Gill v. State, 295 Ga. 705

On Nov. 21, 2010, security guard Christopher Long was shot and killed inside a strip club; Gill was indicted for malice murder, related felony counts, and firearm possession.
Eyewitness (a dancer) identified Gill as the shooter, recalling prior contact with him that evening and recognizing him at the scene; she saw the shooter wearing a dark hoodie and firing a small gun.
Corroborating evidence: club surveillance showing a hoodie and a white rubber bracelet worn by the shooter; Gill was later found wearing a similar bracelet and his driver’s license was recovered at the scene.
Evidence placed Gill at a nearby residence after the initial altercation; a housemate reported seeing Gill retrieve a small silver handgun; the residence was a short drive from the club and Gill returned in an SUV matching surveillance footage.
At arrest Gill admitted being at the club and involved in the earlier fight but denied returning to the club or being the shooter; he refused further questioning.
Procedural posture: Gill was convicted at trial; he appealed on sufficiency and ineffective-assistance grounds; the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Gill)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence	Identification and linkage to the shooting were speculative and circumstantial	Eyewitness ID plus corroborating circumstantial evidence (hoodie, bracelet, SUV, handgun retrieval, ID at scene) sufficed	Affirmed: evidence sufficient for convictions under Jackson v. Virginia standard
Ineffective assistance — failure to obtain video of earlier fight	Counsel unreasonably failed to secure club video that would show prior fight/motive	Counsel made strategic choice not to obtain tape to avoid producing it to State and to argue its absence as reasonable doubt	Affirmed: strategy was reasonable; no deficient performance established under Strickland

Garey v. State, 273 Ga. 133 (credibility determinations are for the jury)
Hampton v. State, 272 Ga. 284 (same)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency of the evidence)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two-prong test for ineffective assistance)
Bell v. State, 294 Ga. 443 (applying Strickland in Georgia)
Powell v. State, 291 Ga. 743 (objective-reasonableness standard for counsel performance)
Ford v. State, 290 Ga. 45 (presumption that counsel’s performance is reasonable)
Harris v. State, 279 Ga. 522 (trial strategy not constitutionally deficient)
McKenzie v. State, 284 Ga. 342 (tactical decisions must be patently unreasonable to constitute ineffective assistance)