Pineda v. State
288 Ga. 612
| Ga. | 2011Background
- Pineda and Vazquez had a history of disagreements; Thanksgiving gathering at Vazquez's mobile home park led to violent confrontation.
- Pineda produced a pistol, killed Molina, then shot Vazquez nine times and Prisca (pregnant); Prisca died and her unborn child died as a result of Prisca's death; Pineda's son was shot in the leg.
- Convictions included malice murder for three killings and possession of a firearm during the murders; verdicts for felony murder were vacated by operation of law.
- Pineda faced a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence regarding malice murder of Prisca’s unborn child; only evidence was that the unborn child had no independent circulation and died due to the mother's death.
- Pre-trial USCR 31.1/31.3 notice about a prior 1998 threat to Crispin Mendez was admitted, with defense asserting it exceeded the notice scope; the court treated testimony as cumulative.
- Pineda argued ineffective assistance for lack of a Spanish interpreter; trial court and defense used interpreters, and on review the court found no deficient performance by counsel.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for unborn-child malice murder | Pineda | State | Unconvincing; conviction vacated for unborn child malice murder. |
| Admission/scope of prior-threat evidence (Mendez incident) | Pineda | State | No reversible error; evidence cumulative and within scope; mistrial not required. |
| Due-process challenge from appellate delay | Pineda | State | Delay not unconstitutional; Barker factors show no prejudice. |
| Effective assistance of counsel re: interpreters | Pineda | State | Counsel not deficient; interpreters secured; no prejudicial impact. |
Key Cases Cited
- Shedd v. State, 178 Ga. 653, 173 S.E. 847 (1934) (GA. 1934) (unborn child cannot be malice murder victim absent independent existence)
- Ranger v. State, 249 Ga. 315, 290 S.E.2d 63 (1982) (GA. 1982) (unborn child murder limitations)
- Logue v. State, 198 Ga. 672, 32 S.E.2d 397 (1944) (GA. 1944) (unborn victim with no independent circulation cannot support murder)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979) (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency review for criminal convictions)
- Fitzpatrick v. State, 268 Ga. 423, 489 S.E.2d 840 (1997) (GA. 1997) (scope of admissible evidence based on pre-trial notice)
- Patterson v. State, 285 Ga. 597, 679 S.E.2d 716 (2009) (GA. 2009) (prejudicial impact required for reversals when evidence is cumulative)
- Lampley v. State, 284 Ga. 37, 663 S.E.2d 184 (2008) (GA. 2008) (prejudice considerations in evidentiary rulings)
- Ling v. State, 288 Ga. 299, 702 S.E.2d 881 (2010) (GA. 2010) (standard for ineffective assistance in interpreter context)
- Ramos v. Terry, 279 Ga. 889, 622 S.E.2d 339 (2005) (GA. 2005) (interpreter qualifications and waiver principles)
- Chatman v. Mancill, 280 Ga. 253, 626 S.E.2d 102 (2006) (GA. 2006) (due process and appellate delay considerations)
- Browning v. State, 283 Ga. 528, 661 S.E.2d 552 (2008) (GA. 2008) (factors for analyzing appellate-delay claims)
- Scott v. State, 275 Ga. 305, 565 S.E.2d 810 (2002) (GA. 2002) (interpretation and effective assistance standards)
- Holmes v. State, 272 Ga. 517, 529 S.E.2d 879 (2000) (GA. 2000) (counsel performance standard under Strickland)
- Maldonado v. State, 284 Ga. App. 26, 643 S.E.2d 316 (2007) (GA. App. 2007) (interpreter issues in trial)
- Fennell v. State, 271 Ga. App. 797, 611 S.E.2d 96 (2005) (GA. App. 2005) (interpreter-related claims and waiver)