Shaw v. the State
340 Ga. App. 749
| Ga. Ct. App. | 2017Background
- On March 22, 2014, a fight erupted at a Waffle House; Shaw (defendant) was convicted by a jury of aggravated battery and aggravated assault, acquitted of obstruction, and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment plus 10 years probation. Shaw appealed the denial of his motion for new trial.
- Victim testimony: Shaw grabbed, repeatedly punched, bit the victim’s cheek (leaving a scar), tried to gouge the eye, caused loss of consciousness and a concussion; videotape was distant; witnesses described Shaw as drunk and aggressive.
- Shaw’s testimony and family testimony: Shaw is a military veteran with Tourette’s, OCD, PTSD and testified he feared for his life after seeing the victim with a knife; his wife and sister corroborated seeing a knife near Shaw.
- Jury instructions at trial: court charged aggravated battery and battery but omitted the statutory requirement that battery requires “substantial” physical harm; later, when the jury asked for clarification, the court recharged aggravated battery but instead re-read a simple battery charge (which had not previously been given) three times. No contemporaneous objections were made.
- Pretrial/trial mental-health issues: defense listed psychiatrist Dr. Sachy but failed to give required notice or produce expert opinion; trial counsel elicited lay testimony about Shaw’s disorders, sought (and was denied) a delusional-compulsion charge, attempted to call Sachy (excluded), and argued during closing that Shaw was “sick” rather than criminal.
- On motion for new trial, a forensic psychologist (Dr. Richards) testified Shaw had Tourette’s, OCD, and PTSD; Richards opined Shaw experienced an acute exacerbation amounting to delusional compulsion and would have so testified at trial. Appellate court reverses denial of new trial.
Issues
| Issue | Shaw's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for aggravated battery (serious disfigurement) | Scar and months-to-heal facial wound insufficient | Evidence (bite, scar, concussion, months to heal) supported aggravated battery | Evidence was sufficient to support aggravated battery conviction |
| Jury instruction errors (omission of "substantial" in battery and recharge on simple battery) | Errors deprived jury of correct lesser-included option and confused jury | Trial counsel did not object; but errors were plain and harmful | Court found plain error as to omissions & recharge; errors likely affected outcome; reversal of denial of new trial |
| Exclusion / failure to admit psychiatrist Sachy and failure to obtain proper notice for insanity/delusional-compulsion charge | Counsel attempted to present mental-condition evidence; exclusion barred expert testimony needed for delusional-compulsion defense | State objected to lack of statutory notice and expert disclosure; trial court excluded Sachy | Court did not need to resolve all exclusion issues after finding ineffective assistance; but exclusion formed part of deficient-representation analysis |
| Ineffective assistance for mishandling mental-health defense (delusional compulsion) | Counsel either mishandled attempt to assert delusional compulsion or unreasonably failed to investigate; had notice of psychiatric history but made no adequate investigation and misunderstood the law; resulting prejudice likely | State argued strategic choices and absence of certainty psychiatry would help; no prejudice shown | Court holds counsel’s performance was deficient and prejudicial under Strickland; reasonable probability jury would have accepted delusional-compulsion defense; reverses denial of new trial |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance two-prong test)
- State v. Kelly, 290 Ga. 29 (plain-error review framework for jury instructions)
- Chase v. State, 277 Ga. 636 (failure to instruct jury on essential element is reversible error)
- Martin v. Barrett, 279 Ga. 593 (duty to investigate mental-health history; counsel cannot rely on lay assessment)
- Woods v. State, 291 Ga. 804 (delusional-compulsion defense elements)