McKie v. State, 306 Ga. 111

In 2014 McKie was indicted in DeKalb County for murder-related charges and, separately, for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon predicated on an earlier Fulton County forgery in the first degree charge.
At McKie’s 2016 trial the State admitted into evidence a two‑page certified accusation showing McKie pleaded guilty to first‑degree forgery; no judgment of conviction or sentencing record was included.
Defense counsel conceded in closing that McKie "was a convicted felon," while arguing justification/self‑defense to negate culpability for the firearm counts.
The jury was instructed that the accusation “purport[ed] to be a copy of a prior conviction” and could be considered only regarding impeachment and the felony‑conviction element of certain counts; circumstantial‑evidence instructions were given.
The jury acquitted McKie on all counts except possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (Count 7); he was sentenced to five years and appealed.
The Court of Appeals (divided) affirmed, with one opinion relying partly on counsel’s closing statements and a concurrence treating the accusation as sufficient circumstantial evidence; this Court granted certiorari.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the accusation and guilty plea document (without a judgment) constituted sufficient evidence to prove McKie was a convicted felon for the firearm‑possession offense	The State: the accusation showing a guilty plea was circumstantial evidence of a prior felony conviction and—given no reasonable alternative hypothesis presented—sufficient to prove the felony element	McKie: the document alone was insufficient; other reasonable hypotheses (plea not accepted, plea withdrawn, first‑offender discharge, lesser offense or no judgment) remained and the State failed to exclude them	Held: Affirmed. The accusation was sufficient circumstantial evidence to prove the prior felony where no alternative reasonable hypothesis was offered to the jury and counsel offered no contrary theory in argument.
Whether counsel’s closing statements admitting felony status could be treated as evidence to supply the missing judgment	State (as relied on by Court of Appeals lead op): counsel’s concessions could be considered alongside the document	McKie: statements of counsel are not evidence and cannot substitute for proof	Held: Court rejects treating counsel’s argument as evidence; the decision rests on the sufficiency of the circumstantial accusation and absence of any other reasonable hypothesis.

Daniel v. State, 301 Ga. 783 (2017) (statements of counsel in closing argument are not evidence)
Menefee v. State, 301 Ga. 505 (2017) (jurors presumed to follow court instructions)
Tiller v. State, 286 Ga. App. 230 (2007) (insufficiency where plea record did not establish felony status)
Worthen v. State, 304 Ga. 862 (2019) (jurors may draw reasonable inferences from circumstantial evidence)
DePalma v. State, 225 Ga. 465 (1969) (definition of reasonable hypothesis in circumstantial‑evidence rule)
Jackson v. State, 305 Ga. 614 (2019) (application of OCGA § 24‑14‑6 carried into new Evidence Code)