Mosley v. State
298 Ga. 849
| Ga. | 2016Background
- On June 21, 2010, Justin Evans was shot and killed after confronting Gary Mosley and others; Mosley and accomplices fled in Mosley’s maroon Chevrolet Impala.
- Police pursued the Impala, which was abandoned; investigators found Mosley’s identifying information in the car and later located Mosley with scratches consistent with fleeing through woods.
- Mosley gave varying accounts to police, ultimately admitting presence at the scene but claiming Taurean Thorpe fired the fatal shot.
- Mosley was indicted on multiple charges including malice murder; tried alone in April 2013, convicted on all counts, and sentenced to life plus consecutive terms; he appealed.
- On appeal Mosley contested admission of four categories of hearsay evidence; the Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed alleged evidentiary errors (some for plain error) and affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Mosley) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admission of C.N.’s testimony recounting Phillips’s post‑shooting confession to a friend (double hearsay) | Testimony was inadmissible double hearsay and should have been excluded | Phillips testified at trial; C.N.’s testimony was admissible as a prior consistent statement rehabilitating Phillips and the friend testified too | Admission was not plain error; testimony admissible as prior consistent statement and/or was properly subject to cross‑examination |
| Investigator’s testimony describing oral statement by Mosley’s brother implicating Mosley | Investigator’s recounting was hearsay and improper | The brother’s contemporaneous written statement was admitted without objection; investigator’s testimony was merely cumulative | No plain error; cumulative to an admitted written statement |
| Investigator’s testimony recounting Butler’s prior statement | Testimony improperly bolstered witness | Butler testified at trial and defense attacked his credibility as recently fabricated; investigator’s testimony was a prior consistent statement rebutting that attack | Admissible as a prior consistent statement; no reversible error |
| Investigator’s testimony describing tip from C.N. to police | Testimony was hearsay and not a proper prior consistent statement | Trial court treated it as prior consistent statement; but State notes the written statement was already admitted | Trial court erred in treating tip as prior consistent statement, but error was harmless because the same written statement was admitted and evidence of guilt was overwhelming |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (legal sufficiency standard for convictions)
- Powell v. State, 291 Ga. 743 (party liability and sufficiency review)
- Cowart v. State, 294 Ga. 333 (prior consistent statement must predate alleged fabrication)
- Gates v. State, 298 Ga. 324 (plain‑error standard)
- Merritt v. State, 292 Ga. 327 (plain‑error discussion)
- Fraser v. State, 329 Ga. App. 1 (cumulative evidence rule)
- London v. State, 274 Ga. 91 (harmless‑error analysis)
- Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (merger and vacatur of duplicative convictions)