Wilkins v. State, 291 Ga. 483

Appellant Mathew Wilkins was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery in the death of Marlisa Wells.
Crimes occurred January 19, 2008; trial held March 2–10, 2010; sentence March 18, 2010 to life for malice murder and 20 years for aggravated battery; felony murder and aggravated assault merged or vacated by law.
The victim, 16, had an intimate relationship with Wilkins and was pregnant; confrontation at the victim’s home preceded stabbing.
Victim found on bathroom floor with blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds; no sign of forced entry.
Cellular records showed extensive communication between Wilkins and the victim the day before and the morning of the crimes; last call routed near the victim’s home.
Physical evidence included shoes with victim DNA on the lace and Wilkins’ DNA in the victim’s vaginal swab, indicating intercourse shortly before death.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence	Wilkins challenges sufficiency to sustain convictions.	State failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.	Evidence sufficient to support convictions beyond reasonable doubt.
Batson race-discrimination claim	State used three of nine peremptory strikes on African-Americans.	Reasons for strikes were pretextual and racially motivated.	State's race-neutral explanations supported; no Batson violation.
Mistrial due to voir dire cart appearance	Cart observed by jurors tainted proceedings; mistrial warranted.	No abuse of discretion; items were unremarkable and would not affect fairness.	No abuse; mistrial not essential to preserve fair trial.
Witness not on list testimony	State violated discovery by calling undisclosed witness.	Remedy for discovery violation was appropriate and not prejudicial.	No reversible error; broad discretion to fashion remedy; no bad faith shown.
Continuing witness rule and summary of phone records	Admission of State-created phone-record summary violated continuing witness rule.	No prejudicial error given demonstrative nature and underlying admissible records.	No reversible error; summary properly admissible as demonstrative; no harm.

Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (U.S. 1986) (purposeful racial discrimination required; race-neutral explanations sustained)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency of evidence to support conviction)
Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352 (U.S. 1991) (discrimination inquiry depends on race-neutral explanations)
Scott v. State, 280 Ga. 466 (Ga. 2006) (trial court deference to Batson determinations)
Henry v. State, 265 Ga. 732 (Ga. 1995) (prior convictions of a relative as race-neutral strike basis)
Tibbs v. Tibbs, 257 Ga. 370 (Ga. 1987) (continuing witness rule does not apply to demonstratives)
Cockrell v. State, 281 Ga. 536 (Ga. 2007) (severe sanction for discovery only with bad faith and prejudice)
Norris v. State, 289 Ga. 154 (Ga. 2011) (trial court discretion in fashioning discovery remedies)
Holmes v. State, 284 Ga. 330 (Ga. 2008) (trial judge’s discretion in admitting evidence)
Smith v. State, 288 Ga. 348 (Ga. 2010) (mistrial standards and fair trial considerations)
James v. State, 270 Ga. 675 (Ga. 1999) (use of demonstratives in jury trials)
McKenzie v. State, 300 Ga. App. 469 (Ga. App. 2009) (continuing witness rule interaction with discovery)
McLarty v. State, 238 Ga. App. 27 (Ga. App. 1999) (discovery disclosures and witness admissibility)
Agee v. State, 279 Ga. 774 (Ga. 2005) (discretion in handling witness disclosure in discovery)
Tibbs v. Tibbs, 257 Ga. 370 (Ga. 1987) (demonstratives and continuing witness rule)