Cooper v. State
296 Ga. 728
Ga.2015Background
- On May 13, 2005 Reginald Cooper agreed to meet Kelvin Lindsey; a fight occurred after an argument in Cooper’s vehicle and outside an apartment complex.
- Witness Angela Peterman testified Cooper returned to the car with blood on his shirt and hands, holding what she believed was a knife; Cooper later changed clothes and told Peterman not to tell anyone.
- Autopsy showed multiple stab and cut wounds to Lindsey; blood was found at the struggle site.
- Cooper was indicted in 2007 for malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and two counts of possession of a knife during a crime; he was convicted in July 2007 and sentenced to life for malice murder (felony murder vacated; assault merged; knife convictions consecutive/ concurrent terms applied).
- On appeal from denial of a motion for new trial, Cooper challenged (1) sufficiency of the evidence (circumstantial-evidence claim), (2) ineffective assistance for not pursuing a circumstantial-evidence theory or requesting a related jury charge, and (3) prosecutorial misconduct in closing argument.
Issues
| Issue | Cooper's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of the evidence (circumstantial) | Evidence was entirely circumstantial and did not exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence | Evidence (witness testimony, blood, autopsy, statements) supports guilt beyond a reasonable doubt | Affirmed: evidence (even if treated as circumstantial) was sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia to exclude other reasonable hypotheses |
| Ineffective assistance — theory selection | Counsel was ineffective for not framing a defense around circumstantial-evidence rules and not requesting a special circumstantial-evidence charge | Counsel reasonably pursued a justification defense; strategic choices presumed reasonable absent testimony to the contrary; jury received proper instructions | Affirmed: no deficient performance or prejudice shown under Strickland |
| Ineffective assistance — failure to request jury charge | Failure to request explicit circumstantial-evidence burden instruction prejudiced Cooper | Trial court already gave proper circumstantial-evidence instructions; failure to request additional charge was not harmful | Affirmed: no prejudice; jury properly instructed |
| Prosecutorial misconduct in closing | Prosecutor injected facts not in evidence (motive: $20; phrasing that Cooper “pulled” victim out) | Cooper did not object at trial; statements were permissible inferences supported by testimony about the $20 request and actions at the car | Affirmed: issue unpreserved; argument was permissible inference and objection would have been meritless |
Key Cases Cited
- Faniel v. State, 291 Ga. 559 (2012) (circumstantial evidence convictions require excluding other reasonable hypotheses)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
- Smith v. Francis, 253 Ga. 782 (1985) (applying Strickland standard in Georgia)
- Jones v. State, 294 Ga. 501 (2014) (presumption that counsel’s performance is within professional norms)
- Porter v. State, 292 Ga. 292 (2013) (strategic decisions by counsel presumed reasonable absent testimony explaining them)
- Taylor v. State, 290 Ga. 245 (2011) (proper charging instruction on circumstantial evidence suffices)
- Scott v. State, 290 Ga. 883 (2012) (failure to object to closing argument in non-capital case waives the claim on appeal)
- Davis v. State, 285 Ga. 343 (2009) (prosecutor has wide latitude to draw inferences in closing)
- Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (1993) (merger rules affecting sentencing in multiple related convictions)