Corey Criswell v. State

Summary

The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of Corey Criswell’s amended motion for a new trial following convictions for armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The court held that text messages from a witness to law enforcement were properly admitted or did not constitute reversible plain error, that photographs of Criswell’s tattoos were admissible for identification purposes, and that Criswell failed to preserve or demonstrate error concerning cross-examination about his ex-girlfriend’s arrest. The court also rejected Criswell’s cumulative-error claim.

Holdings

1. The challenge to improper bolstering was not properly presented because Criswell failed to identify which messages bolstered which testimony, and the record nevertheless showed no error because the Chevron employee's credibility was eventually attacked and the messages were relevant to the timeline and identification evidence.
2. The trial court did not plainly err by admitting the Chevron employee's statements because Criswell did not preserve a hearsay objection to those statements and Georgia law had not clearly resolved whether the statements qualified as prior identifications under OCGA § 24-8-801(d)(1)(C).
3. Criswell failed to establish ineffective assistance because the challenged objections lacked merit and the scope of statements for identification under Rule 801(d)(1)(C) was unsettled.
4. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting photographs of Criswell's tattoos because the tattoos were relevant to identify him as the person shown in the Chevron surveillance footage, and their probative value was not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice under Rule 403.
5. The court could not review the claimed restriction because Criswell abandoned the argument by failing to support it with relevant authority and failed to make an adequate proffer of the proposed testimony; in any event, he did not show error.
6. Criswell was not entitled to relief based on cumulative error because the court found, at most, one assumed error, and there were no multiple errors to aggregate.

Questions Presented

1. Whether text messages from the Chevron employee to law enforcement were inadmissible hearsay or improper bolstering.
2. Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to make a proper hearsay objection to the text messages.
3. Whether photographs depicting Criswell's tattoos were inadmissible character evidence or should have been excluded under Rule 403.
4. Whether the trial court improperly restricted cross-examination of Criswell's ex-girlfriend concerning her prior arrest and alleged bias.
5. Whether cumulative trial error required reversal.

Disposition

affirmed