State v. Easter, 297 Ga. 171

Victim DeShawn Coatney found her front window broken and later discovered Andra Lamont Easter hiding in her bedroom wearing rubber gloves and holding a crowbar.
Coatney, fearing entry, retrieved a hidden gun; when Easter advanced with the crowbar she shot him twice; Easter fled and later surrendered.
Easter was indicted for burglary and aggravated assault; the aggravated-assault count alleged assault "with a crowbar, an object which when used offensively . . . is likely to result in serious bodily injury."
At trial the court instructed the jury using language that referenced "deadly weapon" and also explained the crowbar "may or may not be a deadly weapon depending upon the manner in which it is used." Defense counsel did not initially object. The indictment was sent back with the jury.
After deliberations began the jury requested a copy of the law; defense counsel then objected that the charge on aggravated assault did not match the indictment. The judge recharged the jury in the same terms and the jury convicted Easter on both counts.
The Court of Appeals held the charge permitted conviction on a theory (use of a deadly weapon) not alleged in the indictment; the Georgia Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve whether that was error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether referring to a "deadly weapon" in the jury charge was inconsistent with an indictment alleging assault with an object likely to cause serious bodily injury	State: the charge correctly described the statutory aggravating circumstance; reference to "deadly weapon" was a general description and not an alternative theory	Easter: the charge allowed conviction under a "deadly weapon" theory not pled in the indictment, requiring reversal	Court: Reversed Court of Appeals; following Green, the "object, device, or instrument" phrasing is a mode of deadly-weapon aggravated assault, so the charge was proper
Whether plain error review applies despite no timely objection at trial	Easter: argued error affected his substantial rights	State: same underlying position that charge was correct; trial counsel failed to timely object	Court: Applied plain-error (Kelly) test but found no error because instructions were correct under controlling precedent

Green v. State, 291 Ga. 287 (clarified that the "object, device, or instrument" language describes a mode of deadly-weapon aggravated assault and that referring to a "deadly weapon" in the jury charge is not error)
State v. Kelly, 290 Ga. 29 (adopted four-prong plain-error test for jury-instruction review)
Easter v. State, 327 Ga. App. 754 (Court of Appeals decision holding the charge permitted conviction on an unindicted theory; reversed by Georgia Supreme Court)