Taylor v. State
814 S.E.2d 302
Ga.2018Background
- In Feb 2011 Taylor checked into the Ambassador Inn and was captured on hotel surveillance entering Room 118 (Musgrave's room), later exiting in Musgrave’s car; Musgrave was found beaten to death in that room.
- The next morning Taylor attacked hotel employee Robert Sauls, who survived; blood evidence tied Taylor’s jacket and shoes to both victims; keys to Musgrave’s car and safe were found on Taylor.
- A grand jury indicted Taylor on multiple counts including felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assaults, burglary (Count 6), theft, and entering an automobile; jury convicted on all counts and he received life without parole plus consecutive terms.
- Taylor moved for a new trial (later amended) and appealed after denial; he raised ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial comment on his silence during closing, and a claim that Count 6 (burglary) was a defective indictment.
- The trial court denied relief; the Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the trial record and affirmed, finding no reversible error.
Issues
| Issue | Taylor's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ineffective assistance for failure to object to deputy identifying defendant on surveillance video as opinion testimony | Trial counsel was deficient for not objecting to improper opinion ID testimony | Even if deficient, overwhelming evidence makes any prejudice non-existent | No reversible error; Strickland prejudice not shown; claim denied |
| Prosecutor’s closing comment on Taylor’s silence and trial court’s response under OCGA § 17-8-75 | Prosecutor impermissibly commented on Taylor’s right to remain silent; court failed to properly rebuke per statute | Comment followed testimony elicited by defense; court admonished and jury instructed; any error harmless given evidence | Harmless error: court compliance issue, if any, did not contribute to verdict; claim denied |
| Indictment defect re: Count 6 failing to specify which felony Taylor intended when entering dwelling | Count 6 defective because it didn’t specify which felony among earlier counts was the intended felony for burglary | Defendant failed to preserve claim at trial by demurrer or motion in arrest of judgment; unpreserved claims reviewed only via habeas | Not preserved for appeal; claim dismissed; prior contrary appellate authority disapproved |
| Sufficiency of evidence to support convictions | (not separately enumerated by Taylor) implicit challenge to sufficiency | Surveillance, DNA/blood evidence, keys, tools, eyewitness attack on Sauls, and medical examiner linked Taylor to murders/assaults | Evidence sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia; convictions upheld |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (legal sufficiency standard for conviction)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two-prong ineffective assistance of counsel test)
- Propst v. State, 299 Ga. 557 (appellate review framework for Strickland claims)
- Wright v. State, 291 Ga. 869 (deference to trial court factual findings, independent legal review)
- Anderson v. State, 302 Ga. 74 (harmlessness analysis for prosecutor comments and court compliance with OCGA § 17-8-75)
- Ware v. State, 302 Ga. 792 (related precedent on prosecutorial comment and harmless error)
- State v. Eubanks, 239 Ga. 483 (preservation rules for challenging indictments)
- McKay v. State, 234 Ga. App. 556 (indictment/overt preservation and habeas route for unpreserved defects)
- Carr v. State, 184 Ga. App. 889 (motion for new trial is not vehicle to challenge indictment form)
- Scandrett v. State, 124 Ga. 141 (historical rule that indictment form objections must be made pretrial)
- Shelnutt v. State, 289 Ga. App. 528 (court disapproved to extent it allowed late indictment challenges via motion for new trial)