Poellnitz v. State, 296 Ga. 134

Poellnitz was convicted after a jury trial of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The August 4, 2009 shooting of Alpha Lorenzo Booker occurred after Poellnitz returned home agitated and Wright witnessed Poellnitz shoot Booker.
Police received tips and security cameras corroborated that a green Ford Expedition left the scene shortly after the shooting.
Wright later gave a recorded interview implicating Poellnitz but recanted and provided an affidavit alleging coercion by police; investigators and informants disputed her claims.
The state introduced Wright’s prior inconsistent statement as substantive evidence, and the court allowed cross-examination to assess credibility.
Poellnitz challenged evidentiary rulings, the voluntariness instruction, and claimed ineffective assistance of counsel based on alleged improper prosecutorial conduct.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admission of Wright’s prior inconsistent statement as substantive evidence	Poellnitz argues federal rule should apply affecting substantive use.	Poellnitz asserts state law permits substantive use only if witness testifies under oath.	Trial court properly admitted Wright’s prior statement as substantive evidence under state rule.
Voluntariness instruction on Wright’s prior statement	Poellnitz sought pattern jury charge on voluntariness of a confession.	Charge was inapplicable to a non-defendant witness; no error.	Court did not err; instruction not applicable.
Prosecutor's closing arguments and potential message to the community	Closing argued for conviction to send a message in DeKalb County.	No preserved error; arguments permissible appeal to community safety.	No reversible error; arguments were permissible.
Ineffective assistance for failing to move for mistrial	Counsel should have moved for mistrial over the prosecutor’s comment.	Comments were not deficient performance; strategy and context mattered.	No Strickland prejudice; trial counsel not deficient.
Voluntariness of Poellnitz's similar-transaction statement raised but withdrawn	Issue not properly preserved due to withdrawal at argument.	N/A	Issue not considered on appeal.

Jackson v. State, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency of evidence; reasonable doubt standard)
Gibbons v. State, 248 Ga. 858 (1982) (prior inconsistent statements as substantive evidence)
Holiday v. State, 272 Ga. 779 (2000) (prior statements; time proximity and credibility considerations)
Adams v. State, 283 Ga. 298 (2008) (prosecutor argument; appellate standards for effectiveness)
Roper v. State, 281 Ga. 878 (2007) (trial court evidentiary rulings; standard of review)
Wright v. State, 291 Ga. 869 (2012) (prosecutorial comments interpreted in context)