Sheard v. State, 300 Ga. 117

In 1998 Sheard and co-defendants were tried for the stabbing death of Charles Elder; jury convicted Sheard of felony murder (predicated on aggravated assault), armed robbery, and burglary and sentenced him to life plus 40 years.
Evidence: witnesses saw Sheard and co-defendants enter Elder’s apartment; a neighbor observed a stabbing and two men leaving with a beige bag; victim found days later with stab and blunt-force injuries and missing cash; knives recovered nearby; reddish-brown staining found in co-defendant Grier’s vehicle; Sheard fled to New York.
Sheard filed a timely motion for new trial; appellate counsel later discovered that portions of the trial transcript were missing, notably the Saturday session containing closing arguments and the jury charge.
The court reporter’s notes and other trial notes were also unavailable; some transcript portions were found but the jury charge and closing argument portions were absent.
The trial court denied the motion for new trial in 2014, relying on its recollection and other limited record material; the Georgia Supreme Court reviewed whether the missing transcript deprived Sheard of his right to appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Sheard)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Missing transcript (jury charge & closings) — entitlement to new trial	Missing portions (jury charge/closings) prevent meaningful appellate review and prejudice Sheard; due process impaired by lost record	Omission does not automatically require new trial; trial court’s recollection and existing portions suffice to show no harm	Reversed: missing transcript (esp. jury charge) and the age/loss of notes warrant new trial because it prevents adequate appellate review
Sufficiency of the evidence	(Implicit) challenges accomplice testimony reliance	Evidence (witness observations, possession of cash, motive, recovered knives) sufficient to support convictions	Affirmed that evidence was sufficient to sustain convictions under Jackson v. Virginia standard
Need for corroboration of alleged accomplice (Burroughs)	Burroughs was an accomplice, so his testimony required corroboration	Other evidence corroborated Burroughs (planning discussions, presence in area, cash possession, motive)	Held corroboration existed; Burroughs’s testimony supported by independent evidence
Whether retrial barred or limited by ruling	New trial required but State may re-try charges	State argued record and trial-court findings permitted denial of new trial	Court held new trial warranted; State may choose to retry Sheard on convictions affirmed as supported by evidence

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes standard for sufficiency of the evidence)
Wilson v. State, 246 Ga. 672 (right to transcript for appeal)
Wade v. State, 231 Ga. 131 (new trial warranted where transcript lost)
Montford v. State, 164 Ga. App. 627 (missing transcript portions can require new trial)
Ruffin v. State, 283 Ga. 87 (omissions do not always require new trial absent shown harm)
Glover v. State, 291 Ga. 152 (age of appeal and due process concerns)
Crawford v. State, 294 Ga. 898 (corroboration of accomplice testimony)
Lindsey v. State, 295 Ga. 343 (corroboration principles)
Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492 (discussed re: Allen charge context)