Smith v. State, 303 Ga. 643

Victim Jasmine Moore (15) was beaten and stabbed in August 2009; her body was later set on fire. Autopsy showed multiple blunt and sharp force injuries; she was killed before burning.
Deion Smith and Tyberius Murchinson went to Moore’s house together; both wore gloves and carried a hammer and a knife. Cell records and witness sightings placed them near the scene that night.
The case remained unsolved until Murchinson confessed in 2014; police recovered Moore’s phone and a knife from a storm drain.
Murchinson pled guilty to aggravated assault and arson, received a 30-year sentence, and testified for the State at Smith’s trial.
Smith was convicted by a jury of malice murder and first-degree arson in April 2016 and sentenced to life plus 15 years consecutive for arson. Smith appealed, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel.
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed, holding Smith’s counsel was not constitutionally ineffective on either claimed ground.

Issue	Smith's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge indictment sufficiency	Indictment vague for alleging killing by "striking with a hammer" and "stabbing with a knife" without assigning which co-defendant performed each act; counsel should have filed a special demurrer	Indictment tracked statutory language, alleged elements, date, place, victim, and concerted action — adequate notice and protects against double jeopardy; challenge would have been meritless	Counsel not ineffective; indictment sufficient and a demurrer would have been meritless
Whether counsel inadequately cross-examined co-defendant (Murchinson) about motive to testify	Counsel failed to pursue more probing impeachment on Murchinson’s plea-motivation statement that he thought he "could've gotten out better," leaving jurors uninformed about potential bias	Counsel extensively cross-examined about the plea deal, motive, inconsistencies, and omissions; question selection was reasonable trial strategy	Counsel’s cross-examination was a strategic decision and not constitutionally deficient; no ineffective assistance shown

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency of the evidence review)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-part test for ineffective assistance)
Aikens v. State, 297 Ga. 229 (2015) (applying Strickland standards in Georgia)
State v. Wyatt, 295 Ga. 257 (2014) (indictment sufficiency and notice requirements)
Jones v. State, 289 Ga. 111 (2011) (indictment need not assign roles to co-indictees)
Moss v. State, 298 Ga. 613 (2016) (failure to make meritless motions does not establish ineffective assistance)
Edwards v. State, 299 Ga. 20 (2016) (cross-examination choices are trial strategy and rarely ineffective)
Romer v. State, 293 Ga. 339 (2013) (same principle on impeachment and strategy)
Lupoe v. State, 300 Ga. 233 (2016) (burden on defendant to prove ineffective assistance is heavy)
Propst v. State, 299 Ga. 557 (2016) (may resolve Strickland on either prong)
Ford v. State, 298 Ga. 560 (2016) (presumption counsel’s decisions fall within reasonable professional judgment)
State v. Grube, 293 Ga. 257 (2013) (indictment must contain elements and inform accused)
Arthur v. State, 275 Ga. 790 (2002) (test for sufficiency of indictment)
McClendon v. State, 299 Ga. 611 (2016) (operation-of-law vacatur of duplicative felony murder conviction)