Smoot v. State, 316 Ga. App. 102

Smoot was convicted by a jury of keeping a place of prostitution and possession of less than one ounce of marijuana; new trial motion denied.
On appeal Smoot argues insufficient evidence for prostitution and error in denial of directed verdict on marijuana, plus evidentiary objections and jury-charge issues.
Evidence at trial included surveillance of Smoot’s Clayton County residence, website investigations, and a search warrant with items found in the home.
Key contested evidence included a search-warrant affidavit and a neighborhood group document describing alleged prostitution, which the State contended explained the investigation.
The appellate court reversed the prostitution conviction due to hearsay in the affidavit and related documents, and held retrial barred by double jeopardy; marijuana conviction affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of affidavit to explain investigation	Smoot argues affidavit contained hearsay from neighborhood group and should have been excluded as original evidence.	State contends affidavit explains why officers investigated the residence; admissible as original evidence.	Affidavit improperly admitted; reversible error.
Admissibility of neighborhood group document	Document linking prostitution and vehicle descriptions was hearsay and prejudicial.	State maintained it justified to explain the investigation.	Document improperly admitted; reversible error.
Sufficiency of evidence for keeping a place of prostitution	Evidence supported prostitution through circumstantial factors and internet materials implicating Smoot.	Circumstantial evidence did not exclude other reasonable hypotheses; insufficient to prove prostitution beyond a reasonable doubt.	Insufficient evidence; double jeopardy bars retrial; prostitution conviction reversed.
Sufficiency of evidence for possession of marijuana	Constructive possession established by residence control and presence of marijuana.	Equal access defense; mere presence not proven to establish possession.	Evidence sufficient; marijuana conviction affirmed.
Jury charges on mere presence/proximity	Smoot was entitled to charges on mere presence and mere spatial proximity.	Trial court should give these charges if supported by evidence.	No error; instructions adequate; charges not required as given.

White v. State, 273 Ga. 787 (Ga. 2001) (officer conduct explanation; limitation on admissibility of related testimony)
Weems v. State, 269 Ga. 577 (Ga. 1998) (hearsay cannot explain police conduct; no need to reveal background)
Strozier v. State, 236 Ga. App. 239 (Ga. App. 1999) (neighborhood claims to justify surveillance not admissible as original evidence)
Doyal v. State, 287 Ga. App. 667 (Ga. App. 2007) (hearsay limitations in police testimony; complaints cannot be used as original evidence)
McClain v. State, 311 Ga. App. 750 (Ga. App. 2011) (photographs and non-hearsay descriptions; verbal acts admissible as original evidence)
Bussey v. State, 263 Ga. App. 56 (Ga. App. 2003) (possession presumptions and equal access limits)