Compton v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Javaris Compton’s malice-murder conviction arising from the stabbing death of a fellow inmate. The court held that Compton failed to preserve his mistrial claim because trial counsel did not object or move for a mistrial contemporaneously when testimony revealed that Compton had refused to speak with an investigator after receiving Miranda warnings.

Holdings

1. A claim that the trial court abused its discretion in denying a mistrial is not preserved for appellate review when the defendant does not move for a mistrial at the earliest opportunity, contemporaneously with the testimony or event giving rise to the motion.
2. The court did not decide the merits of whether testimony about Compton's refusal to speak after Miranda warnings was improper because the related mistrial claim was not preserved.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying Compton's motion for a mistrial after a State investigator testified that Compton refused to speak after being advised of his Miranda rights.
2. Whether Compton preserved the mistrial issue for appellate review by making a contemporaneous objection and mistrial motion when the allegedly improper testimony was elicited.

Disposition

affirmed