Darville v. State, 289 Ga. 698

Darville was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, and conspiracy to violate the Georgia Controlled Substances Act; felony murder was later vacated by operation of law.
The crimes occurred during a drug sale involving marijuana; Norris and Canavan purchased marijuana with intent to resell, and Darville participated in the transaction.
Darville shot Canavan after price disputes during a meeting arranged by Bautista; Canavan was killed and the marijuana was taken.
The jury found sufficient evidence for malice murder and armed robbery, resolving credibility disputes in favor of the State.
The conspiracy conviction was reversed due to a lack of limiting instructions and potentially improper scope of the conspiracy indictment.
Darville also challenged trial counsel’s effectiveness; the court found no reasonable probability the outcome would differ, and the conviction for conspiracy was reversed while malice murder remained affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for the convictions	Darville argues evidence is insufficient for the charged crimes.	State contends evidence supports all appealed convictions.	Sufficient evidence supports malice murder and armed robbery.
Conspiracy to violate the CSA conviction	Darville contends the conspiracy conviction rests on an impermissible lack of limiting instruction.	State argues conspiracy was properly charged and proven.	Conviction for conspiracy to violate the CSA reversed.
Indictment scope and jury instructions on conspiracy	Indictment could charge conspiracy with multiple purchasers/sellers without limiting instructions.	Trial court instruction allowed conviction based on participation in the drug transaction.	Error requiring reversal of the conspiracy conviction due to missing limiting instruction.
Felony murder underlying a different felony	Trial court improperly allowed felony murder based on an underlying offense not properly charged.	Issue is moot because felony murder conviction was vacated by operation of law.	Moot; malice murder stands, felony murder vacated.
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel failed to object to verdict form and failed to request voluntary manslaughter instruction.	No prejudice shown; trial strategy and evidence did not support manslaughter verdict absent error.	No reasonable probability of a different outcome; verdict form objection not preservable to prejudice; conspiracy reversal maintained.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency of evidence standard for a conviction)
Vega v. State, 285 Ga. 32 (Ga. 2009) (credibility and resolution of witness conflicts)
Brooks v. State, 281 Ga. 14 (Ga. 2006) (conspiracy requires more than mere buyer-seller agreement)
Pruitt v. State, 264 Ga.App. 44 (Ga. App. 2003) (mere agreement to buy contraband does not prove conspiracy)
Hernandez v. State, 182 Ga.App. 797 (Ga. App. 1987) (fronting contraband can support conspiracy if a shared unlawful design exists)
Cantrell v. State, 266 Ga. 700 (Ga. 1996) (verdict form objections under Georgia law)
Gresham v. State, 289 Ga. 103 (Ga. 2011) (evidence for voluntary manslaughter sufficiency in ineffective-assistance analysis)
Greeson v. State, 287 Ga. 764 (Ga. 2010) (words alone cannot establish serious provocation for voluntary manslaughter)
Wadley v. State, 258 Ga. 465 (Ga. 1988) (provocation requirement in voluntary manslaughter and related claims)
Oglesby v. State, 243 Ga. 690 (Ga. 1979) (ineffective assistance framework and prejudice inquiry)
Caldwell v. State, 221 Ga. 764 (Ga. 1966) (jury's role in evaluating provocation in manslaughter context)
Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (Ga. 1993) (felony murder conviction vacated by operation of law)