Glass v. State, 289 Ga. 706

Lisa Odell Mosby was fatally shot on a friend's front porch; the bullet entered her left breast and perforated her heart, exiting the back.
Three men were present when Mosby was shot and identified appellant Ernest Glass as firing six to eight shots from a gray Chevrolet Caprice.
Evidence included four 9-mm shell casings on the street and a 9-mm bullet in an exterior wall; Glass was the current boyfriend of a woman who was the former girlfriend of one of the male eyewitnesses.
Earlier that day and the day before, Glass and the former boyfriend exchanged heated words relating to their relationships with the victim.
Appellant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, disputing the direction of the bullet and conflicts in witness testimony, while arguing severance, continuance, and ineffective assistance claims.
The trial court sentenced Glass to life for malice murder with concurrent firearm and aggravated assault counts; the co-defendants faced related sentencing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence	Glass asserts the evidence fails to prove malice murder and related offenses.	Glass argues conflicts in ballistic testimony undermine guilt.	Evidence was sufficient to convict beyond a reasonable doubt.
Denial of severance	Three defendants should be severed due to potential prejudice and antagonistic defenses.	Severance was unnecessary; defenses were not sufficiently antagonistic.	Court did not abuse discretion; severance denied.
Ineffective assistance—failure to renew severance	Counsel's failure to renew severance after co-defendant testified was deficient.	Strategic decision not to renew was reasonable and did not prejudice.	No deficient performance; strategy falls within reasonable trial conduct.
Continuance for new witnesses	Trial should be postponed to investigate alibi witnesses.	State discovery and incremental interviews warranted more time; no abuse.	No abuse; denial of continuance was within the court's discretion.

Johnson v. State, 288 Ga. 771 (2011) (conflicts in evidence do not render evidence insufficient)
Dennard v. State, 263 Ga. 453 (1993) (severance standards; antagonistic defenses insufficient alone)
Green v. State, 274 Ga. 686 (2002) (co-defendant testimony admissible with cross-examination; joint trial not per se prejudicial)
Rivers v. State, 283 Ga. 1 (2008) (no automatic severance for multiple defendants when prejudice not shown)
Carter v. State, 285 Ga. 394 (2009) (continuance decisions reviewed for abuse of discretion)
Kitchens v. State, 289 Ga. 242 (2011) (trial strategy and reasonable conduct in counsel's performance)