Gobert v. State, 311 Ga. 305

On October 29, 2015, Michael James Gobert fired multiple shots into a car parked on his property after a disturbance at his stepdaughter Nicole Carroll’s trailer; Johnny Montgomery was shot in the head and later died; Edrius Putnam and Deisman Harrison were wounded/ threatened.
Gobert admitted shooting at the vehicle, told police he fired because the occupants were trespassing and "causing trouble," and made statements at the scene suggesting remorse; he also asserted self-defense/defense of others at trial.
A Walker County jury convicted Gobert of felony murder (predicated on aggravated assault), two aggravated assaults, and several firearms counts; the trial court sentenced him to life without parole on the felony-murder count and additional consecutive and concurrent terms.
At trial Gobert’s counsel waived Gobert’s presence at some bench conferences during voir dire (in Gobert’s presence); jury selection and the charge conference were transcribed; the prosecutor in closing referenced why a witness (Putnam) did not testify, prompting an objection and motion for mistrial.
The trial court denied the mistrial, gave curative instructions explaining the Fifth Amendment privilege and that counsel’s statements are not evidence, and Gobert’s timely post-trial motions were denied; the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Gobert)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for felony murder (aggravated-assault predicate)	Evidence insufficient; Gobert acted in self/others/property defense	Eyewitnesses and Gobert’s admissions show he fired into fleeing car, struck Montgomery; jury could reject self-defense	Affirmed — evidence sufficient to support aggravated assault and felony murder predicate
Sufficiency for aggravated assaults of Putnam and Harrison	Evidence insufficient	Shots into car and Putnam being struck support aggravated-assault convictions	Affirmed — evidence sufficient
Exclusion from bench conferences during voir dire	Waiver not knowingly made; error to exclude defendant from critical stages	Court invited defendant to attend; counsel waived presence in defendant’s hearing and defendant acquiesced	Affirmed — right to be present was waived
Prosecutor’s closing remark re: Putnam’s unavailability; motion for mistrial / rebuke under OCGA §17-8-75	Prosecutor argued facts not in evidence and referenced witness invocation; court should have rebuked or granted mistrial	Defense opened the door; trial court cured with instructions; any error harmless given strong evidence	Affirmed — any failure to rebuke harmless; denial of mistrial not an abuse of discretion

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
Mosby v. State, 300 Ga. 450 (2017) (appellate court does not reweigh evidence; view in light most favorable to verdict)
Dobbins v. State, 309 Ga. 163 (2020) (errors under OCGA § 17-8-75 analyzed for harmlessness)
Zamora v. State, 291 Ga. 512 (2012) (defendant entitled to be present at jury selection stages)
Pennie v. State, 271 Ga. 419 (1999) (counsel may waive defendant’s presence but waiver must be made in defendant’s presence or by express authority)
Stephens v. State, 307 Ga. 731 (2020) (closing-argument improprieties judged in context; mistrial discretion)
Dunbar v. State, 263 Ga. 769 (1994) (sufficiency support for felony-murder convictions)