White v. State, 297 Ga. 218

Adrian White was tried and convicted by a jury of malice murder, felony murder (vacated by operation of law), two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during a felony for the 2004 killing of Anthony Jones.
Eyewitnesses (Webb, Thornton, and Jones's girlfriend Long) testified that White pulled Thornton’s gun, shot Jones in the back, and that Jones was beaten afterward while still alive; witnesses said it took a long time for Jones to fall after the shot.
At trial White requested the mutual combat jury charge; the court initially declined but later gave the charge after closing arguments; White agreed and declined an opportunity to reopen closing argument.
White raised on appeal: (1) the mutual combat jury charge was erroneous, (2) trial counsel was ineffective for not reopening closing to address mutual combat, and (3) sentencing error for not merging aggravated assault with malice murder based on lack of a “deliberate interval.”
The trial court sentenced White to life for malice murder plus consecutive terms for aggravated assault and firearm possession; the Court of Appeals/this Court reviewed the motion for new trial and ultimately affirmed the convictions and sentence.

Issue	White's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Was giving the mutual combat charge error?	Charge could distract jurors from other defenses and was improper.	White requested the charge, agreed when court gave it; charge benefits defendant.	No error; White waived complaint and charge is favorable to defendant.
Was counsel ineffective for declining to reopen closing to address mutual combat?	Counsel should have reopened to emphasize mutual combat/justification.	Counsel made a tactical decision to avoid undermining stronger defense (misidentification); no prejudice shown.	No ineffective assistance; tactical choice reasonable and no reasonable probability of different result.
Should aggravated assault merge with malice murder for sentencing?	Assault merged because beating followed shooting without deliberate interval.	Eyewitnesses showed a lengthy time before Jones fell and beating occurred after a meaningful delay.	No merger; evidence supported a deliberate interval between the fatal shot and subsequent beating.
Was the evidence sufficient for convictions?	(Implied) Insufficient or disputed identity/role.	Eyewitness testimony placed White as shooter and participant in beating.	Sufficient evidence to sustain convictions beyond a reasonable doubt.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency of the evidence review)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong ineffective assistance standard)
Sanders v. State, 283 Ga. 372 (2008) (mutual combat instruction benefits defendant; giving it is not error)
Coleman v. State, 286 Ga. 291 (2009) (merger analysis considers order and timing; deliberate interval concept)
Reddings v. State, 292 Ga. 364 (2013) (merger of aggravated assault with murder when no deliberate interval exists)