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Goinsv.The State

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
Docket No.S20A0847
DecidedOctober 19, 2020
Reporter310 Ga. 199
JudgesSupreme Court of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal LawCriminal ProcedureMurder & MayhemTales From the CryptDue ProcessEvidenceAppellate ProcedureRemand
Case Summary

Charmane Goins was convicted of malice murder in the strangling death of Lauren Taylor. After an earlier appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court remanded for findings on Goins’s speedy-trial claim. On the second appeal, the court affirmed the trial court’s rejection of that claim and its handling of other evidentiary issues. The court held that Goins did not establish prejudice from the delay and that the trial court properly excluded specific social-media evidence about the victim’s alleged conduct. Georgia’s evidence rules limited character proof about a victim to reputation or opinion rather than specific bad acts in the circumstances presented. The court left the murder conviction intact.

Opinion

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Goins V. The State — The Atlanta Gleaner