Hurst v. State, 285 Ga. 294

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Tony Hurst’s convictions for two counts of malice murder and the denial of his motion for a new trial. The court held that the State established an adequate chain of custody for Hurst’s blood sample and properly admitted a fingerprint card under the business-records exception to the hearsay rule.

Holdings

1. The evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find Hurst guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of both murders.
2. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the blood-test evidence because the State established a reasonable assurance that the sample tested was Hurst's and had not been tampered with or substituted.
3. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the 1991 fingerprint card as a business record.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support Hurst's convictions for two counts of malice murder.
2. Whether the trial court erred by admitting test results based on Hurst's blood sample because the State allegedly failed to establish an adequate chain of custody.
3. Whether the trial court erred by admitting a 1991 fingerprint card because the State allegedly failed to establish that the fingerprints on the card belonged to Hurst.

Disposition

affirmed