Sullivan v. State
301 Ga. 37
| Ga. | 2017Background
- Sullivan, Jones, and Smith planned to rob rival dealer Kevin Daniel; during the June 1, 2013 burglary Sullivan shot and killed Daniel and took property and phones; Whatley was also assaulted.
- Evidence: eyewitness accounts, shell casing, cash and drugs at scene, cell records linking Sullivan and Smith, Daniel’s blood in Smith’s car, and letters from Sullivan attempting to influence co-defendant testimony; gang membership introduced.
- A Floyd County jury convicted Sullivan on multiple counts including malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, and weapons charges; trial court imposed life without parole plus additional years.
- Sullivan moved for an out-of-time motion for new trial alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel (failure to object to hearsay, failure to object to two social-media photographs, inadequate cross-examination of co-defendant about a plea deal) and argued cumulative prejudice.
- The trial court denied the motion; on appeal the Georgia Supreme Court reviewed ineffective-assistance claims under Strickland and found no deficient performance or prejudice on the asserted failures, rejecting the cumulative-error claim.
- The Court did find sentencing and merger errors: felony murder was improperly merged into malice murder (should have been vacated by operation of law), and Counts 5 (aggravated assault with intent to rob and kill) and 9 (aggravated battery) should have merged into other convictions; remanded for resentencing on remaining counts.
Issues
| Issue | Sullivan's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ineffective assistance — failure to object to alleged testimonial hearsay (relative’s testimony about Sullivan wanting to visit) | Counsel was deficient for not objecting under Crawford and Cronic should apply | Counsel made strategic decision; testimony harmless and non-testimonial; Strickland governs | No ineffective assistance; strategic decision reasonable and no prejudice shown |
| Ineffective assistance — admission of two social-media photographs of Sullivan holding a gun | Counsel should have objected as photographs were irrelevant and prejudicial | Counsel consulted Sullivan; Sullivan requested their admission; counsel attacked photos on cross and evidence was cumulative | No prejudice shown; claim fails (trial counsel not ineffective) |
| Ineffective assistance — inadequate cross-examination of co-defendant about plea deal | Counsel failed to expose bias/motive to lie for a deal | Transcript shows thorough cross-examination; tactical matter | No deficient performance; claim fails |
| Sentencing and merger errors | Trial court properly merged/sentenced counts | State defended some merges but conceded legal standards | Court vacated sentence portion merging felony murder into malice murder and vacated sentences for Counts 5 and 9; remanded for resentencing on affected counts and dependent concurrent/consecutive sentences |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance requires deficient performance and prejudice)
- Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (Confrontation Clause limits testimonial hearsay)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (sufficiency of evidence standard)
- Hulett v. State, 296 Ga. 49 (merger and sentencing guidance)
- McClendon v. State, 299 Ga. 611 (felony murder merger/vacatur principles)
- Favors v. State, 296 Ga. 842 (test for whether offenses merge)
- Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (merger of assault into robbery/murder when elements overlap)
- Solomon v. State, 293 Ga. 605 (aggravated battery must be charged as independent act to avoid merger)
- Bulloch v. State, 293 Ga. 179 (cumulative error review limited to actual errors)
- Chapman v. State, 290 Ga. 631 (cumulative-effect and prejudice analysis)