Van Allen Caffee was convicted of malice murder, kidnapping, and other charges arising out of the shooting death of James Robert Lewis.
1. The evidence presented at trial shows that police found the body of Lewis, the landlord of a mobile home park, in the middle of a dirt road in Stephens County on Saturday, July 22, 2006. Lewis had been shot twice between the eyes, his hands were bound behind his back, and he had abrasions and contusions consistent with a fist fight. Lewis’s employee testified that two days earlier Caffee, a tenant, had accused his landlord of making sexual advances to Caffee’s wife six months earlier. Thirty minutes later, the employee saw Lewis with a pistol in his hand, Lewis told the employee to take the pistol, and Caffee told the employee to “shoot me.” Caffee’s nephew and accomplice, Raheem Shands, testified at trial that Caffee and Lewis were arguing on Saturday night when Lewis pulled a gun and shot once towards Caffee’s wife, who was not injured. Caffee took the gun from Lewis, and the two men continued scuffling and fighting in the yard. Caffee left Lewis lying on the ground and began walking away. When Lewis said he was going to kill Caffee and used a racial epithet, Caffee returned and beat Lewis again, dragged him to his white panel van, and tied his hands with rope. Caffee directed Shands tо drive the van through the mountains while Caffee and Lewis sat in the back. As Shands was backing up the van on a dirt road, he heard two shots and saw Lewis sitting against the back door with blood everywhere. Caffee kicked Lewis out of the van and then climbed in the passenger seat with the gun in his pocket. A GBI agent testified that Lewis was shot in the
2. Caffee contends that this Court does not have jurisdiction to review the order granting the motion for new trial, arguing that the State waived its right to appeal the interlocutory order. In May 2010, the trial court granted Caffee’s motion for new trial, and the State did not obtain a certificate of immediate review or seek to immediately appeal the new trial order.
The State does nоt have the right to appeal decisions in criminal cases unless there is a specific statutory provision granting the right. State v. Smith,
When the trial court entered its order granting a new trial in 2010, OCGA § 5-7-2 required the State to obtain a certificate of immediate review tо appeal the order. See State v. Ware,
Contrary to the State’s position, it also cannot appeal the order granting a new trial under OCGA § 5-6-34 (d) of the Appellate Practice Act. This subsection states: “Where an appeal is taken under any provision of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this Code section, all judgments, rulings, or orders rendered in the case which are raised on appeal and which may affect the proceedings below shall be rеviewed” on appeal. No appeal was taken here under subsection (a), (b), or (c). In addition, we have previously concluded that subsection (d) was not intended to apply to appeals taken under OCGA § 5-7-1. See State v. Lynch,
3. With regard to the plea in bar, OCGA § 5-7-1 (a) (3) gives this Court authority to cоnsider the State’s appeal. On appeal, we evaluate the trial court’s factual findings under a clearly erroneous standard of review, but independently review its conclusions of law. See Davis v. State,
The second of three trial judges who have heard this case granted Caffee’s motion for new trial on the grounds that the original trial judge erred in rejecting Caffee’s offer to stipulate to his prior conviction and in admitting
Following the grant of the new trial, Caffee filed a plea in bar contending that double jeopardy prevented a second trial because the new trial was granted on the insufficiеncy of the evidence. A third trial judge considered the motion and granted the plea in bar “[b]ecause the prior order finds that there was insufficient evidence to convict, and . . . this Court has no power to change or correct that ruling.”
Both the United States Constitution and Georgia Constitution guarantee criminal defendants protection against double jeopardy. U. S. Const. Amend. V; Ga. Const, of 1983, Art. I, Sec. I, Par. XVIII. The Double Jeopardy Clause precludеs a second trial after a reviewing court determines that the evidence introduced at trial was insufficient to sustain the verdict. See Greene v. Massey,
In reviewing a double jeopardy claim, we must look to the substance of the trial court’s ruling to determine whether it concluded that the evidence was insufficient to authorize the guilty verdict. Priest v. State,
Judgment reversed in part and appeal dismissed in part.
Notes
The shooting occurred on July 22, 2006; Caffee was indicted on October 10, 2006; and a jury convicted him on all counts on September 26, 2007. The following day the trial court sentenced him to two consecutive life imprisonment sentences for murder and kidnapping with bodily injury, a five-year consecutive sentence for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, a 20-year concurrent sentence for aggravated assault, and a five-year concurrent sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The remaining two felony murder charges merged by operation of law. Caffee filed a motion for new trial on October 2,2007, which the trial court granted on May 24, 2010. Caffee filed a plea in bar on August 23, 2010, and the trial court granted it on March 15, 2011. The State filed a notice of appeal on March 16, 2011. The case was docketed for the September 2011 term and submitted for decision on briefs.