Denny v. State, 280 Ga. 81

623 S.E.2d 483 (2005) · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 1, 2005 · No. S05A1915

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Michael Denny’s convictions for two counts of malice murder, burglary, and possession of a gun during the commission of a crime. The court held that evidence of two independent burglaries was properly admitted to show identity, bent of mind, and course of conduct, that the conspiracy instruction was supported by the evidence, and that Denny failed to establish prejudice from alleged ineffective assistance of counsel.

Holdings

  1. The trial court properly admitted evidence of the two independent burglaries because they were sufficiently similar to the charged crimes and were relevant to identity, bent of mind, and course of conduct.
  2. The trial court did not err by instructing the jury on conspiracy because the evidence supported the existence of a conspiracy to burglarize the Rainwater residence.
  3. Denny failed to establish ineffective assistance because he did not prove prejudice from counsel's alleged failure to locate alibi witnesses or present DNA-expert testimony.

Questions Presented

  1. Whether the trial court erred by admitting evidence of two independent crimes to show identity, bent of mind, and course of conduct.
  2. Whether the trial court erred by instructing the jury on conspiracy when the evidence showed an agreement to burglarize the Rainwater residence.
  3. Whether Denny established ineffective assistance of trial counsel based on counsel's failure to discover alibi witnesses and failure to present testimony from a DNA expert.

Disposition

affirmed

Cases Cited (12)

  • Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979)(followed)
  • Williams v. State, 261 Ga. 640, 642-643, 409 S.E.2d 649 (1991)(followed)
  • Collins v. State, 273 Ga. 93, 94-95, 538 S.E.2d 47 (2000)(followed)
  • Wayne v. State, 269 Ga. 36, 38-39, 495 S.E.2d 34 (1997)(followed)
  • Raulerson v. State, 268 Ga. 623, 631, 491 S.E.2d 791 (1997)(followed)
  • Belsar v. State, 276 Ga. 261, 262, 577 S.E.2d 569 (2003)(followed)
  • Huey v. State, 263 Ga. 840, 842, 439 S.E.2d 656 (1994)(followed)
  • Scott v. State, 279 Ga. 596, 599, 619 S.E.2d 653 (2005)(followed)
  • Seabolt v. State, 279 Ga. 518, 520-521, 616 S.E.2d 448 (2005)(followed)
  • Riggins v. State, 279 Ga. 407, 409, 614 S.E.2d 70 (2005)(followed)

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