Lee v. State, 317 Ga. 880

Edward Lee was convicted for malice murder and multiple other crimes during a crime spree between December 2011 and January 2012 in Georgia.
The indictment included murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and weapons charges, among others.
Key evidence included eyewitness testimony, co-indictee (Scott) testimony, physical evidence, and identifications.
Lee appealed, raising claims related to mistrial denials (references to his prior incarceration and alleged Brady violation) and ineffective assistance of counsel during closing argument.
The trial court denied Lee's post-trial motions; Lee appealed these denials.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Denial of mistrial for reference to prior prison	Scott referenced Lee's prior incarceration, prejudicing Lee's case	State tried to avoid the topic; Lee failed to promptly object	Waived—motion not contemporaneous
Denial of mistrial for Brady violation	State did not disclose info about a fourth man (Chris) at the scene	No evidence State withheld info; learned name at trial; late motion	Waived—motion not contemporaneous
Ineffective assistance: prosecutor’s closing arg.	Counsel failed to object to improper comments on witness veracity and facts not in evidence	State’s comments were fair inference and within wide latitude	No deficiency; objections without merit

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (deficient performance and prejudice required for ineffective assistance)
Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) (prosecutorial duty to disclose exculpatory evidence)
Neloms v. State, 313 Ga. 781 (2022) (mistrial motion must be made contemporaneously)
Kilpatrick v. State, 308 Ga. 194 (2020) (waiver of mistrial issues where motion untimely)
Jackson v. State, 301 Ga. 774 (2017) (wide latitude given to prosecutors in closing arguments)
Cochran v. State, 305 Ga. 827 (2019) (failure to object must be objectively unreasonable to be deficient)