Fisher v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia held that Ronald L. Fisher received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel in his murder trial. Trial counsel failed to secure the attendance of a defense witness and failed to request an accomplice-corroboration jury instruction concerning the State’s principal identifying witness. The court reversed Fisher’s convictions based on resulting prejudice but held that the evidence was legally sufficient to permit a retrial.

Holdings

1. Trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to subpoena Jonathan Clark or otherwise secure his attendance after deciding that Clark should testify and placing him on the defense witness list.
2. Trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to request an instruction that Lewis's testimony could not establish a fact by itself if the jury found Lewis to be an accomplice.
3. Fisher established a reasonable probability that, absent counsel's combined errors, the outcome of the trial would have been more favorable; therefore, he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel.
4. The evidence was constitutionally sufficient to support the guilty verdicts, so reversal for ineffective assistance did not bar the State from retrying Fisher.

Questions Presented

1. Whether trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to subpoena or otherwise secure the attendance of defense witness Jonathan Clark.
2. Whether trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to request an instruction requiring corroboration of testimony if the jury found David Lewis to be an accomplice.
3. Whether the combined deficiencies prejudiced Fisher under Strickland.
4. Whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support Fisher's convictions, such that the State could retry him after reversal.

Disposition

reversed