Adamson v. Sanders, 279 Ga. 187

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the grant of Milford Lee Sanders's habeas corpus petition following his convictions for failure to stop at a stop sign and first-degree vehicular homicide by reckless driving. The court held that the judgment had to stand because the appellant failed to challenge one independent basis for habeas relief: ineffective assistance based on counsel's failure to timely request a lesser-included-offense instruction. The court also noted that the appellant relied on a transcript that was not included in the appellate record.

Holdings

1. When an appellant fails to enumerate as error an independent ruling that supports the judgment below, the appellate court will not consider that ruling's validity and the judgment must stand.
2. The burden is on the party alleging error to demonstrate it from the appellate record; when necessary proof is omitted, the appellate court must assume the judgment below was correct and affirm.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the habeas corpus judgment granting Sanders relief could stand because the State failed to enumerate as error one independent ruling that Sanders's Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel was violated when trial counsel failed to timely move for a jury instruction on the lesser included offense of second-degree vehicular homicide.
2. Whether the State's other enumerated challenges could warrant reversal when the transcript relied upon to support those challenges was not included in the appellate record.

Disposition

affirmed