Neal v. State, 313 Ga. 746

On July 8, 2016 Lance Williams was shot and killed in his home; two .45-caliber shell casings were recovered in the bedroom and living room and a loaded .22 revolver lay near the victim.
Anighyah Neal (Appellant) was arrested and charged with felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and firearm-possession counts; trial occurred April 16–19, 2018.
Evidence included eyewitness testimony placing Neal at the scene, videoed police interview in which Neal claimed self-defense, his post-shooting flight, changing and burning clothes, threats to a neighbor, and his admission at trial that he shot but claimed self-defense.
Jury acquitted Neal on the armed-robbery-related counts but convicted him of felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony; he was sentenced to life plus five years.
Post-trial Neal challenged (1) sufficiency of the evidence, (2) exclusion from four bench conferences during voir dire, and (3) ineffective assistance of counsel; the trial court denied his amended motion for new trial and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed.

Issue	Appellant's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence to support convictions	Neal argued the evidence was insufficient and that he acted in self-defense	The State argued the evidence—trajectory, casings, flight, conduct after shooting, conflicting statements—authorized rejection of self-defense	Affirmed: evidence sufficient for a rational jury to reject self-defense and convict under Jackson standard
Right to be present at bench conferences during voir dire	Neal contended his constitutional right to be present was violated when he was excluded from four bench conferences about strikes for cause	State argued Neal’s counsel waived the right and Neal acquiesced to counsel’s waiver	Affirmed: trial court found Neal acquiesced; record supports that counsel informed Neal and Neal did not object
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Neal claimed counsel was deficient for not moving to strike a juror who knew victim’s relatives	State argued counsel reasonably declined because juror denied bias and court found juror credible	Affirmed: counsel not deficient; no reasonable basis to expect a successful challenge and no prejudice shown

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance: performance and prejudice)
Champ v. State, 310 Ga. 832 (2021) (acquiescence to counsel's waiver of presence is fact-specific)
Murphy v. State, 299 Ga. 238 (2016) (defendant has right to be present for voir dire bench conferences concerning strikes for cause)
Hampton v. State, 282 Ga. 490 (2007) (defendant may relinquish right to be present)
Morrall v. State, 307 Ga. 444 (2019) (premature notice of appeal ripens when motion for new trial denied)
Southall v. State, 300 Ga. 462 (2017) (treating premature notice of appeal as effectively filed upon denial of motion for new trial)
Moon v. State, 312 Ga. 31 (2021) (lying or withholding material voir dire information can justify striking a juror)
Vega v. State, 285 Ga. 32 (2009) (jury may reject justification defenses)
Moss v. State, 298 Ga. 613 (2016) (counsel not required to make objections reasonably expected to fail)