Millsaps v. State, 310 Ga. App. 769

Millsaps was convicted after a jury trial of using the internet to seduce a minor, attempted aggravated child molestation, and attempted child molestation under Georgia law.
An Internet Crimes Against Children task force posted a Casually Encounters-style advertisement on craigslist.org under Hannah, presented as an 18-year-old female seeking a man for summer activities.
Millsaps responded by email, then engaged in instant messaging with a person posing as Hannah who claimed to be 14 years old and sent a 13-year-old girl's photo.
Millsaps continued to communicate, discussed meeting in person, and talked about sexual acts despite knowledge of Hannah’s purported age.
Millsaps was arrested after traveling to meet Hannah and brought condoms, admitting he intended to have sex with her.
The trial court admitted custodial statements and charged on entrapment and voluntariness of statements; Millsaps challenged several evidentiary and instructional rulings on appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admission of custodial statements	Millsaps argues statements were involuntary under OCGA § 24-3-50 due to improper hope of benefit.	State contends there was no promise of a collateral benefit and the officer addressed concerns about notifying Millsaps’s wife.	No reversible error; statements were voluntary and not a benefit-based coercion.
Definition of incitement in entrapment instruction	Millsaps seeks a jury instruction defining incitement in entrapment.	Trial court properly charged the entrapment statute terms; insufficient basis for ineffective assistance.	Trial court did not err; no ineffective assistance.
Directed verdict on entrapment	Entrapment defense should require entrapment charge and a jury determination.	Entrapment not proven beyond reasonable doubt; jury properly charged and found no entrapment.	No directed verdict required; entrapment not established.
Witness credibility instruction including intelligence	Counsel was ineffective for including intelligence as a credibility factor.	No reversible error; even if debatable, it’s not reversible error.	Not reversible error; trial counsel not ineffective.
Voluntariness instruction for statements during illegal detention	Counsel urged pattern jury instruction on voluntariness regarding illegal detention.	The court instructed properly on voluntariness in the context of all evidence.	No error; instruction coherent with overall charge.

Jackson v. State, 305 Ga. App. 591 (2010) (entrapment analysis and standard for evaluating conflicts in testimony)
Howard v. State, 288 Ga. 741 (2011) (pattern jury instructions and related definitions)
St. Jean v. State, 255 Ga. App. 129 (2002) (entrapment elements and jury determination)
Ford v. State, 281 Ga. App. 114 (2006) (pattern jury instructions on credibility and related standards)
Robinson v. State, 308 Ga. App. 45 (2011) (ineffective assistance and standards for prejudice)
Baird v. State, 201 Ga. App. 378 (1991) (defining ordinary understanding terms for jury instructions)