The Atlanta Gleaner.

Legal News

Edited By George Washington

(Testing in progress)

George Washington Statue at Federal Hall

Fullerv.State

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
Docket No.S25A0019
DecidedJune 24, 2025
Reporter322 Ga. 188; 917 S.E.2d 623; 2025 Ga. LEXIS 140; 2025 LX 124334; 2025 WL 1737238
JudgesLAGRUA, Justice. Peterson, C. J., Ellington, McMillian, and Colvin, JJ., concur. Warren, P. J., and Bethel and Pinson, JJ., dissent.
Tags
Homicide & Violent CrimesFelony MurderAggravated Assault as PredicateMalice MurderTrial EvidenceAppellate ReviewDissent and ConcurrenceTales From the CryptMurder & Mayhem
Case Summary

At a hotel, Sonya Fuller’s son Joshua entered her room shortly before gunshots killed Anthony Reid; Fuller then told investigators an unknown robber committed the shooting without disclosing Joshua’s presence. A jury convicted Fuller as a party to felony murder predicated on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and the related aggravated assault, and she challenged the evidence and denial of a directed verdict. The Supreme Court of Georgia held that the circumstantial evidence—including Joshua’s entry without forced entry, physical evidence linking him to the shooting, and Fuller’s false account—allowed jurors to infer she shared his intent to rob Reid and was sufficient under constitutional due-process review; she did not raise a state-law circumstantial-evidence claim. The court affirmed; Chief Justice Peterson and Justices Warren, Bethel, and Pinson dissented from the felony-murder ruling.

Opinion

Loading published copy…

The Far Side