Watson v. State, 328 Ga. App. 832

Watson was convicted by a jury of two counts of felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer; the trial court denied his motion for a new trial.
On appeal, Watson challenges (1) the trial court’s denial of his written request to charge misdemeanor obstruction as a lesser included offense, and (2) the exclusion of evidence that he had previously been the victim of a home invasion to support an affirmative defense of defense of habitation.
The State alleged Watson obstructed the officers by “offering violence” by grabbing pepper spray and reaching toward another weapon during the arrest of Watson’s girlfriend in their apartment.
The events occurred May 4, 2012, when detectives serving an arrest warrant entered the apartment; Watson allegedly grabbed pepper spray and resisted, leading to a struggle and discovery of a hammer near the couch.
Evidence at trial included the detectives’ testimony and Watson’s version that he did not know the men were officers and that he was defending his girlfriend; Watson’s girlfriend supported some versions of Watson’s conduct.
The court ultimately affirmed the conviction, rejecting both challenges to the trial strategy and evidentiary rulings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether misdemeanor obstruction should have been charged as a lesser included offense	Watson: misdemeanor obstruction warranted if evidence supports it	Watson: offense could be charged if evidence supports lesser offense	No; evidence showed either felony obstruction or no offense, so no misdemeanor charge warranted.
Whether excluding evidence of a prior home invasion was error to support defense of habitation	Watson: prior home invasion evidence is admissible to support defense	State: evidence inadmissible to support justification defense	No error; admissibility of third-party violence to support justification defense is properly limited.

Jones v. State, 276 Ga. App. 66 (2005) (defines misdemeanor obstruction elements and knowledge requirement)
Reddick v. State, 298 Ga. App. 155 (2009) (knowledge that target is a law enforcement officer required for misdemeanor obstruction)
Mangum v. State, 228 Ga. App. 545 (1997) (clarifies elements of obstruction)
White v. State, 310 Ga. App. 386 (2011) (misdemeanor obstruction not charged where felony or no offense shown)
Strickland v. State, 223 Ga. App. 772 (1996) (cannot instruct on lesser offense when only completed offense or none is supported)
Bellamy v. State, 324 Ga. App. 319 (2013) (reaffirmed approach to lesser included offenses)
Lindsey v. State, 262 Ga. 665 (1993) (reckless conduct instruction not appropriate when offense is justified or not committed)
Ewumi v. State, 315 Ga. App. 656 (2012) (misapplied misapprehension of fact defense principle)
O’Connell v. State, 294 Ga. 379 (2014) (inadmissibility of violence against third party to support justification)
Harris v. State, 279 Ga. 304 (2005) (limits on using prior violent acts to justify defense)
Bryant v. State, 271 Ga. 99 (1999) (justification defenses require objective standard of reasonableness)
G. Stinkard, v. State, 259 Ga. App. 755 (2003) (indictment showing multiple ways allows proof in any one method)