Summary
The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Erwin Trevor Brewer’s convictions for malice murder and related crimes arising from the shooting death of Larry Strickland. The court held that Brewer waived any challenge to the denial of a mistrial by declining a curative instruction, that counsel’s decision not to request the instruction was not ineffective assistance, and that any error in excluding evidence of the victim’s alleged prior violent act was harmless.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying Brewer's motion for mistrial after a witness referred to jail booking information.
- Whether Brewer waived his challenge to the denial of a mistrial by declining the trial court's proposed curative instruction.
- Whether trial counsel was ineffective for declining the curative instruction.
- Whether the trial court committed reversible error by excluding Brewer's testimony concerning an alleged prior act of violence by the victim.
- Whether the evidence was sufficient to support Brewer's convictions.
Holdings
- The evidence was sufficient for the jury to find Brewer guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The trial court properly denied the motion for mistrial because Brewer waived the issue by declining the offered curative instruction, and, even if preserved, the denial was not an abuse of discretion.
- Brewer did not receive ineffective assistance because counsel's decision to decline the curative instruction was a reasonable strategic choice and Brewer failed to establish deficient performance.
- Any error in excluding Brewer's testimony about the victim's alleged prior violent act was harmless and did not warrant reversal.
Key quotations
“Trial tactics and strategy . . . are almost never adequate grounds for finding trial counsel ineffective unless they are so patently unreasonable that no competent attorney would have chosen them.” (821)
“Considering the trial record as a whole, we conclude that it is highly probable that any erroneous evidentiary ruling by the trial court with regard to [the alleged unrelated criminal activity by Strickland] did not contribute to the jury’s verdict.” (822)
Factual background
Brewer borrowed money from his cousin, Larry Strickland, and became angry when Strickland later asked for repayment. Brewer grabbed a handgun, pursued Strickland outside, shot him fatally, took money from Strickland's pocket, and fled. Brewer claimed self-defense, but eyewitnesses testified that Strickland was unarmed and that Brewer initiated the attack. During trial, a police officer referred to using jail booking information to locate Brewer, and the trial court offered but Brewer declined a curative instruction.
Procedural history
Brewer was indicted in Troup County in February 2014 and convicted by a jury after trial. The trial court sentenced him as a recidivist to life imprisonment without parole for malice murder and five consecutive years for possession of a firearm; the felony-murder conviction was vacated by operation of law and aggravated assault merged for sentencing. The trial court denied Brewer's amended motion for new trial on January 27, 2016, and Brewer timely appealed.