Weaver v. State, 288 Ga. 540

Appellant Willie Lee Weaver was convicted of malice murder of his estranged wife Donna Weaver, two counts of aggravated stalking, cruelty to children in the first degree, and possession of a knife during a crime.
A family violence protective order was in place; Weaver was found outside the victim’s apartment with a knife and arrested.
Two weeks later Weaver was released on bond and bought a 12-inch fillet knife.
Weaver followed the victim and her sister into a restaurant parking lot, stabbed and slashed the victim, who died in the presence of the victim’s grandson.
Eyewitness testimony and other evidence supported the convictions beyond a reasonable doubt.
Weaver challenged trial conduct, competency issues, and his right to be present at trial, which the court addressed on appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions	Weaver	Weaver contends insufficiency on appeal	Sufficient evidence supported the verdicts
Whether the trial court properly handled Weaver’s competency and potential need for further evaluation	Weaver	Court should have suspended for another competency evaluation	Court did not abuse discretion; proceedings continued after competency evidence showed no incompetence
Whether Weaver’s right to be present at trial was properly waived or preserved	Weaver	Waiver via defense counsel and court proceedings appropriate	Trial conducted in Weaver's absence did not constitute reversible error
Whether Weaver’s custodial statement after Miranda rights were read should have been excluded due to an asserted invocation of rights	Weaver	Invoked right to remain silent; interrogation should have stopped	Weaver’s statements were admissible; not a clear invocation to terminate questioning

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (sufficiency standard for challenging evidence)
Rose v. State, 287 Ga. 238, 695 S.E.2d 261 (2010) (sufficiency of evidence under Georgia standards)
Lewis v. State, 277 Ga. 534, 592 S.E.2d 405 (2004) (standard for evaluating evidence)
Harris v. State, 256 Ga. 350, 349 S.E.2d 374 (1986) (competency and trial conduct considerations)
Peebles v. State, 260 Ga. 165, 391 S.E.2d 639 (1990) (competency to proceed to trial; continuance decisions)
Watkins v. State, 237 Ga. 678, 229 S.E.2d 465 (1976) (discretion in continuance requests; competency)
Thaxton v. State, 260 Ga. 141, 390 S.E.2d 841 (1990) (maligner behavior not evidence of incompetence)
State v. Fletcher, 252 Ga. 498, 314 S.E.2d 888 (1984) (right to be present may be waived under certain conditions)
Williams v. State, 251 Ga. 749, 312 S.E.2d 40 (1983) (waiver of right to be present through counsel)
Perez v. State, 283 Ga. 196, 657 S.E.2d 846 (2008) (equivocal invocations of the right to remain silent)
Turner v. State, 287 Ga. 793, 700 S.E.2d 386 (2010) (interrogation and rights invocation)
Smith v. State, 284 Ga. 599, 669 S.E.2d 98 (2008) (presence at trial and waiver principles)
Richard v. State, 254 Ga.App. 708, 563 S.E.2d 551 (2002) (communications through counsel regarding presence)