Smith v. State
298 Ga. 357
| Ga. | 2016Background
- On October 12, 2010, Smith sold a TV to Emmanuel Opoku-Afari, decided to rob him after seeing money, and enlisted Anthony Norris and Tefflon Rhoden. During the attempted robbery Rhoden shot and killed Opoku-Afari. Smith fled and was later arrested.
- Smith and Rhoden were tried together; Norris pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. The jury convicted Smith of malice murder, three counts of felony murder (predicated on aggravated assault, attempted armed robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon), aggravated assault, attempted armed robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
- The trial court sentenced Smith to life for felony murder predicated on aggravated assault and five years for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony; other felony murder verdicts were vacated by operation of law and one aggravated assault merged with the sentenced felony murder.
- The trial court also merged attempted armed robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon into the vacated felony murders, and therefore did not impose separate sentences on those convictions.
- During deliberations the court removed a juror who had been an insurance agent and who had researched the defense attorney in violation of repeated court instructions; the juror expressed equivocal statements about his ability to be impartial. Smith objected to removal.
- Smith appealed, challenging juror removal; the State did not raise the sentencing-merger error, but the Supreme Court of Georgia identified and addressed it sua sponte.
Issues
| Issue | Smith's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether removal of a juror after evidence closed was an abuse of discretion | Removal was improper; juror eventually said he could be impartial so excusal was unnecessary | Trial court has discretion; juror violated instructions and expressed inability to be fair | Court affirmed: removal was proper (juror researched attorney in violation of instructions and gave equivocal answers about impartiality) |
| Whether trial court erred by merging convictions for sentencing | N/A on record (Smith did not prevail below on this point) | Trial court merged attempted armed robbery and unlawful-possession counts into vacated felony-murder counts | Court vacated that portion of sentencing and remanded for sentencing on attempted armed robbery and unlawful-possession counts |
| Sufficiency of the evidence to support convictions | N/A (Smith did not dispute sufficiency) | Evidence legally sufficient to convict as a party to the crimes | Court independently reviewed and held the evidence was sufficient |
| Whether appellate court must search record for merger issues sua sponte | N/A | State did not raise merger; court need not scour record but may resolve noticed merger issues on direct appeal | Court exercised discretion to correct merger error it noticed and remanded for resentencing |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (legal sufficiency standard for convictions)
- Powell v. State, 291 Ga. 743 (proof a person was party to a crime supports conviction)
- Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (merger principles affecting related counts)
- Nazario v. State, 293 Ga. 480 (appellate court not required to scour record but may address merger issues it notices)
- Hulett v. State, 296 Ga. 49 (remand for sentencing when merger error identified)
- Gibson v. State, 290 Ga. 6 (trial court’s broad discretion to remove jurors)
- Butler v. State, 290 Ga. 412 (juror misconduct/independent research supports removal)
- Krause v. State, 286 Ga. 745 (juror misconduct and removal)
- Sears v. State, 292 Ga. 64 (trial judge’s unique position to evaluate juror impartiality)