KASS v. THE STATE.
S15A0037
Supreme Court of Georgia
April 20, 2015
Reconsideration denied June 1, 2015.
771 SE2d 873
BENHAM, Justice.
Kenneth D. Kondritzer, Leslie R. Lowry, for appellant. Paul L. Howard, Jr., District Attorney, Paige Reese Whitaker, Joshua D. Morrison, Assistant District Attorneys; Samuel S. Olens, Attorney General, Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Deputy Attorney General, Paula K. Smith, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Meghan H. Hill, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
Appellant Brian Kass was convicted of malice murder and related crimes concerning the shooting death of Martinez Turner.1 On the day in question, Turner came to appellant’s house and was talking with Chappelle Witherspoon, who was appellant’s girlfriend, about a
A few minutes after the shooting, appellant ran with Witherspoon to a house that was near his own to make a phone call. A witness inside the house testified that appellant was covered in blood and said he had just killed someone. Phone records and testimony showed appellant used Witherspoon’s phone to make a call to an acquaintance. The acquaintance testified that appellant said he had just killed someone and needed a ride. The acquaintance, who happened to be a confidential informant for a federal agency, then called a federal agent to report what appellant said about killing someone. The federal agent contacted local authorities immediately. Soon after the federal agent’s call, the police received a 911 dispatch reporting a shooting at appellant’s residence. Meanwhile, appellant and Witherspoon went their separate ways2 and appellant eventually fled the state.
During their investigation, authorities located a .45 caliber Fiocchi brand shell casing in the doorway of appellant’s house. Inside appellant’s kitchen area, the police found a box of .45 caliber Fiocchi brand bullets. Police also found appellant’s birth certificate and his social security card inside the house. Near the deceased’s body, the police recovered a power bill with appellant’s name on it. The medical examiner testified that Turner was shot in the neck at close-range and that the resulting gunshot wound to the neck, which impacted major arteries and compromised the spinal cord, caused Turner’s death.
1. The evidence adduced at trial and summarized above was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).
2. Appellant alleges the trial court erred when it failed to remove Jurors 3 and 4 for cause. Juror 3 stated during voir dire that she had problems with convicted felons possessing guns. Juror 4 disclosed that his brother was a homicide captain in Louisiana. Not only does appellant complain that these jurors were not impartial, but he also complains about the trial court’s line of questioning and statements
In regard to the substantive issue of whether the trial court erred when it failed to strike these jurors for cause, this Court has held:
An appellate court pays deference to the trial court’s resolution of any equivocations or conflicts in a prospective juror’s responses. The determination of a potential juror’s impartiality is within the trial court’s sound discretion, and the trial court will only be reversed on such matter upon finding a manifest abuse of discretion. The law does not require the striking of jurors simply because they express some doubt of their own impartiality.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Grimes v. State, 296 Ga. 337 (1) (c) (766 SE2d 72) (2014). In this case, Juror 3 and Juror 4 did not express opinions that were so fixed that they could not set them aside, follow the trial court’s instructions, and render a decision based on the evidence presented at trial. See Cade v. State, 289 Ga. 805 (3) (716 SE2d 196) (2011). Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it failed to strike the jurors for cause.
Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.