Duvall v. State, 290 Ga. 475

Appellant Bilal Duvall was convicted of malice murder and firearm possession following the shooting death of Silas Carter.
Witnesses identified Duvall as the shooter; several described the shooter in ways consistent with Duvall.
Trial evidence was sufficient for a reasonable juror to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
At trial, Duvall denied having a brother named Ali and offered an alibi; his mother testified she had no son named Ali.
Prosecutor questioned the mother about Muslim names in an apparent attempt to challenge credibility of her testimony; the court limited the scope of this inquiry.
Duvall appealed after denial of a motion for new trial; the appellate court affirmed the convictions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Prosecutorial misconduct in questioning about Muslim names	Duvall argues the questions inflamed religious prejudice and misled the jury.	State contends questions pursued a relevant issue—credibility of alibi-related testimony.	No misconduct; questions focused on credibility and were handled with curative instruction.
Effect of waiver on prosecutorial misconduct and related remedies	Waiver should not bar review of alleged misconduct.	Waiver applies; issues not preserved cannot be raised on appeal.	Even if waived, claims fail on merits; no prejudice shown.
Ineffective assistance of counsel for not objecting to Muslim-name questions	Counsel failed to object to potentially prejudicial lines of questioning.	Counsel's objections were timely and merited; other objections would have lacked merit.	No ineffective assistance; objections pursued were reasonable and other objections would lack merit.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency of evidence standard; jury credibility resolves conflicts)
Vega v. State, 285 Ga. 32 (Ga. 2009) (jury resolves credibility; evidence viewed in light most favorable to verdict)
Stephens v. State, 289 Ga. 758 (Ga. 2011) (waiver; preserved issues cannot be raised for first time on appeal)
Funes v. State, 289 Ga. 793 (Ga. 2011) (ineffective assistance; meritless objections do not render counsel deficient)