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Dalston Innsbert Simpsonv.The State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A19A1670
DecidedFebruary 12, 2020
Reporter304 Ga. 610
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal LawCriminal ProcedureConstitutional LawSixth AmendmentConfrontation ClauseSufficiency of the EvidenceVacaturRemand
Case Summary

Dalston Simpson was convicted of criminal damage to property and criminal gang activity after an armed confrontation at a house party. He argued that the State failed to prove the property damage exceeded the statutory value threshold and that gang-related expert testimony violated the Confrontation Clause. The Georgia Court of Appeals vacated the property-damage conviction because the evidence did not establish the property’s fair-market value beyond the required threshold. It affirmed the gang-activity conviction, holding that the expert’s testimony was admissible under Georgia’s gang-activity statute and did not violate confrontation principles. The court therefore left one conviction intact while remanding for proceedings consistent with the partial vacatur.

Opinion

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Dalston Innsbert Simpson V. The State — The Atlanta Gleaner