercation the day after the threat.
A blood-stained pipe was found leaning against Collier's mailbox after the incident, and the victim died from blunt force trauma to the head and chest.
The defense challenged the sufficiency of the evidence and the admissibility of specific prejudicial testimony about the victim’s reputation for violence and weapons.
Collier admitted drug convictions from 1996 in testimony, and the trial record raised concerns about whether those convictions were admissible under OCGA § 24-9-84.1, and whether the issue was properly preserved.
The majority affirmed the conviction, addressing issues related to evidence, jury instructions on impeachment, and the interplay of OCGA § 17-8-58 with plain error review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was the evidence sufficient for malice murder?	Collier contends evidence supports defense/justify self-defense rather than malice murder.	State argues eyewitness and physical evidence prove malice murder beyond reasonable doubt.	Evidence sufficient to sustain malice murder conviction.
Was victim’s reputation for violence admissible under three-pronged test?	Collier relied on victim’s reputation and weapons to justify self-defense.	State argues reputation evidence is admissible only if the three-pronged test is met.	Three-pronged test required; reputation evidence inadmissible as Collier failed to show victim aggressor and immediate danger.
Was admission of Collier's 1996 drug convictions properly preserved and admissible under OCGA § 24-9-84.1?	Collier argues trial court erred by admitting drug convictions without proper ruling.	State contends evidentiary balancing not triggered due to lack of preserved objection; ineffective assistance claim fails.	Issue not preserved for appellate review; ineffective-assistance claim rejected.
Did the jury instruction on impeachment violate OCGA § 17-8-58 or constitute plain error?	Collier argues instruction improperly invaded jury’s function and misused drug-convictions.	State argues instruction allowed legitimate impeachment and did not misstate law.	No reversible error; plain error review discussed but not found.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency of evidence standard)
Walker v. State, 281 Ga. 521 (Ga. 2007) (limits on sufficiency review/credibility considerations)
Alexander v. State, 285 Ga. 166 (Ga. 2009) (reputation evidence in murder trials—three-pronged test)
Cooper v. State, 249 Ga. 58 (Ga. 1982) (three-pronged test for admissibility of victim’s violence reputation)
Campbell v. State, 222 Ga. 570 (Ga. 1966) (early formulation of evidence-reputation rule)
Walden v. State, 267 Ga. 162 (Ga. 1996) (limits on impeachment and using prior bad acts)
Felder v. State, 273 Ga. 844 (Ga. 2001) (limits on the use of threats and weapons for justification)
Lewis v. State, 268 Ga. 83 (Ga. 1997) (verbal threats and deadly force justification principles)
Cochran v. State, 9 Ga. App. 824 (Ga. App. 1911) (no justification where deadly force follows a resolved confrontation)
Carter v. State, 285 Ga. 565 (Ga. 2009) (reasonable fear doctrine in self-defense cases)
Madrigal v. State, 287 Ga. 121 (Ga. 2010) (plain error review for unobjected jury-charge issues under OCGA § 17-8-58)
Metz v. State, 284 Ga. 614 (Ga. 2008) (early interpretation of OCGA § 17-8-58(b) plain error scope)
State v. Gardner, 286 Ga. 633 (Ga. 2010) (preference for plain error approaches under post-OCGA 17-8-58 framework)
Paul v. State, 272 Ga. 845 (Ga. 2000) (plain error review in criminal context pre-OCGA 17-8-58)